Reebok

Shaping brand strategy and expression across identity, narrative, and product with a high bar for taste and coherence.

When this work began, Reebok’s brand was fragmented and constrained by outdated perceptions. It leaned heavily toward a narrow, hyper-masculine and HIIT-focused identity, oscillating between nostalgia and performance without a clear, contemporary point of view. While strong research existed to indicate where the market wanted to go, there was no cohesive creative or brand vision to bridge that insight into a compelling future—and no team structured to carry that vision forward.

The work unfolded amid significant internal complexity. Reebok was in the process of being acquired by Adidas, and the organization was navigating political tension, uncertainty, and shifting power dynamics. I was initially brought in with the expectation that the work itself would build credibility and alignment. Later, we were asked to formally compete against multiple agencies to win a multi-million-dollar, end-to-end brand and product engagement—an account we ultimately secured after more than a year of embedded collaboration.

My responsibility was to define and hold the creative vision: setting the strategic direction, establishing a high bar for taste, and aligning brand, product, and narrative into a coherent whole. I built and led the frog team alongside Reebok partners, working closely with researchers and strategists to translate insight into a living brand system. We immersed ourselves deeply in Reebok’s archives, history, and culture—often developing a more intimate understanding of the brand’s roots and unrealized potential than existed internally. I was fully embedded, traveling weekly between New York and Boston, and integrating directly into the organization’s day-to-day work.

The outcome of the engagement was a renewed sense of clarity and direction. Reebok emerged with a more expansive, future-oriented brand vision—one that honored its heritage without being trapped by it. Internally, the work helped align stakeholders around a shared creative direction at a moment of organizational transition. Externally, it signaled a more confident, culturally relevant posture for the brand. The final vision was presented through an immersive VR experience—an unconventional approach at the time, and one that reflected both the ambition of the work and the future-facing direction we were setting.