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Costa Bella Living in USAir Magazine

Costa Bella rolls out second sales campaign
PORTLAND, OR (12/29/08): Costa Bella Living, a luxury housing development on the San Carlos coast in Mexico, is rolling out it's second sales campaign with a full page ad in the February issue of USAIR Magazine. Chado developed the ad and it showcase the infinity luxury pool of a luxury home shot towards the Sea of Crotez as an backdrop. The ad communicates to the retire buyer whom is looking to make an remarkable purchase of an new luxury home to call paradise.

To read and see more about Costa Bella, click here.

Agency: Chado Advertising & Design
Creative Director/Designer : Chad Brown
Copywriter: John Derum
Photographer: Adam Baucher

CASE STUDY: Costa Bella luxury housing development, San Carlos, Mexico

TASK: Create a full page advertisement for this luxury housing development on the Sonora coast of the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. This development utilizes a "made in Mexico" policy of employing local architects, designers and construction personnel. This Ad ran in USAIR Magazine.

SOLUTION: Chado used the photography that was shot on location, which emphasizes the dreamlike lifestyle appealing to prospective Costa Bella buyers in the retirement demographic. The copywriting utilized down home style language to support a down home style of living.

Chado Design Wins Chinese Contract

Portland-based small firm will craft international Epic Group's image
By Brian Stimson of The Skanner

One Portland businessman has just landed the account of a lifetime.
Chad Brown, founder and owner of Chado Advertising and Design, will be developing an advertising and branding program for international clothing manufacturer Epic Group. In October, Brown was invited to make a pitch at the apparel giant's headquarters in Hong Kong. He was up against two other giants in advertising for the contract. He won.

"It was pretty intense and it was pretty hard to achieve," Brown said.

But Brown, a 37-year-old who has a communication design and advertising graduate degree from New York's Pratt Institute, has achieved some fairly intense things in his life. A former Navy soldier who served in Operation Desert Storm and lead convoys in war-torn Somalia, Brown said he still carries the soldier work ethic with him.

"I get up at 4 or 5 a.m. I work constantly," he said. "But I have that civilian in me - I like to play, I like to fly fish..."

Brown moved from New York City to Portland several years ago for a position at Overland Agency, but soon after his contract ended, Brown decided to go into business for himself. Chado Design and Advertising was born. In October of this year, Brown's past came a-calling. A colleague who had once opened the door for Brown to market Russell Simmons™ Phat Farm brand wanted him to travel to Hong Kong - all expenses paid. Christiaan Samuels, Epic Group's executive director for marketing and design, wanted the company to hear what Chado could bring to the table. "Personally I took a risk," Brown said. "I got a little cocky."

When the president of Epic Group walked in, Brown says he fed off the man's energy and immediately changed the pitch.

"I didn't have anything to lose anyway. I said screw the presentation," Brown recalls. "I said, 'Christiaan, I'm going to shoot straight and let him know what I can do.'"

The tactic worked. But it didn't come without a lot of preparation and networking. Brown called in the talents of seasoned copywriters and account managers to help him create a plan for Epic Group. He said he's involved 100 percent in the process from design to concept to furnishing a business plan. But he also knows where his weaknesses lie, and allows others to step in where he might come in short.
Brown says there are incredible challenges in the advertising career. You have to have the education, the drive and the experience in ad agencies. And like other professions, you have to know how to handle racial stereotypes.

"There was a client of mine - I approached him to do an identity brand," Brown recalls. "He looked at me and made a judgment that I couldn't deliver based on my skin color. He still gave me an opportunity, only with hesitation. I took it and developed the identity. They were completely shocked that I pinpointed and hit it. He said "I woke up this morning and was thinking about not coming today because I found it hard to believe a person like you could come up with something I couldn't."

Brown was also offered a doctoral-level teaching position at the International School of Design in Seoul, South Korea. The job offer was rescinded at the very last moment - when the president of the school was sent a copy of Brown's passport.

