Performance-Driven Marketing for Purpose-Driven Companies & Causes
TWIST is a brand and advertising agency that delivers highperformance marketing for purpose-led organizations— especially private schools, nonprofits, foundations, and forprofits with purpose. Our fixed-fee service packages identify and amplify the good at the heart of your mission—driving sales, donations, and student enrollment with no hidden costs.
““TWIST gave us the clarity and confidence to move Audimute into the consumer space. Their work reinvigorated our brand identity, simplified our product hierarchy, and made our story resonate with audiences far beyond musicians. The new website and social strategy opened doors to schools, offices, and homeowners who had never heard of us before. The tradeshow presence and sales tools they designed continue to deliver results, and introducing our refreshed collections has energized both our team and our customers. It’s no exaggeration to say TWIST positioned us for the next chapter of growth.”
”Mitch Zlotnik Founder & President Audimute
Years in Business
Average Client Size in Gross Revenue
$500M+
Average Client Relationships
7.5 Years
Brands Created 50+
MIKE OZAN Co-Founder + CEO, TWIST Creative
Meet Our Team.
MIKE OZAN, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Michael co-founded TWIST Creative with his wife Connie, uniting their skills in storytelling and design to challenge mediocrity. Fascinated since childhood by advertising’s power to shape perception, Michael has dedicated his career to empowering education and nonprofit leaders with strategic branding and compelling messaging that drives measurable results. Recognizing how often organizations waste precious marketing dollars on scattered tactics, Michael helped develop TWIST’s innovative model—transparent, performance-driven branding and marketing packages built specifically to deliver clarity, accountability, and meaningful outcomes.
Under Michael’s leadership, TWIST has helped private and faith-based schools grow enrollment, inspired donors through powerful storytelling, and tackled complex community challenges through impactful initiatives. Guided by TWIST’s mantra, “Amplify Good,” Michael ensures every project harnesses the persuasive power of branding for meaningful, lasting change. He leads with enthusiasm and strategic clarity, enabling clients to achieve ambitious goals, deepen community connections, and elevate their impact.
CONNIE
OZAN, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer
Connie combines timeless design principles with innovative thinking to deliver brands that stand the test of time. As Co-Founder and CCO of TWIST, she has led the creative vision behind more than 200 award-winning brand campaigns, spanning a wide array of education, nonprofit, and corporate clients. Her work has garnered recognition from local, regional, and national organizations and has been featured in prestigious international design annuals like AIGA 365. Mentoring a talented team of designers, Connie champions both creative exploration and meticulous execution, resulting in work that’s not just visually striking but strategically on point. Whether collaborating with clients or inspiring future designers as an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University, she approaches each project with empathy, insight, and uncompromising quality. Connie’s passion for design—and seeing clients succeed—continues to shape the agency’s creative heartbeat.
STEFANIE D’ANGELO, Vice President of Operations
As Vice President of Operations, Stefanie brings to TWIST nearly two decades of administrative experience with an international law firm where she collaborated with executive-level professionals and their clients. Stefanie’s responsibilities include client communication, project scheduling and management, internal organization, and vendor relations. During her time at TWIST, she has become crucial in maintaining client relations, introducing new systems to the organization, and streamlining account management that enables the internal team to efficiently and effectively meet our clients’ goals.
ANDREA BUSKIRK, Account Director
Andrea is a proven and passionate people leader. Her depth of knowledge encompasses client services, project management, and crisis management. She embraces collaboration and creativity, engaging stakeholders in new ways to build brands. As TWIST’s Account Director, Andrea develops trusted relationships and provides strategic and autonomous counsel to clients. Prior to joining TWIST, Andrea was an elementary school teacher in Las Vegas. Ask her about her inspiring journey home to Cleveland.
ADAM ZUCCARO, Director of Client Partnership
Adam Zuccaro is a seasoned marketing and communications leader with over two decades of experience driving strategic client partnerships and creative solutions. As Director of Client Partnership, he leverages deep expertise in advertising leadership, strategic thinking, and collaborative execution to connect client goals with impactful outcomes. Throughout his career, Adam has built and led cross-functional teams, transforming complex challenges into clear, compelling strategies that elevate brands and strengthen client relationships.
