Brands We've Worked With
Working exclusively with direct-to-consumer brands, we blend deep customer analytics with elite creative thinking to build direct marketing strategies that actually pay for themselves.
We don't just advise — we do. From brand positioning and customer data strategy to creative direction and press management, every engagement is hands-on with senior-level strategists, designers, and production staff.
We start with deep research into your customers — who they are, what they buy, when and why — and then we create a direct marketing strategy built on that foundation. We look at every channel: email, social, SMS, catalogs, postcards, mini lookbooks. If it can get a response, we're studying it, testing it, and maximizing it.
From art direction and copywriting to photography, prepress, and vendor management — we guide the full creative and production process. With close relationships across photographers, writers, printers, paper distributors, and prepress vendors, we save clients time and money without sacrificing quality.
How do you turn single buyers into multi-buyers? Minnows into whales? We dig into your database — purchase history, frequency, recency, spend — and build segmentation strategies that reward your best buyers and reactivate the ones who've gone quiet. The real money is in the list you already have.
We evaluate your team, meet with each person, and rebuild workflows so everyone is doing exactly what they do best. The result: faster production cycles, fewer costly mistakes, and a team that's energized rather than overwhelmed — all without adding headcount.
Let’s face it. Direct marketing isn’t what it used to be. Paper is expensive. Postage is through the roof. Response rates aren’t what they once were.
Does that mean catalogs are dead? Not a chance. They still work — but only if you’re smart about how you use them.
We don’t walk into every client relationship saying “you need a catalog.” That would be lazy. Instead, we look at every weapon in the arsenal — postcards, email, social, video, mini lookbooks, shared mailers. If it can get a response, we’re studying it.
And when we sit down with a client, the first thing we do is tear into the numbers. What’s working… and what’s bleeding you dry.
We tear into your numbers — who you're mailing, how often, at what cost, with what results. If you're bleeding money anywhere, we find it in week one.
We develop a direct marketing roadmap tailored to your brand — channels, cadence, creative direction, vendor recommendations, and a budget that ties to outcomes.
We don't hand off a deck and disappear. We stay hands-on through creative production, press checks, and campaign deployment — protecting quality at every step.
Post-campaign analytics, attribution, and honest performance reviews. We tell you what worked, what didn't, and exactly what to do differently next time.
Relying solely on your printer for quality control is a risk. As your independent advocate on press, The Press Whisperer represents your brand — not the printer. We ensure your catalog meets the highest standards for color, consistency, and execution. Our loyalty is to you, and the results speak for themselves.
We stand at press so you don't have to — or can't. Your independent advocate ensuring color accuracy, consistency, and execution on every print run. We protect your brand standards from the first sheet to the last.
In today's volatile paper market, there may be more cost-effective or higher-performing options worth exploring. We manage the entire process — spec development, research, recommendations, sample testing, and competitive pricing from trusted distributors.
Thinking of switching printers, or want to know if you're getting the best deal? We benchmark your pricing, manage the full RFP process, and deliver objective recommendations — ensuring you get the best value, quality, and service from your print partner.
I didn’t take the usual path to running a direct marketing agency. I grew up bouncing between the San Francisco Bay Area, Zurich, and Brussels — and maybe that’s why I’ve always been curious about different cultures and how people across the globe think, what they buy, and why.
After studying graphic design at California College of the Arts, I cut my teeth at Pentagram in San Francisco — where I realized something that would shape my entire career: great creative is worthless if it doesn’t move the needle.
“Great creative is worthless if it doesn’t move the needle — that’s when I realized the power of blending design with data, art with results.”
By 1991, I launched my own agency. Along the way, I co-founded Catalog Spree — the app that brought 350+ digital catalogs to tablets and mobile phones, years before mobile-first was a thing. I’ve also served as Director of Creative at Gump’s and led creative teams at SysIQ and CohereOne.
Since 2018, I’ve focused exclusively on DTC and B2B brands — helping them grow with smarter strategies, stronger creative, and direct marketing that actually pays for itself.
These days I call Asheville, North Carolina home. Living here in the mountains, the natural beauty, the creativity, the food and music scenes, and the temperate climate all combine to remind me how important a balanced life is — and how much better the work gets when you’re living one.
Our wheelhouse is DTC and B2B brands doing $5M to $50M+ a year. That's where we can move the needle in a significant way. (If you're under $5M but hungry and ready to scale — reach out. We've made exceptions.)
We are not an order-taker agency. We think, we strategize, we tell you the truth even when it stings — then we hand you a plan that multiplies the value of every dollar you put into marketing.
Our engagements typically start with a one-year commitment. In twelve months we'll transform your marketing — or you'll never want to work with another advisor again.
Each year we take on only three to four clients for full creative work — catalogs, direct mail concepts, design, art direction. When those slots are gone, they don't reopen until the following year.
Check Availability →