Cameron Phillips

The reinvention experience

Cameron and his team were entrusted with the task of "reinventing" a standard hotel ballroom, transforming it from the mundane and basic into an exciting and immersive escape. Drawing inspiration from the concept of a "magical garden," they introduced an abundance of live florals, intricate lighting designs, and gold and silver accents to create a dreamscape that exuded tranquility and creative invigoration.

Notably, this room transformation was undertaken for an intimate retreat where guests were encouraged to question the possibilities in their own lives.

The design aimed to overwhelm guests with a completely different vision of what a ballroom could be. This experience also engaged the auditory senses with live water features in the room, creating the gentle trickle and bubbling sounds of running water.

Ambient music tracks softly played in the background during guest entry and exit, further enhancing the complete 360-degree immersion for attendees as they entered the space.

Life Coach Live

Cameron and his team dedicated four months to designing a comprehensive, three-day stage show for an event with the goal of selling one-third of the room a high-ticket offer. This event aligned with the company's flagship branding, however demanded an elevated approach and style. Notably, from the outset, an LED wall was introduced to the stage production, enabling the incorporation of custom graphics, artwork, and speaker cards into the overall event's ambiance.

Each day was centered around a distinct theme: blue, silver, and gold, which were consistently reflected across all branding elements, creating a seamless visual journey for guests leading them towards the gold-themed finale. Event lighting design was also harmonized with the various color themes to complement the stylistic choices for each day.

Apart from event signage, billboards, event florals, and catering, a separate VIP lounge with a luxurious and clean Mediterranean aesthetic was established in an adjacent ballroom. In addition to overseeing all design and creative elements, Cameron managed all on-site creative partners, including video and photo services, the event management company, production elements for in-person and virtual attendees, as well as all sales staff and marketing efforts. The entire event was extensively recorded and produced using a multi-camera HD setup, subsequently edited to create a digital replay experience for online users.

Work Hard, Play Hard

Given complete creative freedom, Cameron aimed to create an event that captured the vibrancy and playfulness of Miami. Tasked with organizing two days of classroom sessions and two featured parties, this event was no small feat.

For the stage component, vibrant oranges and pinks were introduced, establishing a distinct sub-brand for this event that deviated significantly from the parent brand's classical blue and white. Motion graphics featuring palm trees gently swaying in the breeze were used to bring the LED wall to life and draw visual focus to the center of the room. Similar to Life Coach Live, each day had a predominant theme - either pink or orange - which was reflected in name badges, wayfinding signage, and used to distinguish different attendees in separate groups for planning purposes.

Two featured parties were organized, with the first being a beach party on the sands of Miami Beach, accommodating over 400 people. This event marked the first time a group had been granted a permit by the Fountainbleau and the City of Miami for a beach party. Palm elements were incorporated, complemented by uplighting that mirrored the event branding used in the classroom component. Additionally, a yacht party for 400 people was coordinated, transforming a conventional dinner cruise boat into a lively Miami scene. Guests were encouraged to wear white, and the event's branding colors were incorporated to add excitement and vibrancy to the vessel.

This event was fully recorded and produced using a multi-camera HD setup and later edited to create a digital replay experience for online users.

The life coach school | Signature brand

As Creative Director, Cameron led the refinement and monitored compliance with brand standards across all company assets, including print, digital, and events. During his tenure at The Life Coach School, the challenge was to adapt to new and unique branding requirements arising from the evolving business and changing market while still maintaining the brand image that the audience had come to know and trust.

The most impactful work was focused on preserving brand integrity while making subtle modernizations to enhance functionality within the brand standards for various marketing applications. This also involved creating sub-brands that allowed for offshoot products aligned with the overall company image. The majority of revenue was generated from digital marketing funnels and ads, which required adjustments to the existing brand standards to facilitate maximum creative testing and effectiveness.

Cameron's team used data intelligence to pinpoint the specific colors and patterns that performed well, and they thoughtfully evolved the brand standards to incorporate these tasteful elements that proved to have a significant impact on campaign performance.

Booking.com | Book the usa

Producing standalone content for a well-established brand can be a challenge. However, when there is a deep understanding of the campaign's target demographic, creativity can flourish in a way that respects the legacy brand while infusing new life into the content.

Cameron secured the role of Chief Booking Officer for a 4-month contract project titled "Book the USA" after competing with over 10,000 applicants.