RACHEL ZAKE, Account Executive
Rachel Zake is an Account Executive known for her thoughtful client service, sharp organization, and collaborative approach to problem-solving. She helps guide projects from strategy through execution, ensuring teams stay aligned and clients feel supported at every step. With a background that blends communications, psychology, and creative storytelling, Rachel brings both structure and empathy to her work, building strong relationships and delivering solutions that move brands forward
RACHEL TEUSCHER, A ssociate Creative Director
Rachel Teuscher is both a designer, a planner, and an organizer. Her unique ability to understand the project, the deadline, and how to effectively and efficiently reach the goal has provided leadership throughout the agency. She has been with TWIST Creative for almost four years as a graphic designer and design manager. Rachel is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a B.A. in graphic design. She has previously worked at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and has studied art and photography at the University of Westminster in London, U.K.
THIAGO WIMBERLY, Associate Creative Director
A Fearless Thinker passionate about all things design, Thiago Wimberly brings his design expertise and energy to every project he touches. Thiago was born and raised in Brazil, is a New Yorker at heart and brings his love for people, art, and pop culture to the agency. He is a problem solver, collaborator and savvy when it comes to staying ahead of all design trends. Thiago prides himself on solving problems in unconventional ways, having fun along the way. He has been with TWIST Creative for almost four years. Thiago studied at Parsons School of Design and is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts, both located in NYC.
STORM
Responsive Manufacturing
“The Storm product was solid, our process was highly viable. TWIST brought a sophistication to our brand, clarity to the message, ease to the interface and organization to our sales cycle in a way that made our job easy.”
KIMBERLY KELLY, VP MARKETING
An American Brand Goes Global
When Storm wanted to expand, they chose TWIST to position them on a global stage. With over 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space in Eastern Tennessee, Storm was ready to evolve from their reputation as a job shop in copper to a full-service manufacturer in metals. Working with power grid technologies, Storm’s custom products can often be mission critical. TWIST crafted a brand grounded in reliability and positioned around a one-of-a-kind work ethic we termed “Responsive Manufacturing.”
Building Urgency for Sales of Stock Parts and Easier Throughput of Custom Leads
The teardown and rebuild of the Storm site was intended to live the new positioning of “Responsive Manufacturing.” Every bit of the user interface, in-site search, and catalog organization helped desktop and mobile, in-the-field users find and order parts efficiently. TWIST built in the “ship by” clock to push the order. To serve the OEM or custom design customer, TWIST created a collaborative model that allowed customization at all levels. We made a napkin sketch or iPhone photo as viable as a CAD file, and all are uploadable through the site’s custom OEM customer portal.
Scope of Services
• Brand Strategy
• Consumer Research
• Customer Personas
• Design
• Logo & Identity
• Naming
• Collateral
• Tagline Development
• UX Design
• Wed Design
Measurable Results
35% increase in off the shelf sales
20% increase in qualified leads for OEM contracts resulting in an additional 8 million in new revenue
Welty
Enrich Lives Through Great Buildings
“TWIST rebuilt our brand and implemented marketing campaigns and proposal systems that empowered our growth into new markets and untapped verticals.”
– DONZELL TAYLOR, PRESIDENT & CEO
Enrich Lives Through Great Buildings
Welty is a construction management firm that sought to expand its reach by increasing its contribution to the local community. TWIST worked with Welty as they faced the challenge of recruiting talent that met their best and brightest needs. Knowing the millenial recruits were coming out of college at the time, TWIST helped Welty build a unique program that financially rewarded team members and allowed them to individually direct charitable funds from Welty’s founders’ foundation. TWIST moved forward into a full brand strategy and communications plan to tell the story of a company that is smaller than its national and global competitors, but equally equipped with a more modern and collaborative customer experience combination and a work ethic that has the feel of an owner’s stake.
Build to Last by Never Being Afraid to Do What’s Right
In positioning the company, TWIST portrayed Welty as the most emotionally intelligent builder in America and told a story that was both ownable and defensible. Through marketing campaigns, TWIST projected that Welty defies the industry status quo by doing things the way it should be done, not the way it always has been done.
The Most Emotionally Intelligent Builder in America
Great buildings don’t happen by accident. They are a result of asking the tough questions, daring to do what’s right and actively co-creating solutions with clients. By continually pushing to align the construction process with a client’s original vision of success, Welty works to ensure each building is a reflection of a client’s values, needs and business goals.