"I got an email that they would like to keep their staff blond-haired and blue-eyed. They didn't accept African Americans, Indians, Africans, Mexicans, or anybody like that. "I was in a dark place," he said.

But instead of spiraling downward, Brown printed out the email and posted it at his work station. Anytime he feels discouraged or tired, he looks at the email and it keeps him fighting.

In China, he knew he had to transcend racial stereotypes. In making his presentation, Brown said he had to become a project director.

"When you learn to transcend yourself, you become your work," he says.

Currently, Brown is developing the Epic Group's brand identity and advertising strategy. He's meeting with his Chinese counterparts over video conference, usually at 7 or 8 in the evening, when China is preparing for a mid-morning coffee break. He knows another trip to Hong Kong is in his future, but he's still unsure of how often he'll need to travel.

Underdog Chado Advertising & Design Scores A Knockout Punch In Hong Kong

Local Portland creative out-maneuvers ad giants to win Epic Group branding campaign

PORTLAND, OR (12/1/08): Chad Brown of Chado Advertising & Design has fought Saddam Hussein's army in Iraq and trudged across Antarctica, but a call asking him to pitch a branding campaign for a large Hong Kong apparel manufacturer got him a bit nervous. We caught up with Chad to ask him about his personal "David and Goliath" story.

How did you, as a small Portland agency, find yourself in Hong Kong pitching to a massive apparel manufacturer?
My good friend and colleague, Christiaan Samuels, works as executive director of Marketing & Design for Epic and even though he was considering Grey Advertising and Ogilvy for the campaign, thought I might have something to offer. When he called me and told me Grey and Ogilvy were pitching, and in the same breath invited me to Hong Kong, all expenses paid, to go up against them, you could say that my adrenaline got going! So I figured I had nothing to lose and everything to gain, and I jumped in.

How did you approach it?
No matter if you're the biggest agency in the world or just a small operation, it all boils down to the fundamentals - providing an original and compelling message, being transparent and honest, demonstrating how I'll fulfill on the contract, and doing what it takes to make the client happy. I've always believed in what Chado Advertising & Design brings to the table - solid ideas and strong vertical partnerships.

What do you mean by "vertical partnerships?"
Vertical partnerships are solid relationships with other professionals on whom I can rely. For the Epic pitch, I brought in video director Tim Diens and copywriter Al Polito, two seasoned professionals who can run just as fast as I can, and whose strengths compliment mine.

How did you prepare the pitch?
One week and no sleep (laughs). As soon as the game was on, I connected with Al to work out some concepts and messaging "agency-style" just like the days when I was a big-agency guy, and then I brought in Tim to develop a high-impact messaging multimedia video that shows and integrates Epic Group's current look, and presents compelling case and a bold new direction where we wanted to take them. I worked around the clock everyday to make the deadline, which in this case was my flight to Hong Kong. I worked as if I was already getting paid and committed to the client's satisfaction.

So with the multimedia presentation on my laptop as well as trade show design, DVD packaging, collateral, website mock-up and two 11x17 spread advertisements, I got on the plane. I went in with no expectations, knowing that all there was to do was focus on what we could provide and confidently portray that. I arrived in Hong Kong on October 21 and got back to Portland on November 10, 2008.

So how was Hong Kong?
I lived in New York for nine years and would have never believed that a city could move 10 times faster than the Big Apple. But when I found my mind moving faster than my body, I knew I was really someplace new. I was a bit nervous and suffering jet lag. I had just one hour at the hotel before I was whisked of to the Epic Group offices for the first meeting to get acquainted. The next day I was to make my pitch at Epic Group.

What was the pitch like?
The president started out the conversation by asking me to tell him about myself. Since Epic had already heard from two large agencies, I knew that there was no room to posture and brag, just get down to it - time, cost, and quality - the things that matter to any good businessman. I put my best foot forward, showed him what I could do, and although it was a pretty tough sell, in the end the president granted me this opportunity to take it to the next level with a handshake and a contract.

