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A Strategic Brand Development Agency 

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About

About

We are Pet Turtle, a new era branding agency. We are the amalgamation of over 30 years’ worth of blue-chip client success, modeled for the rapidly evolving times we live in. We’ve taken our extensive experience in consumer insight, kept the emphasis on strategic creative problem-solving, and reinvented a few things along the way that make us better. At Pet Turtle, we do things a bit differently. We don’t have a street address, a conference room or a receptionist. Our “office” is the world, and we build our client teams from the limitless global creative community 24/7/365. We work shoulder to shoulder with a broad and endlessly flexible network of the very best professional researchers, behavioral scientists, creative directors, art directors, graphic designers, writers, editors, videographers, animators, web developers, project managers, and other out-of-the-box problem-solvers. Our quest is not to become the biggest dog in the yard; it’s simply to create the best and most successful outcomes for our clients. Sounds ridiculously simple? Perfect. Because that’s what great branding should be.

About
Beliefs

Our Beliefs: Lead with Love.

Lead With Love. Those three simple words sum up everything we believe in – that the best branding speaks to the heart. We have found that people buy with their hearts, not their wallets. Love is and always will be at the center of all that is good, motivating and long lasting. When you lead with love, you put your heart into everything you do. You inspire others to follow. And you build community. When brands lead with love, they, too, create loyal fans. They build lasting relationships. And the love they give is generously returned in dollars and cents. To lead with love is to be a successful and enduring brand.

While Lead With Love is our core philosophy, its relentless curiosity and creativity, informed by deep consumer insight and strategy that shapes our ideas and make them alive. Creativity ignites the imagination and draws people in, creating a shortcut to investment in your brand. It helps your brand stand apart from the crowd and connect with audiences in deeply emotional ways.

Beliefs
Services

Services

Research

Strategy

Naming

Identity

Messaging

Management

Advertising

Web

Social

Services
Work

Work

“I’ve worked with Ed and his team for over ten years. The first time was when I hired him at Churchill Downs to create the first-ever master brand identity architecture for the Kentucky Derby. He and his team went on to design almost every annual Kentucky Derby event logo since. He is among the smartest, most creative professionals I’ve ever worked with.”

Casey Ramage,
Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships

Work

“Pet Turtle’s substantial work to find a true brand and identity
for The Big West was research-based and audience inspired,
positioning us for success and relevance within the collegiate
sports landscape. The pillars and platform messaging system
helped us articulate our voice and vision, which has been
strongly supported by our student-athletes and member
institutions. The ‘Only The Bold’ brand statement is our new
rallying cry aimed at challenging The Big West community to
excel in the classroom, on the field of play and in life.
Thanks to Pet Turtle, we have a brand for which we can all be
truly proud to represent!”

Dan Butterly
Commissioner

“Ed O’Hara is one of the GOATs of the branding industry. I’ve
partnered with him and his team throughout my career to help
develop iconic brands such as Madison Square Garden, Dick
Clark Productions and Ticketmaster. He has founded and sold
two highly successful branding agencies and has now formed
a third – Pet Turtle, where he and his team have helped me
successfully build and launch the game1 brand.“

Greg Economou
Co-Founder & CEO

“To coincide with their long-awaited move to a brand-new state of
the art facility – Es Con Field, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
wished to rebrand their team identity. As advisors to team
leadership, we recommended only one firm for the task
– Pet Turtle Branding. Ed O’Hara, Pet Turtle’s founder, already had
a wealth of experience with the organization having re-branded the
team ahead of its move from Tokyo to Hokkaido back in 2002.

The results have exceeded our expectations, and a very fresh new
look and feel was created – one that matched the innovative spirit
of the team, the fans and the new arena.”

Takayuki Hioki
CEO

Legacy Clients

Team

Team

Edward M. O'Hara

Founder, Creative Lead

Ed is the creative force behind Pet Turtle. He’s also quite a legend in this arena having spent over 30 years as the founder and Chief Creative Officer of SME Branding – a leading sports entertainment firm. Ed has helped earn his clients hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue by building and reshaping impactful, iconic brands such as the Kentucky Derby, Ticketmaster, New York Yankees, Madison Square Garden, NFL, FIFA, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA, UFC, United States Olympic Committee, America’s Cup, Pac-12 and Harvard University to name a few.

Ed is a highly sought-after media resource, discussing the business of branding on various news platforms such as CBS This Morning Saturday, ESPN’s ‘Outside The Lines’, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Sports Business Journal, Sportico, The Athletic and USA Today.

Team

Gina Soloperto

Strategy & Smarts Director

Trained in communications and behavioral science, Gina pinpoints patterns in data and identifies critical motivating factors in consumer behavior. She leverages this info into strategic brand development solutions that align with consumer wants and needs, meeting client business goals. Clients include Google, Citibank, MetroPlus Health, Under Armour, Brooklyn Nets, Wells Fargo, EdjSports and Football Outsiders.

Geenamarie Shuttleworth

Client Happiness Director

Geenamarie is Pet Turtle’s multi-tasking, many hat-wearing, client services specialist. She’s earned 13+ years of experience in a wide range of clients and industry verticals. From brand launches to event production and everything in between, Geena brings a high level of intelligence and energy to the table. She keeps our projects on strategy, on schedule and on budget. Clients include Indeed, Stanley, Black & Decker, ESPN, National Geographic, Staples, Land o’ Lakes and the National Grid.

Dennis Brubaker

Research & Customer
Knowledge Director

Dennis has developed brand positioning and messaging strategies for many multinational Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits and regional start-ups. His thorough, innovative approach gets to the heart of how people feel about client brands, providing a solid base for important brand related decisions with dynamic results. Clients include The Big West Conference, Campbell’s Soup, Colgate Palmolive, VF Corporation, Godiva Chocolatier, Philly Fresh, A&W Beverages, Carnation, Ralston Purina, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods, Merrill Lynch, Nabisco, Remy Martin and UniLever.

Ann Lieberman

Strategic Writer, Editor,
Wordsmith

Ann is a creative director/copywriter and totally suburban mother-of-3 married to a sexy Brit. She’s been in “the biz” for 17 years working on many hot-shit projects for a wide range of clients. Her strengths are in developing brand strategy & voice as well as fully integrated ad campaigns. Ann prides herself on adding unexpectedly fresh perspectives to her client assignments. Clients include the Boston Celtics, Chipolte, Virgin Mobile, Starbucks, Toyota, Miller/Coors, The NBA and Progressive.

Alexander Smith

Senior Design Evangelist

Alex has spent the last 25 years teaching, practicing and writing about design. He holds degrees in Graphic Design and Industrial Design from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn NY where he was also a professor. These days his practice focuses on brand strategy, design, product design and animation. Alex has worked with clients all over the world ranging from huge technology companies and cutting-edge startups to beloved entertainment brands and neighborhood businesses.

Slavo Kiss

Art Director &
Senior Design Geek

Slavo is super passionate about converting research and strategies into art and design. This shows in the incredible work he produces. His creativity in developing iconic brand and graphic design solutions is among the best in the world. Slavo has worked on some of the most important brands in sports entertainment including the Kentucky Derby, America’s Cup, Breeder’s Cup, LA Clippers, Ticketmaster, Yomiuri Giants, NCAA, NHL and MLB.

Contact

Contact

Edward M. O’Hara
Founder, Creative Lead

ed.petturtle@gmail.com

 

Contact