Scope of Services
• Brand Strategy
• Tagline
• Brand Story & Key Messages
• Social Media Strategy & Development
• Logo & Identity
• Video Case Studies
• Sales Collateral
• Recruitment Campaigns
• Advertising Campaigns
• Proposal & Presentation Systems
• On Property Branding
• Main Identity Signage
• Web Strategy & Design
DIRECTION 2 EVOLUTION
logo transition
primary logo accessory mark
collateral
Measurable Results
100% increase in brand awareness
50% increase in RFP response acceptance
Overall increase in employee engagement and applications to Welty
Akron Children’s Hospital
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Northeast Ohio Medical University
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
Trinity Hospital Twin City
First Energy Corporation
Northwest Hardwoods
Lumber Brings Everything To Life
“TWIST built a sales and marketing model that worked both top down and bottom up activating both distributors, end customers and everyone in between.”
– JACOB SCHRINER, PRODUCT DIRECTOR
Keep Pioneering: Blending Innovation with History
Northwest Hardwoods, America’s largest hardwood lumber supplier, came to TWIST after making an acquisition that united a portfolio of East Coast species with their established dominance in trees grown in the West. The merger and expansion of product lines created the need to reposition the company’s brand. TWIST consulted on identity and built a suite of personas to inform brand strategy, all centered around an idea we coined “Keep Pioneering.”
Brand Strategy to Campaign Creative & PR
The TWIST team built an integrated marketing strategy and an advertising campaign intended to get distributors and OEMs to appreciate their quality and their logistics, while a separate campaign encouraged the design community to embrace particular species.
Influencing Design Trends Influences Demand
The TWIST public relations and digital strategy team identified and retained interior design influencers and placed editorials in trade publications to raise brand awareness and communicate brand eminence.
Scope of Services
• Brand Strategy
• Corporate Identity
• Key Message Development
• Campaign Creation
• Public Relations
• Trade Show Design
• Media Planning
• Branded Wearables
• Brand Video
• Big Box Product Pitch
• Campaign Photography
• Web Design and Development
• Collateral Materials
NATURAL BEAUTY.
Quality
Design
Measurable Results
Over 30 mentions / placements in 6 months
Over 100,000 unique users visiting the campaign site during the 5 month paid campaign
Advertising program increased web sessions by over 155%
Over 10,000 engagements on Pinterest and Facebook (shares, comments or repins)
Original Mattress Factory
Great Beds, No Bull.
“TWIST talked to our customers and helped us understand the difference between marketing features and selling benefits. Our brand now has the same differentiation but the expression of that differentiation is fresh and new to appeal to our next generation of customers.”
– THE ORIGINAL MATTRESS FACTORY MARKETING TEAM
Great Beds, No Bull.
TWIST identified the key benefit: Relief. Relief from deceptive practices. Relief from a confusing store experience. Relief from high prices and most of all, relief from all the stresses of the day. Today, Americans work harder for less. The pace of modern life is nearly at the threshold of our physical capacity. Yet, The Original Mattress Factory customer never gives up or lets down the people important to them. Our client understands that its customers work hard to earn the relief and rejuvenation only a great mattress can provide. That is The Original Mattress Factory’s why: to build an honest premium quality product that meets our customer’s budget and is sold in a way that matches their values.
A Fully Integrated Approach Delivers a Values Match.
To build a deeper relationship with new customers quickly, TWIST told the story of this outsider brand via a campaign website that tied to social content, digital display and television campaigns. The magic of The Original Mattress Factory brand is candor, transparency and advocacy.
The Original Mattress Factory validates customer’s suspicions and shares their frustration with the tactics employed by the mattress industry. The campaign leverages customer curiosity and provokes engagement by answering industry questions that other brands won’t. Thus, The Original Mattress Factory is positioned as the honest, values governed outsider in a crowded field of “mainstream” competitors.
Scope of Services
• Identity Update
• Brand Campaign Strategy & Concept
• TV, Radio & Digital Ads
• Campaign Landing Page
• Social Media Strategy & Social Execution
• Product Labeling
• Point of Sale
PRIMARY
SECONDARY
TV SPOT
SLIDE 1
SLIDE 2
SLIDE 3
ELMC
Move Forward with Confidence
Move Foward with Confidence
“We hired TWIST to build our brand from the ground up and they delivered from all angles. Clear strategy and systems that made it possible for us to pursue a rapid acquisition and growth strategy.”
RICHARD FLEDER, PRESIDENT AND CEO
To be the better stop loss insurance provider
Through a range of distribution channels, ELMC enables employers self-funding their benefit plans to take advantage of lower plan costs, greater cash flow and enhanced flexibility, while effectively managing their liability limits when faced with large medical claims.
