optoro
Redefining and elevating brand by introducing design excellence and creative leadership
Creative Director & Brand Designer
Optoro is a returns technology company that is on a mission to make every return simple and efficient through great technology by connecting every part of the returns journey — from shopper to retailer, warehouse to restock. Optoro’s software uses data science, machine learning, and business rules to connect every item with its most profitable destination.
In addition to refreshing Optoro’s brand identity, leading 3 product repositionings (and their website redesigns), and partnering with marketing to create beautiful and educational content, campaigns, and event activations, I’ve been able to show the value of brand beyond marketing by:
Building brand stewardship by making content creation fast and easy
Designing a new product onboarding email series that reduced the time from user sign-up to purchase by over 50%.
Creating a brand identity to solve customer journey issues for a new product that was having a negative financial impact
In the 6+ years that I’ve led brand design at Optoro, I’ve transformed the company’s understanding of what brand is, why it matters (beyond simply looking great), and how to use it effectively.
brand identity refresh
Optoro started as a reverse logistics company focused on retail operations, warehousing, processing, and transportation.
By 2019 the company had evolved into an enterprise returns software company and needed a brand identity to shepherd this repositioning to the market. Additionally, there was a crippling lack of brand storytelling and visual consistency across external materials — especially sales decks.
That’s where I came in. My challenge was to:
Reimagine the brand to feel fresh, modern, and dynamic without changing the core identity — logo, font, and primary color palette.
Enable scalable, brand-forward content production for non-designers.
logo (original)
typography
before
after
color palette
before
after
photography
icons & graphics
image treatments
Want the full brand refresh story?
website
As the Dalai Lama once said (probably), “A company’s website is the only salesperson working 24 hours a day,” which makes it critical that a website’s messaging, visuals, and experience reflect its offering and brand.
Optoro’s product offering changed in early 2020, and I led a lightweight refresh of the website to support the go-to-market for the new product partnership. However, in 2022, Optoro was facing a new set of challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The massive ecomm boom during COVID resulted in a proportionally massive returns boom, which ultimately resulted in a growing number of new competitors in the market. It became clear that to continue to grow, Optoro needed to differentiate itself from this (new) pack.
So in early 2024, Optoro repositioned itself as a Returns Management System — a modular, comprehensive returns offering for enterprise retailers and third-party logistics providers (3PLs). And, as with many directional changes, a makeover is needed.
the “glow up” from liquidator to software company
2024 redesign
Want the full website redesign story?
content, campaigns, & events
Three core functions of any B2B marketing team include 1. brand awareness, 2. lead generation (and nurture), and 3. sales enablement. At Optoro, I collaborate with each of these teams to brainstorm, plan, and design the content, campaigns, and event experiences that power each of these functions.
One of the challenges I’ve taken on in my time working with these teams is changing the external perception of the Optoro brand from liquidator to software company — something that cannot be done through a visual identity change alone.
Amidst growing competition, I’ve been able to use my expertise in brand and content marketing to help pivot the team from a field marketing-first to a digital-first strategy. This shift has delivered consistent and scalable results, thanks to collaboration with the incredibly talented marketers I’ve worked with over the years.
Want to chat about sales enablement? My work samples are confidential, but I’d love to show you the work. Please contact me for a private link.
content
title
the returns dilemma
type
white paper
type
report
title
the state of returns 2024
type
infographic
title
returns unwrapped
campaigns
title
loop vs optoro takeout
components
linkedin ads, landing page, custom video (scripted and filmed)
context
returnly, an optoro competitor, announced they were closing so we went head to head with another competitor, loop, to win their clients.
title
returns management system (rms) rfp template
components
rfp template (excel), email, landing page, linkedIn ads, twitter ads
context
my team developed an rfp template for retailers to use to assess potential returns solutions. this was released as a high-intent lead magnet.
events
title
nrf big show & shoptalk
context
the national retail federation’s (nrf) big show and shoptalk happen every january and march, respectively. both attract the largest retailers and vendors around the world — which means it’s critical for optoro to stand out among the noise.
components
booth (design & slides)
I designed the back side of the booth to function as a step-and-repeat, attracting passers-by with the “instagrammable” design and bold message with the goal of increasing brand awareness for optoro and increasing sales conversations at the shows.