E L I Z A B E T H
S T R A T E G I C
C R E A T I V E
B R A N D
M A
S T O R Y T E L L E R
D I R E C T O R
G O D M O T H E R
I N S I G H T
M E A N I N G
A D A M S ,
L E A D E R
M A K E R
C O - C R E A T O R
G I V I N G
V O I C E
T O
V I S I O N S
S I N C E
2 0 0 2
I N
S U M
It all started in 2002 at Ryan & Deslauriers, the black fly agency founded to sell Tremblant real estate. And sell we did. Storied Places, Légendes, Panache, Étoile du Matin… We moved billions. I moved from copywriter to wordsmith. In 2005 I followed my creative mentors to E+S (Envisioning + Storytelling, Vancouver). The first company to truly own storytelling and a unique 2-day process to extract it. We saved America’s biggest AV company from the auction block and helped masterplan dozens of massive, mixed-use resort communities across the Americas. We were more than storytellers – we were place-makers. It was tantamount to a second master’s degree for me, and I graduated with a new title: Strategic Storyteller. I went freelance in 2008 and haven’t looked back nor for work since. Referrals pulled me out of maternity leave, had me traveling to the US to storytell for luxury communities, and eventually across Europe conducting insight research & crafting reports for the likes of UEFA and News UK. After living in southern Spain for 7 years, learning a new language and honing my strategy skills, I’m back in town. I reached out because I figure masters should meet. Throw
together
some
samples
you
ask?
Ok,
here
goes...
E L B A T
S T R A T E G Y
Strategy & story for major projects
I N S I G H T
A N A L Y S I S
Qualitative & strategic writing
F O R E W O R D S
Envisioning prep work
S T O R Y L I N E S
Brand opuses
M A G A Z I N E S
Branded publications
B R O C H U R E S
Stroytelling luxury
C U R R E N T
P R O J E C T S
On my plate *Click on underlined text to view full documents
SAMPLES
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D E V E L O P M E N T
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D E V E L O P M E N T
S T R A T E G Y
Last spring I flew to the Dominican Republic with Lemay Architects & Resonance Consultancy to work on an eco-tourism development strategy for the island's last undeveloped province. As lead Storyteller, it was my role to participate in envisioning sessions (in Spanish), capture key elements of the story, write the future vision, and author the final strategy document that was presented to the government of the Dominican Republic.
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Through this vision and development strategy, we are positioning Pedernales as a new standard of cooperative tourism and conservation in the Caribbean. The goal is to create an economic ecosystem whereby tourism investment and revenue flow directly toward supporting the conservation of the province’s protected areas and population, and in turn, Pedernales’s people and national parks provide the primary draw for tourism.
Our approach to this goal is to raise the all-inclusive travel destination concept to a new level by redefining inclusivity to refer to the entire region – its landscapes, creatures, cultures, and habitats.
Using the unique traits of Pedernales’s various landscapes as anchors for the overall experience, we use a combination of journey and destination – circuits and hubs – to make this all-inclusive province one best described in terms of immersion, adventure, and enlightenment. PEDERNALES: PARADISE PROTECTED
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I N S I G H T
A N A L Y S I S
My biggest European client was an insight research company called Mole In A Minute (based out of Amsterdam). In 2017 I worked as Content Director, assembling teams of specialized Moles, writing strategic briefs, questions, and analyzing answers to create in-depth insight reports for clients. The following are excerpts from a 132-page insight research report for UEFA's Champions League Festival held in Cardiff in 2017.
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F O R E W O R D S
The most effective storylines spring from carefully curated envisioning sessions. Forewords are part of the prep work. Here's one I wrote for a mixeduse community in Palm Desert, and another I wrote for Devimco's first iteration of Montreal's own Griffintown , an envisioning session I designed and orchestrated with agency Bleu Blanc Rouge.