Growth through acquisition
More than ever, the job of the broker, consultant, administrator, plan sponsor is to ensure that clients have the coverage they need to take advantage of the benefits of self funding. ELMC empowers its clients with customized stop loss products designed to work for their clients’ specific situations. ELMC helps clients establish and reinforce their role as guide, educator and provider — as a trusted advisor and a truly valuable resource.
ELMC’s “buy and build” growth strategy is predicated on the notion that it provides MGUs, generally entrepreneurial operators, the ability to maintain the essence of their companies, write more business and increase their margins.
Building systems to bring acquisitions into the marketing universe quickly
TWIST built brand identity programs and sales systems that allowed for acquisitions to embody both brand culture and product while serving brokers, agents and other sales reps with a suite of sales materials both digital and print. TWIST also produced all of the forms and literature needed to deliver an efficient and consistent end user experience.
Scope of Services
• Brand Strategy
• Brand Hierarchy
• Product Naming
• Acquired Brand Identities
• Sales Materials
• Social Platform Set-up and Management
• Website Strategy & Design
• Production Management
twistcreative.com
Audimute
Love Thy Neighbor.
Building off of the brand characteristics of being innovative, honest and committed, TWIST created a flexible identity, and developed various sales tactics including building a strategy for tradeshow attendance and promotion.
Love Thy Neighbor.
Founded by a drummer with the principle of “Love Thy Neighbor,” AUDIMUTE™ began with high sound absorption portable materials for musicians. AUDIMUTE™ continued to innovate their products, offering solutions made from 100% recycled materials and revolutionizing the way homeowners, interior designers, architects and sound engineers design their environments.
TWIST worked up from audiences connected to each product and rebuilt the brand to be ready for more of a consumer level presence. After writing the brand positioning and key messages, TWIST’s identity team updated the logo, colors and key patterns. With a visual language set, TWIST continued to build and execute a fully integrated marketing strategy to take the brand from nerdy to sexcommunications tools.
TWIST began with customer research, renewed the brand’s market position and built a fully integrated campaign designed to present the brand’s unique value to a new generation of customers.
Scope of Services
• Brand Strategy and Communiations Plan
• Identity Package
• Website Architecture and Design
• Product Hierarchy and Nomenclature
• Social Media Strategy and Execution
• Sales Material Design and Development
• Tradeshow Strategy
color palette
trade dress
White Dove™ Mattress — Measurable Results
#greenacoustics
Purell®
“Rather than having PURELL® tell their own product benefits, we utilized the extensive network of fans of the brand, those who use the products day in and day out and are responsible for customers, clients, patients and employees — key decision-makers.”
– MICHAEL OZAN, CEO TWIST CREATIVE
Prior to 2020, the majority of the marketing that PURELL® focused on was related to their B2B industries: health systems, educational institutions, grocery and convenience stores, acute care facilities and high-traffic spaces. Most marketing efforts were product focused, versus an overall brand campaign.
PURELL® partnered with TWIST to develop a B2B campaign with the overall campaign theme of “Peace of Mind,” to increase overall brand awareness and appreciation among their key decision makers in key industries and markets. The goal? Make hand soap and hand sanitizer emotional and remind decision makers that when they select PURELL® that they are selecting the best product in the market.
Using real key decision makers, TWIST developed a strategy that allowed each industry to have a real-life example of how PURELL® has kept employees, customers and patients safe. Using a documentary style approach, TWIST developed an integrated campaign for each of the industries, with an overall content marketing strategy that included: video, social media assets, web and blog content, as well as e-mail marketing specific to each industry.
In addition to the key decision maker campaign, TWIST developed social media assets to increase engagement on social channels, while also sharing statistics, product specific information and the history of the brand.
Scope of Services
• Brand Campaign
• Key Messaging Platform
• 8 KDM PURELL PEACE OF MIND™ Case Studies
• 40+ Social Media Assets
• COVID -19 Strategy & Campaign
There is a root bond that the PURELL ® brand
shares with customers.
We share a bond with our customers, like us, they have an instinct to protect others.
This is why the people behind the PURELL® brand will never forget the challenges, both personal and professional, experienced by those charged with the duty of making the unseen but critical decisions that impact the lives and well-being of so many people everyday. For this reason, the PURELL® Brand makes a proven promise of quality to our customers. This promise and the amazing track record of PURELL® products, instills a “Peace of Mind” that is of such significant value to our customers that it often outweighs any barriers to their selection of the PURELL® brand and its products.