The project involved various media engagements and creative media production at unique locations across the United States. At its culmination, Cameron delivered targeted media that garnered over 100,000 digital video views and more than 1,000,000 impressions.

It's important to note the extensive coordination between local and global PR agencies, production companies, and media outlets in order bring this campaign to life, where Cameron managed content planning, production, and distribution to expand earned media reach.

Sunny Smith | Empowering Women Physicians retreat Brand Identity

A collection of ideas was synthesized into a three-day retreat featuring a guest appearance by Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of "Eat, Pray, Love." Sunny Smith leads a multi-million dollar coaching cohort for women physicians and has been featured by Forbes as one of the 500 fastest-growing women-founded companies. Cameron took Sunny's ambitions to lead a creative campaign and develop an in-person retreat, refining and elevating the company's brand standards and bringing them to life on a grand stage.

In addition to producing a live event, the true creative work of this campaign involved synthesizing a brand vision and creating refinement where it was lacking. Gradient tones of blue were used to evoke calm and peace, along with a bold typeface and ample spacing to reflect the environment created by this powerful group of women. Florals were used to create patterns and textures incorporated into the brand, which translated perfectly to live events with elements like white roses and hydrangeas. This comprehensive brand refinement was applied to web, social media, and sales pages to align with the offerings at the event.

Leadership

Having direct reports and leading a team are two very different roles. When Cameron started his tenure as Creative Director at The Life Coach School, there was no established team. Instead, there was a group of contractors lacking unity and direction. His responsibility was to build a brand new, full-time team and guide them to produce results with a high degree of excellence, precision, and speed. At this company, which functioned more like an agency than an in-house creative department, there was no rulebook for the creative team.

Over a span of six months, Cameron hired over 20 creative staff members, ranging from senior motion graphic and video editors to advanced marketing copywriters and graphic designers. He also developed a project manager tier within the organization, a role that didn't previously exist but was crucial for the level of execution required. Throughout periods of difficulty, stress, and tight deadlines, he remained the guiding force for the team, prioritizing their collective needs over individualism, ensuring that they could rise and succeed together.

Cameron's leadership style is firmly rooted in structured collaboration, where the voices of creatives from different disciplines help create outstanding work, while simultaneously fostering and maintaining respect and authority in the department. When individuals have the freedom to perform, collaborate, and create without being micromanaged or constrained, creative professionals can truly thrive and produce their best work.

Development

In the context of the organization where Cameron served as the Creative and then Marketing Director, there was significant internal employee movement between departments and upward mobility. It became evident, as Cameron advanced through leadership positions, that the organization lacked development plans and programs for both existing staff and new hires.

Upon assuming the role of Marketing Director, Cameron was responsible for overseeing a team of four director-level employees within the broader marketing department. The organization had not previously featured a CMO-level role like the one Cameron was fulfilling. In an effort to foster team cohesion and individual success, Cameron initiated the creation of custom development plans for all employees, including directors. These plans aimed to align individual aspirations and business requirements, ensuring employees' success within the organization and their future careers. Cameron strongly believes in the power of aligning talent with roles, emphasizing the importance of developing employees or their roles to maximize their potential within the organization.

Furthermore, Cameron actively pursued his own professional development, a commitment he continues to uphold. In both of his leadership roles at The Life Coach School, he held the 10-year vision of the company and his own career in high regard. The question of how to progress toward the 10-year vision consistently informed his leadership decisions.

Performance

Action is only as good as the results it produces. In a high-stakes marketing role, this principle couldn't be more true. Data doesn't lie, assuming it's tracked and interpreted properly. In digital marketing, everything boils down to performance. It encompasses the performance of campaigns, creative elements, and the team responsible for producing it.

As a leader, Cameron firmly believes in the importance of tracking performance to ensure that goals are not only met but exceeded. This philosophy extends to employees as well. In the creation of development plans, he establishes clear performance goals for each staff member to eliminate any ambiguity regarding performance expectations. This fosters mutual understanding between the leader and the direct report and instills accountability, assuring that the company's marketing efforts are handled efficiently by each team member.

Cameron's approach to Creative Direction is also rooted in performance and innovation. While creative for direct response marketing is inherently performance-oriented, creative for innovation, events, and branding can have entirely different criteria. In these cases, the focus shifts to the end goals of the campaign, the client's objectives, and the desired impact on the audience. Fortunately, Cameron enjoys both measured performance marketing campaigns and experiential creative that prioritizes the audience's experience.