Ethan Goller

Chief Heavy Lifter

Ethan was literally born into the Graphic Arts having come from three generations of lithographers. He has held executive positions in two ad agencies, opened a NYC sales office for a big-time printer, and launched a successful new printing company in New Jersey for a multi-national prepress company. Ethan is president of our parent company, Structural Graphics. When he isn’t doing heavy lifting at TLF, he’s lifting hoses and ladders as a volunteer firefighter with Essex Fire Engine Company No.1. He holds national certifications in firefighting and is a Connecticut State certified EMT.

My family, my job, my volunteer service, and technology

New York City, Northern Israel

Everything Apple – they just plain “get it”!

Kevin Gilligan

Heavy Lifter/Sales and Marketing

Kevin has over 24 years of experience in direct marketing, most working with insurance and financial service customers. When not performing heavy lifting responsibilities Kevin enjoys cooking (ask him about his signature dish: veal scaloppini with an apple brandy sauce), traveling New England with his son Austin’s hockey team and watching his daughter Mackenzie jump horses.

Cooking, entertaining, traveling, The NY Giants

Truro Mass on Cape Cod watching sunsets at the bay.

Mayhem – I like that this Insurance Campaign brings an emotional connection to the product and showcases the value you get from their company. It also stands out amongst all of the cost saving ads.

Heather Ertel

Heavy Lifter/Strategy

Having spent 15 years in advertising working on both the agency and client side, Heather has an insider’s understanding of the client perspective. With a career focus on financial services, she has worked on campaigns for Travelers Insurance, Citigroup, and MassMutual and successfully managed the creative, web, and media buying for the Amica Insurance multi-media direct response campaign for three years. She brings a thoughtful and strategic approach to each client and a dedication to exceeding client expectations.

The NY Times, 90’s alt-rock, anglophilia, cooking Chopped-basket style, California reds, my little Aussie pup Cali

Anywhere in California

Helping build the Citi brand with the legendary Pentagram back in the late 90’s.

Dan Weingrod

Heavy Lifter/Digital

Dan is an experienced digital strategist with over 15 years experience building successful Web presences, digital, and social marketing strategies. He has established and led digital departments and has hands-on expertise with Social, Mobile, and Web as well as Analytics, SEO and PPC, and online Media. Dan focuses on working with brands and businesses to build participation and drive innovation and creativity through the use of lean methodologies.

Cycling, photography, new stuff

Anywhere on my bike

It always changes, but I love to see great uses of the Web and technology that disrupt traditional marketing and connect with consumers. Like this!

Eric Juhasz

Heavy Lifter/Creative

An agency veteran with over 15 years experience in promotional marketing, advertising, and package design, Eric is a highly passionate, creatively juiced and driven professional. After winning awards and accepting the accolades he is now inventing high-impact solutions for Insurance and Finance industry clients with cutting-edge results.

Yankees, Dream Theater, watches, cooking, the outdoors… fishing & hunting, zuppa de pesce, brick-oven pizza, Jameson, chocolate, Seinfeld, black & white photography, playing baseball with my son

On any beautiful, tranquil river… fly fishing for trout

Absolut Vodka, The Absolut Bottle Campaign.

Nick Loeser

Heavy Lifter/Digital

Since graduating from Marist College in 2001, Nick has worked in database marketing and analytics. He brings experience in digital marketing and ecommerce, having founded and sold two successful online businesses. Fluent in several database and business intelligence applications, Nick applies his knowledge to help clients gain deep insights into their marketing campaigns. He lives with his wife Faith, and children Julia and Nathan in upstate New York.

My daughter’s expressions, Jimmy Buffett, Chinese Food, Sushi, Mad Men, The Office

On the balcony of a cruise ship

E-Trade Baby commercials – brilliant!

Kristen Spector

Heavy Lifter/Creative

Kristen brings a sophisticated sense of design and a passion for quality and detail to the graphics work she provides at TLF. With a unique focus on new product launch materials, Kristen displays branding and marketing skills well beyond her 5 years experience in the industry. She has an innate ability to visually communicate with style and clarity.

Likes:

wine, yoga, the spa, snowboarding, purple, ice cream, Michael Bublé, Marc Broussard, House, Seinfeld

The beach

Aflac

TLF worked with Aflac®’s agency to develop a lead generation campaign targeting human resources executives with the message that Aflac offers unique supplemental insurance plans. Unique Mailers and leave behinds included fun premium items to keep Aflac top of mind with HR when making insurance decisions.

American Express

TLF worked with American Express® marketing, production and agencies to develop dimensional designs used for credit card acquisition mailings to high-value prospects. With a target audience bombarded with competitive offers, the challenge was to stand out and get noticed. Our designs became the control package, increasing response rates by 165% and exceeding the ROI of their lower cost in-line control packages.

