Hey, I'm Scott.
I've called KC home my entire life. Even though I've traveled the world and tried to leave more than a few times, I always come back. KC seems to have this tractor beam that I just can't escape.
I started in the communications business close to home when I got a gig as a disc jockey at KOKO just a few miles down highway 50. Then I switched to TV. Then rode dirty with documentary crews traveling the western United States until I landed the dream job: copywriter.
I cut my teeth at places that were darn cool: Valentine Radford, Geoff Howe, Harmon Smith, Valentine McCormick Ligabel, and Callahan Creek.
I spent the first few years working on copy for agencies with clients like Purina, Veterinary Pet Insurance, and Sprint (now T-Mobile). Then I went into the topsy-turvy, feast or famine life of freelance and got helicoptered into agencies to crank last minute copy for the likes of Bayer, Hill's Prescription and Science Diet, and Chipotle.
One day I went to work at a nonprofit called Children International. I spent 12 years writing editorial, direct response, web and digital content, video scripts, and eventually guiding a magnificent creative team made up of writers, designers, translators, video producers and web folk.
We traveled the world together, fought for impoverished children with all our hearts ... and even shared parasites with one another. Trust me, you do NOT want sulfur burps.
There was a short stint at John Deere, which really was a lovely, professional place to work. But the road called and I answered. My family (my partner, Diane, my two dogs, Tali and Oggie, and my cat, Pia) decided to spend 14 months traveling the country. When I came back I got an offer to work at Pet Resource Center doing the same type of work I did at Children International.
In addition to a lifetime of writing in all its forms, the last few years have seen me teaching myself to to shoot and edit video, do social media targeting and build look-a-like audiences, and figure out Google Analytics, SEO, and Canva design basics.
I've been at this for over 30 years but I'm still learning, growing and contributing. I know and can guide strategy, write nearly anything (and I'm pretty decent at it, too), shoot/edit award-winning video, and do some light design.
Highlights:
Created the Best Friends monthly giving program for Wayside Waifs, including the emails and web content, which has generated over 100,000 in donations.
Led the team that created direct response materials, collateral and content that raised $18 million per year, on average, for Children International.
Was part of the team that assisted with the rebrand of Pet Resource Center of Kansas City and also saw incredible growth over five years. We went from seeing 15K pets per year to over 40K and our income from services and donations went from $1.5 million to $4.8 million.
Helped John Deere grow three percent year over year in the highly competitive mid-tractor market.