What's next?
We're moving forward to develop the identity and company brand for Epic Group. We will be working closely with Christiaan Samuels at Epic and getting down to the business of creating the messaging, identity, internal and external collateral and company profiles for the first phase.

Any other thoughts?
It's exciting to be working for an international company and to know that it is not about how big you are, so much as it's about what you can do, how well you can do it, and keeping the right people in your corner who help you get there. I am looking forward to building a great brand for Epic Group.

Costa Bella Living In The New York Times

PORTLAND, OR (9/27/08): Costa Bell living, a luxury housing development on the San Carlos coast in Mexico, is rolling out it's sales campaign with a full page ad in an October issue of the New York Times magazine. Chado developed the ad, which juxtaposes the carefree warmth of a Mexican beach against the concrete jungle of American urban life.

To read and see more about Costa Bella, click here.

Agency: Chado Advertising & Design
Creative Director/Designer : Chad Brown
Copywriter: Al Polito
Photographer: Adam Baucher
CASE STUDY: Costa Bella luxury housing development, San Carlos, Mexico

TASK: Create a full page advertisement for this luxury housing development on the Sonora coast of the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. This development utilizes a "made in Mexico" policy of employing local architects, designers and construction personnel. This Ad ran in the New York Times.

SOLUTION: Chado used the photography that was shot on location, which emphasizes the dreamlike lifestyle appealing to prospective Costa Bella buyers. The copywriting utilized down home style language to support a down home style of living.

Costa Bella Living Testimony To Chado

PORTLAND, OR (4/9/08): At Costa Bella Living, we are a company that is small in size, large in vision and new in the industry. Creating a solid, effective and emotionally captivating identity that is memorable and first-class was critical to our marketing plan and strategy.

From the moment we met Creative Director/Designer Chad Brown of Chado, we were captivated and impressed with his amazing ability to not only listen to the vision Costa Bella Living wanted to achieve, but he was able to present this vision in an incredible visual that attacked our senses and left us breathless. As the Senior Owner and Partner David Walker states "He nailed it! I couldn't believe how he was able to do this. It is absolutely incredible. I am blown away."

David Walker, a successful businessman, never needing to put money toward Marketing or Sales was very skeptical paying for a Marketing Campaign much less an "identity" or "logo." Once he met Chad Brown, told Chad his story and vision and then saw the proposal - David was left speechless (A very difficult task to accomplish).

Chad Brown has been able to not only create the perfect identity for Costa Bella Living, his ability to create and recommend an entire campaign focused on consistency, market saturation, audience identification and innovative ways to grab the attention of our target audience is refreshing, exciting and effective. Chad has been proactive in all his responsibilities, upfront in his communication and detailed in his ability to manage our account.

Chad Brown is not only one of the very best and most creative and innovative designers I have worked with, but his work ethic, communication and proactive vision is exceptional. I look forward to continuing our partnership with Chad for many, many years to come. Recommending Chado - Chad Brown and his abilities is one of the easiest tasks I have had and do so with confidence.

Patti Lundgren Director Marketing Costa Bella Living

David Walker Senior Owner, Partner Costa Bella Living

Human Solutions Selects Chado Design To Create 20th Anniversay Invitation

PORTLAND, OR (4/4/08): Human Solutions, Multnomah County's leading community empowerment agency since 1988, is celebrating 20 years of service to the greater Portland area at a gala celebration at OMSI on Friday, May 30, 2008 and has chosen Chado Design to create the invitation for this event, designed to honor key donors and supporters. Distinguished guests will enjoy an array of exhibits portraying the organization's noteworthy projects.

The 20th Anniversary Invitation designed by Chado integrates Human Solutions distinctive "house and hands" branding motif into a distinctive and memorable piece that will support the organization's efforts to leverage the event as a marketing and communications platform.

The design and content of the invitation powerfully conveys Human Solutions' mission of empowerment to disadvantaged individuals and families in the greater Portland area, while celebrating the organization's 20-year legacy of success.