Eric K. Email & Phone Number

Colorado, United States

“Treat me like a person, not a conversion.” You’re probably doing a pretty good job at life. So what if someone said to you: “You look wrinkly, you could stand to lose some weight and you feel bad about what you eat and drink, right? But don’t worry, I can sell you something for all that.” "Excuse me?” you might say.My approach to Brand Positioning and Messaging language is different: Give people credit, let them off the hook, realize that while they want to improve, they’re probably already doing a lot right. You might sell more without any extra effort. And keep a customer rather than see them churn. So, what if, instead of trying to make a sale, you made a friend? (You’d actually make more sales.) halo lassotreat people better, hold onto them forever.

What's "Micro-compassion marketing?" We're hard on ourselves. All of us. When a Brand's language reflects an understanding of this, people naturally feel even a little bit better about themselves — feel a little less on the hook. And they instinctively thank the Brand that gave them this feeling, by buying, trying and, if the Brand continues that awesome support, becoming loyal. This is very different from a lot of marketing, which is based in shame — or as some like to say, "aspiration." People don't aspire to have their problems magically fixed by a product — they aspire to be happy; to feel better about themselves and to be respected. Shame marketing works for a minute — but leads to churn. Maybe that's why marketers cheer 1% conversion rates. So my method works better for the Brand — by connecting with more people, and creating a lasting relationship with less churn, less waste and a whole lot of pride for the people running the thing.

This nonprofit identifies traditionally underserved kids and prepares them for positions in Aerospace and Science. The micro-compassion: These kids don't need good intentions; they need people who understand how different perspectives make the industry, not simply more diverse, but stronger! That's why we're saying, "We're making equity in aerospace a science."

Revel Vet is a new Vet clinic, based on a new idea.The micro-compassion: Our pets don't live long enough, which causes a whole lot of guilt and shame — for pet people and Vet staff. We're reminding everyone, those animals are having the best lives imaginable, all thanks to the people who give them homes and care. And because of that, to them, you're the best human ever.

It's a new idea in snack foods that uses only ingredients that taste as good as they are good for you. The micro-compassion: It's really hard to eat healthy when the bad food tastes so good. So we're letting people off the hook by saying, "We won't eat beter until it tastes better."

Founder Hima Pal created a Brand of super clean-label chips, sold at mainstream prices at Sam's Club. The micro-compassion: "Eating healthy is hard. Let's chip away at it." That's the line we used to let people off the hook, remove the shame and give them small, doable ideas for eating healthier a little bit at a time.

The former owners of Canyon Bakehouse, naturally, bought a butter brand. It was Chef Shamy, I helped the team rename to Better Butter.The micro-compassion: People feel so much guilt and shame around food — because they're too busy to show their family they care, they feel out of place in the kitchen and they even feel bad for not eating their vegetables. Better Butter is showing how this two-in-one, compound butter product takes all those bad feelings off the table.

Founder James Oliver and his team came to me to reposition this super clean, delicious, Ashwagandha-powered Mind+Body bar. The micro-compassion: Nutrition bars are famous for telling people to "Go for it, crush your goals, etc. But we all have many more "meh" than triumphant moments. So my favorite part of what we did is the Purpose: We exist to help people thrive through the ups and downs.

You have a new electrolyte beverage without all the junky sugar. You have two MASSIVE competitors who make the stuff with all the junky sugar. The micro-compassion: We proved we actually care about people over profits by asking: Do those big guys see you as an athlete? Or sales data?

You can buy candy anywhere, so what if we position this place as something more than a candy store? The micro-compassion: We showed people a different kind of place, where the people (Candyologists) give you a free sample of ANYTHING and serve up bits of kindness and optimism, because, well, "We're suckers for you."

Did you know there are 1,200 ingredients allowed in the US that are banned in just about every other country? Did you know any of those things could be in your CBD? The micro-compassion: We combine ancient plant medicine and an ancient idea called honesty to do better for your body.

