Whitney McMahan
Creative Direction & Brand Strategy

Building brands that people remember, and campaigns that move the numbers.

Senior Brand Manager with 10+ years leading brand strategy, creative development, and agency partnerships across entertainment, retail, and digital media. I sit at the center of the brand — setting positioning, directing creative as the final decision-maker, and turning strategy into shipped campaigns.

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Where I add value

Creative Direction/Brand Building/Agency Management/Briefing/Strategy/Commercial Production

01

Brand Work

Two full brand refreshes, from strategy through the finished system — Michaels and Sky Zone.

Refreshed Michaels brand mark with 'Everything to create anything' tagline
Michaels

The problem: a 50-year-old legacy brand losing relevance with an audience that used to love it. The solution: a refreshed identity that repositions Michaels as a creative partner — there to support makers in whatever they want to create.

Read the CMO's LinkedIn post Read the Retail Dive coverage
From the in-progress brand book — 116 pages of strategy, logo, color, type, and photography direction
Brand book type guide page showing headline, subhead, and body type specs
Typography system
Brand book page showing the primary color palette with hex and Pantone values
Color palette
Brand book page showing a grid of macro texture photography
Macro texture library
Closing brand book page with buttons spelling out Michaels
Closing spread
Before Original Sky Zone logo
After Refreshed Sky Zone logo, white lockup
Sky Zone

The problem: as the originator of indoor trampoline parks, Sky Zone set the path for others to follow and no longer stood out in a sea of sameness — a brand that couldn't be differentiated from competitors, a dark, outdated interior, and no relevance with a modern parent. The solution: a bold, bright visual identity built to stand out and not take itself too seriously, putting the focus back on play and kids.

Read the Chain Store Age coverage View the Matchstic case study
New in-park signage and environment from the brand refresh
Sky Zone park interior featuring the refreshed orange and blue brand identity
Sky Zone in-park poster: Kids are why nature invented trampolines
Sky Zone in-park poster grid of kids playing
Sky Zone in-park poster: Exercise their independence
02

Campaigns & Impact

Four campaigns, my input on each, and the business results they drove.

Campaign 01

Birthday Like a Boss

Supported product positioning, campaign messaging, and franchise rollout for Sky Zone's Gen Alpha-first birthday platform — a kid-performed music video sent to parents and kids as two different messages cut from the same footage, with no discount or offer driving it.

91%parties added boss package
+12ptshost satisfaction
Read the Inc. coverage
Michaels 2022 Holiday Lookbook, Mistletoe collection mantel styling
Campaign 02

2022 Holiday Program

Directed creative strategy for Michaels' Q4 holiday program — distinct décor collections (Mistletoe, Holiday Romance, Christmas Cottage, North Pole Journey and more), each briefed out with its own color story, styling direction, and maker content, then carried through photography, video, and in-store signage.

4.8M+media impressions
+26%conversion lift
View full lookbook (PDF)
Sky Zone Red, White & Bounce July 4th promotion graphic
Campaign 03

Red, White & Bounce (July 4th)

Supported promotional strategy and execution for Sky Zone's July 4th ticket promotion — offer positioning through paid and in-park activation. A single-day activation built to drive traffic on a historically slow day.

+31%revenue YoY
+78%tickets sold YoY
Campaign 04

LEMAX Spooky Town Partnership

Briefed and directed a co-branded content campaign with LEMAX's Spooky Town line, built to reach a new Halloween-collector audience through paid social and on-site content.

03

Commercial Production

Behind-the-scenes from set, alongside the final assets they became.

From director briefings and music selection to talent casting and on-set guidance, I lead commercial production start to finish — 25+ shoots and counting across brands including Michaels and Sky Zone.

Behind the scenes: Michaels Halloween House commercial set dressing
Behind the scenes: monitor playback of a young talent on set Behind the scenes: talent and crew lineup outside a Sky Zone park Behind the scenes: director briefing crew and clients in-store
Behind the scenes: crew filming a family at a birthday table
Behind the scenes: production crew and talent group photo on a Sky Zone set Final asset: a boy jumping through an inflatable Sky Zone tunnel obstacle Final asset: kids racing down the Sky Zone slides

A working set of behind-the-scenes moments and final assets from shoots for Michaels and Sky Zone.