ROB

PISCITELLI

Brand Strategy Portfolio

rpiscitelli12@gmail.com · linkedin.com/in/robpiscitelli

What I Believe

Every category eventually settles into the same story.

Strategy is about challenging that narrative

and moving first.

I find the angles competitors rule out and the cultural shifts that redefine categories to guide work that drives outcomes.

How I Work

Strategy is built in three moves.

Look harder.

Competitive scans. Audience research. Cultural fluency. Searching everywhere from business journals to TikTok rabbit holes. Strategy begins with keeping a pulse on how people think and feel.

Find the tension.

Tension exists in the contradictions between what people say and what they actually do. What brands believe and what they message. These truths separate good work from great work.

Move First.

Anyone can see the gaps, but the real job is helping brands execute on them before anyone else. And push the story where the category isn’t expecting.

Through the process you find the challenge, then deliver direction.

Maaco

Integrated Brand Campaign · Consumer

Mythic · 2021–2024

The Brief

North America's #1 auto body shop was stuck. Consumers saw them as cheap and mediocre. Their own advertising relied on discount pricing or showing drivers causing damage to their own cars.

The category had spent years blaming the people who needed them most.

Maaco · The Tension

In moments of stress, the category chose to blame the customer.

Nearly every auto body brand depicted damage as the driver’s own fault. They mocked the very people they were selling their services to. But most real damage (hailstorms, runaway shopping carts, bad parallel parkers) had nothing to do with driver skill. The whole category used this same strategy: be condescension to the driver for the damage. Nobody was bringing positivity or empathy to the customers.

Maaco · The Move

Brand Strategy

Find the
Upside of Uh-Ohs.

Position Maaco as the optimistic auto body expert that stands with drivers instead of blaming them. When life finds a way to damage your vehicle, Maaco gives you a reason to see the upside of auto body repair.

Creative Campaign Anthem

Maaco · The Proof

The best sales year in Maaco's
50-year history.

340%

Instagram followers
growth

13M

Organic YouTube views
on brand anthem

40%+

Organic leads
year-over-year

55%

Retail business
linked to marketing

Source: Mythic / Maaco internal reporting · Campaign: 2021–2024

EDPNC

Integrated Brand Campaign · B2B / B2G

Mythic · 2021–2024

The Brief

North Carolina ranked #1 for business on Forbes but wasn't making shortlists when companies chose where to locate or expand. Misperceptions about the state's inclusivity and forward-thinking culture were quietly costing the state real economic opportunity.

EDPNC · The Tension

Lagging perceptions were still costing NC the shortlist.

The Conviction Gap

NC's rank by consideration stage

Would consider NC

Would shortlist NC

#3–5

the gap

71% of decision-makers somewhat, not strongly, considered NC.
Interest existed. Conviction did not.

The Insight

The data named a conviction gap and qualitative follow named its source. Decision-makers saw NC as bigoted or unwelcoming because of House Bill 2, the bathroom bill. They didn't know the real NC, just the version they saw on the news.

EDPNC · The Move

Brand Strategy

Discover a state where open and diverse minds connect and thrive.

Position NC as a personally welcoming and business-friendly state. From arts & culture, top education, and vibrant metros to a low tax burden and a #1 state for business ranking, NC was more than the political news was making it out to be.

Creative Campaign Anthem

Static Executions

EDPNC · The Proof

Building a economic development pipeline.

84M

Advertising
impressions

68%+

Web traffic
year-over-year

3,621

Business leads
generated

15%+

BDM consideration
lift (tested)

Source: Mythic / EDPNC reporting · Campaign: 2021–2024

Okuma

Integrated Campaign · Industrial Business to Business

Crafted · 2025 - Present

The Brief

Global CNC Machine leader Okuma launched a new factory automation division with zero market awareness when industry-wide demand for automation was rising.

They needed to build a business unit from scratch.

Okuma · The Tension

Customers knew Okuma.
They just didn’t know this Okuma.

Industry professionals saw Okuma only as a machine tool company not a holistic manufacturing solutions provider. Because of this, the sales team were not getting the “at bats,” for automation projects. The existing brand equity was working against the new business unit.

Manufacturers assumed automation meant a long, complex overhaul. Okuma's solutions are modular, scalable, and fast to deploy. They’re the easy button for factory automation.

Okuma · The Move

Brand Strategy

Supercharge shop efficiency.

Reposition Okuma Factory Automation as the partner that elevates operations through human-centric, fast-to-deploy modular solutions. The B2B campaign targeted three key audience gaps that automation could solve: speed, scalability, and precision.

Paid Social Executions

Okuma · The Proof

Launched a new business unit from a standing start.

276K

Advertising impressions delivered
in 3 months

1,500+

Qualified leads
delivered

5.5%

Campaign
engagement rate

0→1

Built a business unit from scratch with collateral across web, sales enablement and marketing.

Source: Crafted / Okuma reporting · Campaign: 2025-2026

Ally Auto

Brand Strategy + Sales Enablement · B2B / Auto Dealer

Mythic · 2022–2024

The Brief

Ally Banks' auto dealer service was sending fragmented messaging. The marketing team knew their sales force needed support, but they didn’t know where to start.

Ally Auto · The Tension

Despite the holistic support Ally actually provided to dealerships, they communicated services as transactional offerings.

Ally was sending too many uncoordinated email campaigns, framing their offering as a menu of services rather than an end-to-end business partnership, from inventory management to small business loans.

Through primary research and C-suite workshops, it was revealed that dealers used their Ally account executive as a partner for everything, even with non-Ally business. One dealer even invited their AE to a wedding. Ally Auto employees always went above and beyond for their dealers.

Ally Auto · The Move

Brand Strategy

A relentless ally for your Business and Beyond

Developed personas to map service lines to dealership decision makers. Created dedicated messaging that connected all line of business messaging under the same creative banner. Deployed via email marketing automation with the right message, time, and target.

CRM Email Campaign Creative

Ally Auto · The Proof

A partnership that delivered.

65%

Email open rate
(3x industry benchmark)

110

Qualified leads
generated

859

Warm prospects flagged
for sales outreach

Source: Mythic / Ally CRM program reporting · Campaign: 2022–2024

About Rob

The challenges I attack.

Secret-agent brands.

The body shop in the optimism business. The CNC maker in the efficiency business. My job is to reframe the offering to fit what kind of business the brand really is.

Brands willing to take a stance.

Brands that care, win. I define the vision the brand is willing to defend.

Brands that need a fresh start.

The category often settles into the same tropes. And the opportunity is usually somewhere no one is looking. I find the move incumbents didn't make and build the case for taking it.

ROB

PISCITELLI

Maaco

EDPNC

Okuma

Ally Auto

LET'S
CHALLENGE THE

CATEGORY

ROB

PISCITELLI

Maaco

EDPNC

Okuma

Ally Auto

LET'SCHALLENGE THE

CATEGORY

LET'S
CHALLENGE THE