Simon

SIMON™ is an enterprise workflow technology that drives human performance in commercial lending. The technology enables banks to automate much of the human work of commercial lending while consistently delivering fully compliant, error-free loans that exceed customer expectations. CZ assisted the founder of SIMON™ in creating the new brand, developing its early messaging, collateral, white paper, and web site.

Rev360

This ranks as our most fun client ever. We started with Rev360 when it was RevolutionEHR only, a cloud-based EHR for the optometric industry. We assisted the senior team in positioning the RevolutionEHR brand and setting up its digital lead generation system. We repositioned the brand again after it was sold to investors from Silicon Valley.

Rev360

Myths & Mortals

We're all about helping entrepreneurs build their thought leadership platforms. As part of our Content Studio, we drafted the proposal for Myths & Mortals that helped the author secure a book contract with Wiley. We then reviewed the research for the project and ghostwrote the book. It was reviewed in the Financial Times (UK) and was a Time Magazine Book of the Week. The author landed a board position with a major brand as a result.

The Morton Arboretum

Some entrepreneurs live within larger organizations. We assisted an entrepreneur within this storied institution in revamping its membership strategy. We conducted several perceptual research projects and assisted with a behavioral study that resulted in the development of a data warehouse with an outside partner. Our final project was helping the team identify a marketing automation partner to implement a data-centered approach to their membership and fundraising.

The Morton Arboretum

Megillicutti

Part of the reason CZ is passionate about helping entrepreneurs figure out their next move is because we are entrepreneurs, too. Melissa Parks, the managing director of content and social, built an Instagram following from nothing to 13k to help support her side gig selling vintage at Chicago-area markets. As a result of her social presence, Melissa has had her home photographed for two national shelter magazines, styled two magazine home photoshoots, published an article in a national magazine, and landed a speaking gig at a national antique market.

Unweighted Nation

Another project of our Content Studio was a book with two Chicago entrepreneurs in the health care space. Unweighted Nation: Addressing the Obesity Crisis through Cultural Change set forth a new paradigm for weight loss. We consulted with the authors on the initial concept, designed the thesis and structure, and then ghostwrote the book. Published by Health Learning, the book was featured on podcasts and in the Huffington Post.

Unweighted Nation

twelve84

There’s an ancient Latin term, ex nihilo, which means “out of nothing.” twelve84 is an eyewear brand that CZ, in partnership with Rev360, literally created “out of nothing”. The name comes from the era in the high middle ages (1284) when eyewear was invented. Today, the twelve84 brand is an exclusive line of eyewear for RevolutionEHR optometric practices only. The brand is also an ordering service that delivers efficiency through Rev360’s technology platform.

Amplify ETFs

This is another story about our mission to help entrepreneurs make their next move. We assisted this founder in designing Amplify’s initial messaging strategy, web and social presence, and marketing automation system, as well as managing the production for its product collateral. Today the firm is a leader in innovative ETFs (exchange traded funds), including online retail (IBUY) and crypto-currency (BLOK).

Amplify ETFs

2 Guys and a River

This is not really a client story but a CZ founder story. Dave is a fly fishing nut, and he and a friend launched a podcast in 2015 called “2 Guys and a River.” Think “Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers” – only for fly fishing. Dave and Steve produce a light-hearted, weekly podcast with the single mission to help fly fishers catch more fish and find greater enjoyment while on the river. With more than 120,000 downloads and 5,000 subscribers, the podcast continues to thrive. They’ve also written a book called The Fly Fisher’s Book of Lists: Life is short. Catch more fish.

Golden Gate School of Law

So much of research is based on perception. There’s a time and a place for perceptual research, of course. But behavioral analysis (the study of what customers or students actually do) often can yield better insights. We looked at five years of enrollment data for this law school and identified four predictors of enrollment. The surprise was the yawning gap between how the school spent its marketing budget and where their students actually lived.