During a global pandemic in 2020, PURELL® quickly moved from a company focused on b2b marketing and supply to one that needed to produce product as quickly as possible for consumers, healthcare workers and other essential frontline workers. During the 2020 holiday season, PURELL® partnered with TWIST to remind consumers that in all of the important life moments — no matter how different they may look — PURELL® is there to provide peace of mind and support.
TWIST concepted two spots — with an original goal of producing one spot — in less than three days. Within a few hours, the PURELL® team decided to execute on both spots and the TWIST team went to work. TWIST was able to produce, scout, prepare safety measures and shoot the two spots within three weeks with the first spot being released prior to Thanksgiving. The spots each ran across OTT channels, social media and owned media. Each spot highlighting the importance of family, friendship and safety during a unique situation.
“A Hero Comes Home”
“Community Table”
Peace of Mind™
Our customer is an unsung hero. She turns high stake problems to solutions — every day — often without celebration. She is smart, fast-moving and highly resourceful. She is more than a KDM. She is a Catalyst.
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Chris Kelling, Hudson City Schools
Jo Ann Dipierro, Aultman Hospital
Gabi Yanuzzi, G&M Oil
Jon Wolny, Northside Christian Church
Kathy Golovan, Medical Mutual
Kevin Coveny, Denny's Restaurants
Amy Moore, Veterinary Wellness Clinic
Dr. Stephen H. Parker, Orthodontic Practice
Hudson City Schools
Medical Mutual
Denny’s Restaurants
G&M Oil
Aultman Hospital
Northside Christian Church
SAVING LIVES - PRODUCT (HAND HYGIENE)
SAVING LIVES - PRODUCT (HAND HYGIENE)
PURELL®
Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
Stop the spread of germs in your office. Train your staff on proper hand hygiene. Learn the ten steps: bit.ly/purellpeaceofmind #PURELLPeaceofMind
Stop the spread of germs in your office. Train your staff on proper hand hygiene. Learn the ten steps: bit.ly/purellpeaceofmind
#PURELLPeaceofMind
(HAND HYGIENE)
(HAND HYGIENE)
Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
Stop the spread of germs in your office. Train your staff on proper hand hygiene. Learn the ten steps: bit.ly/purellpeaceofmind #PURELLPeaceofMind
Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
Stop the spread of germs in your
hand hygiene. Learn the ten steps: bit.ly/purellpeaceofmind #PURELLPeaceofMind
Stop the spread of germs in your office. Train your staff on proper hand hygiene. Learn the ten steps: bit.ly/purellpeaceofmind #PURELLPeaceofMind
PURELL®
PURELL®
PURELL®
EASE AND SIMPLICITY
EASE AND SIMPLICITY
Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
ce. Train your sta bit.ly/purellpeaceofmind Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
ce. Train your sta bit.ly/purellpeaceofmind Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
Thank Jo Ann, Director of Environmental Services at Autlman Hospital. She’s the reason that we moved the good-by-date to the front of your dispenser. Tell us what you’d like to see from our team next. bit.ly/purellpeaceofmind #PURELLPeaceofMind
Hospital. She’s the reason that we moved the good-by-date to the front of your dispenser. Tell us what you’d like to see from our team
Twist Creative Inc.
Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
Thank Jo Ann, Director of Environmental Services at Autlman Hospital. She’s the reason that we moved the good-by-date to the front of your dispenser. Tell us what you’d like to see from our team next. bit.ly/purellpeaceofmind #PURELLPeaceofMind
Hospital. She’s the reason that we moved the good-by-date to the front of your dispenser. Tell us what you’d like to see from our team
EASE AND SIMPLICITY - CREDENTIALS
Nov. 5 at 2:33pm
Our wi-fi connected dispensers can tell you when they need refillingkeeping your staff healthy and reducing absenteeism. bit.ly/ purellpeaceofmind #PURELLPeaceofMind
Hospital. She’s the reason that we moved the good-by-date to the front of your dispenser. Tell us what you’d like to see from our team
Hospital. She’s the reason that we moved the good-by-date to
The Strategy Presentation put together for Lutheran West by TWIST Creative was hands-down the best marketing presentation I have ever been presented with. The TWIST team’s combination of market research and analysis of our current position led to branding strategies that not only hit on who we are — they really got to the depth of who we want to be in the future and how we want the community to see us. As I read the words and ideas from TWIST, I felt like we were finally working with a company who truly understood our school. I have seen presentations from dozens of marketing firms over the years and none of them compare with the work that TWIST has done on our behalf.
Chris Steinmann Superintendent and CEO Cleveland Lutheran High School Association