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To a visionary, the supernatural barrenness of the desert floor awakens possibilities unknown to other places. This is where futurist dreams are drawn. Where technology bends to the whims of sun and wind. And while the conditions for a bone-soaking downpour in the desert depend on vapors and rock, the conditions for a soulsearching envisioning session depend on the will of participants to imagine the undefined, dream the unprecedented and be awakened by fresh breezes from unexpected sources. Under these conditions, we predict a deluge of inspiration, edification and creative direction with which to begin constructing the experience of Delfino.
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S T O R Y L I N E S
PSAV was my first storyline with E+S. It was baptism by fire. The president's goal was to repackage the company and sell it. By the time we were done, he fell back in love with the company and proudly soldiered on. PSAV, America's biggest AV company, external PSAV, America's biggest AV company, employee
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Thousands of shows happen every day before audiences of three to three thousand. Regardless of size, every show is as important to us as it is to the person organizing, attending or delivering it. This perspective, and how we translate it into an experience, is what sets us apart from all the AV companies out there. It’s what makes us more than an AV company. It’s what makes us Partners in Show.
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River Rock was a labour of love, for the developers and us. Though this ill-timed community succumbed to the 2008 real estate crash, its story became legendary among High Country developers, and cemented my reputation in North Carolina. River Rock, North Carolina, Book 1 River Rock, North Carolina, Book 2
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M A G A Z I N E S
When magazines caught on as communications tools, it was a whole new ball game. Here are two sample issues I created, for Vancouver's The 834 by Chard Development, and one for Blue Ridge Mountain Club in North Carolina.
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B R O C H U R E S
Lux ur y br ochur es ar e l i ke f ai r y t al es f or gr own- ups - f ant ast i c, i mpossi bl y beaut i f ul , desi gned t o t r anspor t t he r eader i nt o t hei r i deal f ut ur e. I t was a pl easur e st or y t el l i ng f or Ri t z - Car l t on and Raf f l es, t wo of t he wor l d' s most st or i ed and ev ocat i v e l ux ur y br ands. The Ri t z - Car l t on Resi dences, Mont r eal Raf f l es Est at es, Pr asl i n
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If the walls of Montreal’s Ritz-Carlton hotel could speak, they would tell magnificent tales of royal visits and historic moments, spectacular balls and high-society dances, young princes and glamorous movie stars, American baronesses and French presidents... Indeed, if The Ritz-Carlton could speak, it would reveal the reasons why, for close to a century, it has stood tall as a North American bastion of gentility, elegance and style favoured by the world’s elite. As this treasured icon of hospitality readies itself for a new era of exquisite living, we invite you to explore the magic of the original Ritz-Carlton hotel, and to share in a fleeting opportunity to own it forever.
RITZ-CARLTON RESIDENCES
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C U R R E N T
B R I X
P R O J E C T S
M T L
I am currently a live-in Creative & Communications Consultant for BRiX Mtl, a uniquely progressive luxury apartment building on Bleury street, just south of Montreal's festival district. This neighbourhood is blowing up and BRiX wants to be the main social hub at the heart of this new community. Their emerging storyline entitled "Building Belonging" articulates this vision and serves as a guideline for cementing the experiences that will help BRiX achieve its goal. Now that the storyline and 2020 strategy has been delivered, my role at BRiX is part-time. Working the equivalent of one day per week, I identify and build strategic partnerships, opportunities for building BRiX's reputation, and ideas for keeping life at BRiX popping.
V I A
R A I L
Via Rail reached out to me last month to help them rework their rather staid history section. Helping them reinvent their narrative and how to tell it will keep me busy until the end of January.
N E X T
U P
There are rumors of another project with Lemay, but nothing concrete thus far. Sid Lee has always had a special place at the back of my mind as an agency that pushes the boundaries of creativity in a way that I respect and excites me. Thank you for asking for samples. This is quite honestly the first time I've taken a tour of my work over the years and assembled my favourite pieces. It's been fun and insightful! I hope you'll keep me in mind if ever the need for a fresh, creative pen with a solid strategic background arises. While my freelance status is something I treasure, trust that for any project, I relish the dynamic of being part of a team. Happy New Year, and all the best for an exceptional decade to come! Best, Elizabeth
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word@elizabethadams.biz
P H O N E
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T W I T T E R
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W E B S I T E
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