They make a really good line of well-crafted bitters.The micro-compassion: There are a ton of rules when it comes to this new world of mixology. The Brand lets people off the hook by being a little cantankerous about all that. But it's okay; they're just being Bitterly Honest.

They wanted to organize all the non-profits who serve kids in Denver for greater efficiency. The micro-compassion: Non-profits work so hard, the last thing they need is someone coming in telling them they could do better. So we showed respect by saying, "Let's make the most of the care that's already there."

These guys wanted to create a quick-service restaurant based in regenerative agriculture. The micro-compassion: We all feel so guilty when we naturally put our needs first. We took on that problem by making doing a good thing easy with the tag line, "The Cheeseburger that saved the world."

Chris is all about Functional and Ancestral Health — and he thinks mainstream medicine is so full of problems because it's turned its back on ancient practices and treating root causes instead of symptoms. The micro-compassion: We let people in on the fact; not-so-great health isn't their fault (or even the healthcare system's fault). Then we introduced our new ancestral-health idea: "The future of health is history."

You make a natural deodorant that actually works — and you make a point of hiring people who need a second chance. The micro-compassion: We celebrated both those pretty good things and gave people a break from their natural worries, first thing every morning by saying: Life Doesn't Stink.

This nighttime Brand knew, tens of millions of people snack before bed — and feel awful about it. The micro-compassion: Guess what? We're hardwired to eat at night. It's biological and it's not our fault. It can still be unhealthy and wreak havoc with sleep, though. So since we can't stop the craving, we fixed the snack.

Denver, Co

I ran my Two Weeks to Truth workshop probably 100 times over ten years — and helped all those clients get to a deeper, way less expensive understanding of what to say, based on who they were as people. I also wrote a ton of copy, pitched our work in a million meetings and had a great time with a bunch of awesome folks.Some of my projects included:Zespri Kiwifruit — we won an Effie for that one!Macaroni GrillWhich WichPerfect Bar — the copy is still being used 12 years later!Lenny & Larry's — Baked Nutrition®Naked Juice — wrote "Nothing to hide" for them — as well as a bunch of other stuffAtkinsJenny CraigCurvesFace It Together — probably one of the best Brand Positioning projects I've ever done.HerbalifeEvian GoodbellyCorePower Yoga — Live your power®

Denver, Co

They're changing can't to can for kids with Autism up and down the Front range and soon on the Western Slope. And I/we are honored to help.

Naked Juice is a PepsiCo-owned company, and one of my clients. I've been working with Naked Juice since August, 2005, when I was asked to write packaging copy. That assignment grew to brand discussions, which led to the chance to bring in more people I know and apply our cumulative heads to the brand. We created the current look of the brand's communications and wrote the tag line, “Nothing to Hide.”The new team at Naked Juice is fantastic and we're looking forward to evolving and expanding the brand across the country.

I support national and local organizations through brand development, creative development for communications and writing services. My current clients include Naked Juice (a PepsiCo brand), Vail Resorts, Hunter Douglas, The City of Denver, The Spicy Pickle restaurants and many more.

Strategy and creative for Vail Resorts and lots of other great brands.

In cooperation with BrandJuice, I've been helping national companies, eg, Clorox, Sports Authority, Covidien, P&G, Dr Pepper/Snapple Group, etc. innovate and create - new brands, new products, new positioning strategies.

Wrote a bunch of web sites, including Noodles & Company, Gorilla Glue, Jack Link's Beef Jerky and more.

Creative, copy, strategy

I participated in tons of strategy/creative sessions for the major CPG companies.

Creative duties for many of the region's top client companies of the time, including The Denver Post, Public Service Company (now Excel), TCI (now Comcast), AT&T Broadband, Mile High United Way and many more.

Business, Technology

Activities and Societies: Powerlifting team, Commandant's List, Cadet-in-Charge of Hell Week (Squadron Level) After two years.

Communication, Advertising

Education record