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield

Anthem launched a site designed to educate employers and brokers on health care reform. Their challenge was to get them to visit the new website. The Lift Factor conceptualized and designed dynamic direct mail pieces resulting in a 60% increase in web traffic. Anthem also experienced a spike in return visits indicating employers and brokers continue to use this site as a resource.

Applied Underwriters

The Lift Factor worked with Applied Underwriters to target producers with a multi-wave, high-impact direct mail campaign. The campaign promoted awareness of a commissions-driven program utilizing interactive designs to capture their attention and keep Applied products top of mind.

Bank of America / Merrill Lynch

Bank of America® used TLF-designed interactive and engaging communication pieces to target business owners, cross-sell additional products and services to existing customers, and generate new leads for their financial advisors. The various pieces combined movement with graphics and presented the message in an organized way that was easy to understand and remember.

Capital One

For Capital One™ we developed a unique, memorable handout for the Capital One Bowl in Orlando. Using our Extendo® design, the piece is a paper replica of the infamous fan foam finger. As such it could be waived by fans in the stands, and also invited people to customize their own Capital One card after the game.

Chase

Chase wanted member kits for credit card loyalty programs and new card acquisition campaigns targeted to high-value customers and prospects. These TLF pieces were designed to stand out in the mailbox and make the recipient feel that they were receiving something of value. The designs effectively communicated how important these customers and prospects are to Chase.

Credit Card Campaign

Being customer loyalty experts with industry-leading rewards programs and platforms, this company is recognized as one of the leading credit card companies in the world. View the case study to read more.

Experian

TLF developed a cross-media campaign targeted at hard to reach C-level executives. The pieces whose dynamic call to action invited people to a webinar and in-person meeting generated an astounding 3000% ROI. TLF provided concepts, creative and structural design.

Fidelity

To educate independent advisors on the benefits of joining the Fidelity® team, TLF provided multiple visual and dimensional designs including one utilizing full motion video and web key technology. The fully integrated video educated the advisors on Fidelity’s product offering, commission rates and support tools. Web keys allowed them to track response rates, web site activities and user preferences.

Hanover

TLF conceptualized, designed and produced a lead generation and brand awareness campaign for a new division of Hanover Insurance, targeted at teachers in Massachusetts. The campaign included two waves of high-impact direct mail, and an interactive online sweepstakes game and banner ads, all designed to increase website traffic. Results were 700% higher than previous marketing efforts.

John Hancock

TLF worked with John Hancock’s® creative agency to come up with the right print mechanism to successfully illustrate how large cap stocks give clients a powerful advantage in a slowing economy. With the headline “Large is the new small” the self-mailer opened to reveal a great dane towering over a chihuahua. It was a fun and impactful way to announce the John Hancock fund offering.

Integrated Insurance Campaign

For over 200 years, this insurance company has been a leading provider of auto, home and life insurance, employee and group benefits, and investments. View the case study to read more about the campaign.

MetLife

Educating advisors and providing them with tools to use with their customers is a top priority for MetLife®’s Annuity marketing group. TLF created an iPad app for wholesalers to use with their advisor clients, and a digital brochure with interactive case studies for starting the conversation with clients about this investment product. We tracked user behavior and recommended changes to make the site more engaging, user friendly, and effective.

Nationwide

Nationwide launched a new web site to educate their corporate customers on the retirement tools available to them. TLF designed a 2-wave campaign that included moving panels to grab the reader’s attention and a web key to drive customers online.

Protective Life

Together with Protective Life’s internal marketing and design teams, TLF created a dimensional mailer that delivered a promotional item to their agents in an engaging way. As you pull a tab on the box the piece reveals a well containing the promo item and delivers the message of lower rates. Dimensional mailers get noticed in the mail and on average generate response rates 200% higher than flat mail.

SunAmerica

Working with SunAmerica®’s marketing and internal design group, TLF created an ongoing campaign for financial advisors, educating them on features of SunAmerica’s Annuity product. This campaign included impactful direct mail and engaging desktop pieces meant to keep SunAmerica top of mind with advisors when recommending retirement income products.

Transamerica

To spread the word to agents about the ease of selling Transamerica® long-term care, TLF used an Extendo® with webkey design. Brokered through InnerWorkings of Anaheim, the piece delivers agents a webkey which when inserted into their computer automatically takes them to an informational page on Transcare II, Transamerica’s long-term care product.

USAA

USAA® TV ads showing military personnel first in civilian dress and then military gear created an emotional connection to members active in the military. TLF created direct mail that mirrored the TV ad, showing a person in civilian dress that actually changes into military gear. Try that with a #10 envelope!

Wells Fargo

TLF concepted and produced a high-impact marketing piece offering an accidental death insurance product co-branded with Ace Insurance. Our challenge was to follow the brand standards for both companies and create a message that was impactful but at the same time treated the topic in a delicate way.