Portfolio | Stephen Braund
Hello. Welcome. My name is Stephen Braund and I am a genuine storyteller and writer who has battle-hardened experience as a marketing-communications strategist.
- Writer — Short pithy advertising and social to longform website copy, email marketing, scriptwriting and ghostwriting.
- Marketing strategy — Identifying new product, aligning it with the right audience and running campaigns to connect the two.
- Brand evangelist — Generating brand voice, rebranding to following established guidelines.
Writing | Print
The goal of professional writing — whether banner ads, email marketing, the web or print — is clear communication that connects with its audience. I am an expert at reaching customers and clients.
" At the beginning of any project I put myself in the mind of the reader and think what does the customer need. From there I create a voice they can trust.
My preferred tone is authentic, playful yet authoritative. The following gallery features print ads, book spreads and a PowerPoint slide.
On Camera | On Air
With a background and an Associate Diploma in Public Speaking — Trinity College London — I am confident and comfortable on camera or in interview situations. While at Tourism Lethbridge I hosted multiple videos, such as a promotional video for an Empanada Festival as well as a sneak preview of a multi-million dollar YMCA, below.
I also enjoyed doing live interviews with CJOC radio to promote local attractions on a weekly basis. Extemporaneous speeches are my speciality.
Website Writing and Design
I spent five years as the Director of Marketing for the destination management organization Tourism Lethbridge. During this time I created new tourism products — food tourism, craft beer, Indigenous tourism — from ideation to integrated marketing campaigns in targetted markets. I then reported on our successes to our board and other C-suite audiences as well as the provincial funding body. I also increased our grant revenue ten-fold during my tenure.
You'll find plenty of website content management, direction and writing directly on TourismLethbridge.com, and landing pages MeetinLethbridge.com, SportLethbridge.com, AleTrails.ca and CanadasFoodTours.ca.
It's peaks to prairies and pilsners to IPAs—the Highway 3 Ale Trail is as stunning as your brewmeister's latest special edition dry-hopped NEPA! ~ copy from AleTrails.ca
Working with this destination marketing organization from its inception allowed me to create a casual yet informative tone I was able pass along to other writers and digital specialists I supervised.
It was a pleasure to work with 3rd-party website builders to redesign our website into a place visitors feel comfortable exploring. Standout pages include the the bespoke map we created to make it easier to find outstanding attractions as well as the Indigenous Lethbridge section we put together to better showcase Blackfoot history, culture and local Indigenous businesses.
Having the opportunity to redesign from scratch and add new tools like a CRM integration and visual content marketing platform, allowed us to better connect with the public through newsletters and social media posts. Using clear, playful language, I've helped thousands of people discover the world. The ability to understand an audience and harness effective writing transcends industry.
Finally, MondoGoGo.com, the website you're on right now is a personal website I built from scratch. I enjoy the strategy of page flow and website structure then using my creative side to build content. Having previously used the great Statmic as a headless CMS, it was easy to jump onto Ghost Pro to create layout and content here. I love the embedding options and newsletter funcationality baked into this product. And I'm not being paid to say that!
Photography
While words are my forte, I have both professional experience and training in camera work. I graduated from Sheridan University's post-graduate Advanced Video and Television Program with a specialization in Camera and Screenwriting.
I'm inherently curious and love a new challenge. Let's talk.