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Julie Mantis

Brand Strategist - Start Up

26Case studies

30+Clients served

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About

Julie is a veteran brand strategist, with a deep passion for providing clarity and focus for travel and tourism brands at any stage. Julie makes connections between brand and consumer that serve as inspiration to teams who bring the brand articulation to life. With nearly two decades of experience, Julie's portfolio spans a dozen industries and is a multifaceted brand solution provider. Julie leads and collaborates, providing solutions to all areas within the brand strategy territory - from brand definition to brand articulation, from campaign inspiration and oversight to global brand positioning and brand experience design. Julie has worked with many travel brands, but one of her favorites was for Florida's official tourism marketing corporation. The Must Be the Sunshine campaign for VISIT FLORIDA was born out of the insight that sunshine makes the most extraordinary things possible. Stories lived under that campaign umbrella for two years, resulting in a powerful, memorable, global media campaign.

Works acrossNL

How Julie helps

The roles Julie steps into. Select one to see how they work in it.

Role

Brand Strategist - Start Up

Julie is a veteran brand strategist, with a deep passion for providing clarity and focus for brands at any stage. Julie makes connections between brand and consumer, serving as inspiration to teams who bring the brand articulation to life. Julie's portfolio spans across a dozen industries, providing solutions to all areas within the brand strategy territory. Julie understands startups need to have clarity of product or service - and the founders and/ or sales team often have limited time to make an impact. Julie's approach to brand definition and identity is high impact and rapid, guiding the client audience on its value at every stage. Here's a sample of how Julie established a way to break through the noise on the crowded better-for-you shelves (in just 3 weeks): The better-for-you snack space is about to get a smack from a much more natural snack than its competitors. The opportunity to boldly burst into the market, and disrupt the shelves with a potent dose of truth and purpose, made for a very exciting ride. This objective and strategy created by Julie inspired the name and attitude for 'Super Natural' - the vegetable chip consisting of 100% Mother Earth Magic. Super Natural is making its way through investor rounds and we never stop hearing about how strongly the brand resonates and achieves recall long after it is introduced.

Selected work in this role

Brand Strategist at Embodied, Inc.
Provided messaging strategy guidance and brand clarity based on recent learnings post launch.
Brand Strategist at Jane
Brand positioning and definition strategy pre-app launch.

Focus areas

Brand StrategyStartup MarketingConsumer InsightsPositioning Tools

Selected clients

Case studies

Retail & eCommerce

Vera Bradley 3-year strategic plan

Vera Bradley, a renowned women's accessories brand, faced multiple challenges during a multi-year engagement. With a new CMO at the helm, the brand needed to develop a visionary strategy for financial success, customer acquisition, retention, and brand revitalization. Complicating matters was the abrupt departure of their digital marketing leader, and the brand's reliance on face mask sales in 2020-2021, which posed a challenge as mask demand waned in 2022.Chameleon Collective approached the situation by deeply understanding Vera Bradley's culture and needs. Working closely with the CMO, they led a large marketing team in crafting a 3-year strategic plan. This involved setting specific KPIs, aligning cross-functional teams, and creating an integrated marketing calendar. The focus extended to coaching the emerging digital leader, introducing best practices, and ensuring a consumer-centric marketing model.Chameleon Collective's Brand Director played a crucial role in clarifying roles and responsibilities, fostering inter-departmental communication, and guiding every team member through a transition. The strategy went beyond consultancy, providing insights for critical evaluation and introducing avant-garde vendors. The result was a robust process document, empowering the organization to operate independently.The recruitment team assisted Vera Bradley in transitioning to an internal agency model by identifying culturally attuned talent. The impact was significant, as Chameleon Collective's approach culminated in a comprehensive 3-year strategic plan, reversing online revenue decline, and empowering Vera Bradley to offer a richer, consumer-centric experience. The internally-promoted digital leader quickly advanced to a directorial position, leading to an extension of Chameleon Collective's engagement.The success was not only measured in financial terms but also in the brand's ability to provide a more consumer-centric experience. Chameleon Collective's work fortified Vera Bradley's growth trajectory, ensuring sustained customer engagement, brand resurgence, and overall success.

Writing

Experience

Partner | Digital Marketing | Brand Strategist | Marketing Operations at Chameleon Collective
Interim VP, Brand at Polaroid
Interim VP of Brand & Marketing Operations at Vera Bradley at Chameleon Collective
Interim Director of Digital Marketing at Bugaboo at Chameleon Collective
Interim Director of Marketing at Backyard Discovery at Chameleon Collective
Manager Marketing Strategy & Analysis at

Expertise

Agency ManagementOperational AnalysisBrand StrategyCampaign Performance AnalysisCustomer Experience ManagementLeadership DevelopmentOperational ExcellenceCustomer Journey MappingPositioning StrategyBrand Style GuidesTutorialsProcess Design+65 more