Rob Christianson, Creative Director Portfolio of Work - CDK Global Creative Director

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Rob.Christianson@gmail.com | November 2016
Rob Christianson
Creative Director & Designer

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Brand Leadership

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Internal Office Branding
Cincinnati Internal Office Artwork

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Social Media Branding
Highlights
o Unveiled CDK’s new brand across all
existing social media channels
Challenges
o Retain a highly-engaged social
media audience through rebranding
properties
o Adapt newly delivered brand identity
across mulitiple digital platforms not
originally considered by external
branding agency.

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White Paper Templates
Highlights
o Easily-reusable design accounts for
any subject matter and quick-turn
electronic delivery.
Challenges
o Template must account for mulitple
document lengths, yet fluid and
repurposable.
o Align inset imagery and datapoints to
CDK visual brand in a versatile
format for quick online export.

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New Corporate Powerpoint Template
Highlights
o Reduced filesize from 12.5 mb to
less than 1 mb
o Multiple options for title slides
o Optimized with pre-styled type
o Simplified delivery accounts for
user behavior
Challenges
o Original filesize prevented
fluid webinar presentations and
caused “inbox full” errors
o Timely distribution of updated
brand-aligned graphic resources
o Accounting for multiple business units’
brand considerations

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Corporate Icon Standardization
Highlights
o Created living icon library to be
shared by all designers
o Icons aligned to products, corporate
initatives and resources
o Icon theme is currently evolving to
current ”thin-line style”
Challenges
o Develop an overarching system
making it easy for other designers to
contribute
o Effectively design icons so they can
be recolored in one click
o Maintain a modern look and feel yet
company wide distribution

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Assorted Infographics
Highlights
o Brand-oriented data point delivery
communicated hard-to-grasp
information in a digestible, visual
style.
Challenges
o Developed a large library of brand-
compliant infographic templates.
o Provided web and print-friendly
versions for Product Marketing staff,
for use in PowerPoint, Word-
generated one sheets and online
product pages.

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Event Design and Support

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2016 National Sales Leadership Conference
Provided increased support to the Events team with on-site signage, executive
presentation support and unveiled a Marketing “Sizzle Reel” of FY16 highlights.
o Presentations & Digital Signage: Rob Christianson
o Event Signage: Frank Nazal
o Video Production: The Escape Pod

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2016 Executive Leadership Conference
Highlights
o First year theming the new ELC
(formerly SL100)
o Raised bar of design quallity for
Executive presentations.
o Impactful environmental signage and
supporting gifts and keycard
Challenges
o Tight turn for event design with NSC
following one month later.
o Subtleties in dark design elements
were lost in digital printing
o Hotel keycard was misprinted
upside-down, so directional arrow
was incorrect. Had to scrap
deliverables at last minute.

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2016 Executive Leadership Conference (Cont.)

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2016 National Sales Conference: Executive Presentations
Objective
o Raise the bar of design quality on
all executive presentations
o Ensure a seamless on-site
presentation experience
Highlights
o Personally designed four
presentations, working closely with
Sr Executives.
o Provided on-site support for last
minute changes, design and
delivery.
o Partnered closely with event
production company behind the
scenes for seamless execution.

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Marketing Design

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CDK Global – Digital Marketing Website
Highlights
o CDK Digital Marketing divisional
website was the first company
property to adopt new corporate
branding
o Visually pushed the envelope of
CDK’s maturing brand with engaging
imagery and content marketing
Challenges
o Apply and evolve new company
brand across a dynamic site already
built in Wordpress
o Maintain high audience engagement
through aligned content marketing,
event awareness and social media
o Expand the CDK visual brand
through the use of engaging colors,
textures and graphic treatments
relevant to Automotive Dealer
customer base

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Endorsed OEM Program Websites
Highlights
o White-labeled product offerings vary
from OEM contract to contract.
CDK’s Digital Marketing Program
Sites account for varied offerings as
well as branding aligned with
manufacturers.
Challenges
o Maintain brand alignment with
multiple OEM’s design standards.
o Developed a common Wordpress
design theme that was easily
skinnable per OEM brand.
o Core functionality remained the same
from OEM to OEM, for ease of
updating by shifting Marketing
Manager staff.

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Cobalt/CDK Digital Ad Campaigns
Highlights
o Leveraging Cobalt’s brand (the
precursor to CDK Global), multiple
brand explorations engaged dealer
clients with a high success rate.
o Every campaign was backed by
content marketing, eBooks and
webinars.
Challenges
o Consistently raised the bar of visuals
to engage targeted audiences.
o Overcame stigma of lackluster
banner ads by engaging customers
with questions, visual tricks, etc.

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Cobalt Infographics
Highlights
o Cobalt’s content marketing efforts
reguarly explored trend-setting
delivery methods such as long-form
storytelling infographics.
Challenges
o High levels of illustration needed to
align with brand standards.
o Visually engage with distracted
dealership clients using colorful,
printable and sharable infographics.

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Inventory Study eBook
Highlights
o New horizontal format for eBook
promotes easier on-screen reading
o Custom illustration
Challenges
o Rebranded and reformated existing
eBook content after CDK Global spin
o Modernized “Dating Game” concept
with a take on popular dating app
Tinder

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Disaster Preparedness eBook
Highlights
o Further expansion of eBook design
template to allow for multiple distinct
covers
Challenges
o Solved for consistent series look yet
differentiation of covers per subject
matter.
o Infographics were repurposed for
Social Media usage.

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Creative Direction

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Social Media Management Campaign
Summary: Drip campaign promoting Social Media Management
product included a series of four emails and a landing page.
Design: Gerard Agency

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Intellidealer 3.0 Campaign
Summary: Billed as ”The DMS that’s ready
for anything”, HE’s 3.0 campaign features
engaging print ads, packaging and
infographics.
Design: Gerard Agency

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Lightspeed Ad Campaign
Highlights
o Address multiple audiences with
segmented imagery
o Engaging imagery for “high
adrenaline” customer base
o Campaign designed to stand out
amongst industry competitors within
trade magazines
Challenges
o Via a series of ads directed at
motorsports, RV and marine
audiences, agency developed a
common theme..
o Web banner ads with limited real
estate made use of the campaign
imagery well.
Design: Gerard Agency

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Service Connect Anywhere
Summary: Email campaign, landing page and alert graphics.
Design: Gerard Agency

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Video Production
Summary: Provided design direction from script to storyboard to post-production
Production Partners: @Large Productions, yDraw, Vossler, Macguffin Agency

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Thank you.
Questions? Email rob.christianson@gmail.com.