Simplyfr product launch
Context
Milliken & Company launched a new product called SimplyFR which was a fiberglass-free FR knit mattress sock.
DELIVERABLES
Sales and data sheets
Sample headers
Website page and social media graphics
Customer presentation deck
Industry publication print ads
Tradeshow activation
Video
Goals & Objectives
Create the new product launch strategy
Establish the value proposition of SimplyFR in comparison to competitive products
challenges
No established brand aesthetic
Very minimal creative assets already established
Limited budget and no agency support
tools
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe InDesign
HubSpot
Highspot
PowerPoint
Learnings
There was not a clear roadmap for future product development, so a year later, we re-framed SimplyFR to be a product family, rather than just a product. In the future, I would challenge the sales and development team to better communicate the end goal.
SimplyFR was named before I joined the nonwovens team. However, with an outside marketing agency, we were able to create the naming for the sub-products in the SimplyFR product family. Additionally, I designed technical sales sheets and headers for our nonwoven and knit mattress sock samples.
BedTimes magazine print media ads
I designed and created a HubSpot landing page for SimplyFR that highlighted features and benefits, showcased the video that we had made, and had our gated sales sheet.
Behind the Scenes of the SimplyFR video with Heather Pretorius and Will Ringo. I was very proud to watch them step out of their comfort zone to share our SimplyFR story.
I love a good PowerPoint presentation and this one was one of my favorites. The business historically did not have much marketing support so this was a key project to help them tell our Milliken and Bedding story to customers.
Socks for your mattress. Why not have socks for your feet too? While these promotional gifts were not made with Milliken textiles, they were a fun project to show appreciation to key customers. The photos shown represent the 2023 version. The TikTok video highlights the 2022 version (created before we had a strong design aesthetic).
The Bedding team rocking their SimplyFR socks! Make sure to scan the QR code from the previous image to see the TikTok I created showing the design process.
The International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) 2022 tradeshow in Orlando, Florida where we debuted SimplyFR, alongside other bedding capabilities, the Chemical Division, and Encapsys. I also designed the tradeshow booth artwork.
These were conceptual projects that never saw the light of day. The binder would act as a sales toolkit and house our mattress sock samples, the box would have shipped small samples to customers, and the belly band would wrap around the large mattress sock samples.
Original mood board. This style and color palette did not resonate with the business, but we started with this as inspiration and it morphed into what the current branding became. You can still see some of the influence of this mood board in the new assets.
annual fundraising campaign
Context
Each year, Milliken launches an annual fundraising campaign to support our nonprofit partner, the United Way of the Piedmont. I volunteered in 2022 to represent the textile division and had the opportunity to work cross divisionally with others to plan and execute on our annual goal. As a communications committee member, I helped develop strategies to raise awareness about the campaign, created graphics that captured our goals and progress, and designed emails and social media posts that encouraged employees to donate. It was a rewarding experience to be a part of this effort and make a positive impact on our community.
DELIVERABLES
Social media graphics
Internal emails
Physical flyers
tools
Because I wanted to create graphics that other campaign members could access or modify without design software, I created all of the graphics in Microsoft PowerPoint.
Learnings
Very little people utilized the print signage so the focus should be on digital updates.
At the end of the campaign, there was some debate as to what metric was used to determine the winning division. In the future, I’d establish those parameters at the start to make it clear what the competition expectations and regulations are.
Despite planning early, the actual execution took more bandwidth than anticipated. Because of that, I ended up not editing some of the videos that I captured or creating the number/quality of deliverables that I would ideally like to produce. But at the same time, I recognize that this campaign is run by volunteer efforts and other business needs took higher priority.
Because the campaign is in October, the weather was very chilly and the Kona ice party was not the most appropriate award.
Promotional flyers distributed throughout the headquarters and at participating manufacturing plants.
Flyers that capture and share the results of the campaign.
Yammer graphics created in PowerPoint to allow others the flexibility to edit for future campaigns.
Business cards printed and placed on every Textile Division associates' desk.
Television graphics to promote and update on campaign progress.
Email campaigns for the Textile Division to enhance the Corporate messaging. Graphics also created for the Corporate emails.
Email signature for internal communications.
The results
I'm thrilled to share the incredible success of the United Way of the Piedmont campaign last year. Although the total participation rate remained the same as the previous year, the textile division achieved an impressive 41% of associates engaging with the campaign, showcasing the dedication and teamwork of our employees. Our marketing efforts played a critical role in establishing a strong foundation for future campaigns, leveraging various channels to effectively communicate our message and inspire engagement. Moving forward, we are confident that our efforts will continue to drive greater participation and make a positive impact in our community.