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: 1001 se water ave. no. 310
portland, oregon 97214
: threadcreative.com
Thread is a small yet mighty writing studio that specializes in verbal brand identity, messaging strategy and content development. Thread
has helped a wide range of national and international brands tell their story, including adidas, Adobe, BP, Gerber Gear, Giro, Rossignol, Sesame
Street, Sun Valley, Umpqua Bank and many more. Our work has been featured in a variety of trade publications and awards shows such as
Fast Company, Print, Communication Arts, notcot.com, the European Red Dot Awards and the AIGA Awards.
Brand Narrative
Verbal Identity
Messaging Strategy
A brand needs to know where it’s going before it can
ask consumers to come along for the ride. A powerful
narrative can realign an entire brand toward one
common purpose, and has the potential to affect every
aspect of the company—from product design and
marketing, to sales and accounting. Thread researches,
concepts and writes overarching narratives for brands
that give customers, employees and everyone else
connected with the brand something to believe in and
belong to.
Through our language, people hear who we are.
Leaders speak differently than friends. Friends speak
differently than service providers, and so on. Thread
helps brands create and implement a distinctive brand
language that differentiates them from their competitors and creates the right emotional bond with their
most important audience.
Thread works with clients to create and implement
cohesive messaging strategies that communicate a
single, powerful point of view across all communication channels, both traditional and digital.
The things we’re really good at
Concepts and content for traditional
communication channels such as:
collateral, advertising and retail
Digital content development
for websites, blogs, social media,
ecommerce, etc.
Interactive and environmental
storytelling
Brand books, annual reports,
videos, catalogs and other corporate
publications
Brands we currently pour our hearts into
GIRO Apparel Site
To support the introduction of Giro’s New Road apparel collection, Thread crafted a new brand voice for the company. The approach is rooted in the
company’s performance-oriented history yet is inclusive of the wider riding audience its design-driven collection focuses on. Design: Wilderness
CODE
HELMET
DEVELOPMENT
The Code™ is ideal for riders who want maximum power transfer plus the
comfort and durability needed to withstand rugged trails and conditions.
The light yet tough Teijin® microfiber upper shapes to your foot, and our
NEW
adjustable SuperNatural Fit Kit allows you to tune the level of arch support,
enhancing efficiency and comfort. Welded scuff guards boost the durability
and structured feel, and the optimized Easton® EC90™ unidirectional carbon
sole provides pro-level stiffness for the most efficient power transfer available.
Dirt Footwear
$290 usd
TUNED FOR THE TRAIL
THE WOMEN’S SERIES
Black
FASHION GOES FUNCTIONAL
UPPER:
Teijin® premium microfiber
with welded scuff guards
FOOTBED:
SuperNatural Fit Kit with
adjustable arch support
Strong and secure ratcheting
buckle closure (replaceable)
X-Static® anti-microbial fiber
Offset strap “D-ring” at mid-foot
Rubber nose guard
WEIGHT:
355 grams (size 42.5)
OUTSOLE:
Easton® EC90 unidirectional
carbon fiber
SIZE:
39-50, including half-sizes
from 39.5-46.5
SIZES:
39 - 50:
PART No.
7042331-350
Our expanded Women’s Series™ is a carefully considered collection of products including five new helmet
models, with refined graphics and unmatched attention to detail that represent the doorway to a better ride
for more women. From ultra-fit racers to fun-and fitness-minded riders, these products can enhance style,
comfort and the ride experience for almost any woman, regardless of the type of bike she rides.
6
7
THE MOST ADVANCED TOOLS
WE CAN GET OUR HANDS ON:
OUR HANDS
High traction dual-density lugs
White / Black
SIZES:
39 - 48:
Highlight Yellow
Progress is a funny thing. Sometimes, the more
SIZES:a faster PART
No.or a lighter
PART No.
you push to create
helmet
39 - 48:
2040831-848
2025290-307
for a scale, an instrument we’re all familiar with.
There is, however, nothing simple about our brain.
Everything it makes possible, from holding a
pencil to turning a pedal to reading this page, is
beautifully mysterious.
by hand, someone sketched them and smudged
them, erased them and revised them, until they
shoe, the closer you get to where you started. The
were ready for prototyping. We hold our designs
latest technology and most advanced materials
in our laps, literally, as they take shape and come
are still just tools. What brings them together and
to life. The final stages, where they become things
unlocks their power are the people who love them,
you will use on the road and trail, are wonders
and love what they can do with them. We’re proud
of modern engineering and fabrication. But the
of our facilities—from 3D printers to an in-house
beginning is by hand. Before anyone puts them
wind tunnel to a world class testing facility—
on, we put our heart, our heads, and more than
and they are a crucial part of how we build our
anything, our hands, into everything we make.
147
Andy Granelli 3
about three pounds. It’s a simple measurement
Mid-foot scuff guard
Accommodates steel toe
spikes (included)
Three pounds. The average adult brain weighs
We are not experts on the brain. But we are
experts on how to help protect it, experts
at figuring out how to create helmets that
safeguard something we all treasure. Our helmet
development process is driven as much by
products. But the most amazing part of the
process is not the complex design software we use
Why mention this? Because what we’re after when
or our expensive equipment. The most impressive
we roll out on a ride may be a little different for
tools are also the most common and recognizable:
each one of us, but what brings us together is
hands. Callused and creased, often ink-stained and
exactly the same: late nights spent dreaming, early
usually caffeinated, the hands of Giro are our most
mornings spent tinkering, lunch hours on the bike,
valuable asset.
and long rides to the places we love.
our commitment to thoughtful design, modern
engineering and state-of-the-art testing as it is by
Roll Cage intern
a simple reverence for what we are keeping safe.
Every helmet we create, every shoe we dream
up, every glove we devise, all share one thing
in common: someone drew them. Carefully and
3
Color samples o
GIRO Bike and Apparel Product Catalog
8
Thread helps Giro tell its story of cycling
history blended with a distinctive approach to design innovation across all key brand touch points, from catalog to website to email. Design: Wilderness
adidas Boston Marathon
Working with adidas and the Boston Athletic Association, Thread had the exclusive honor of creating all the inspirational writing for runners along the
Boston Marathon course for over 10 years. You can still find our copy on running enthusiast sites around the web, and our posters still sell on eBay.
adidas Boston Marathon
Working with adidas and the Boston Athletic Association, Thread had the exclusive honor of creating all the inspirational writing for runners along the
Boston Marathon course for over 10 years. You can still find our copy on running enthusiast sites around the web, and our posters still sell on eBay.
adidas ait
Thread helped the adidas advanced design team, ait, pioneer a new narrative-led approach to product innovation. We then led workshops and created an internal campaign to
bring the new approach to life. This work included environmental messaging and a handbook outlining the team’s new principles of innovation.
GRAVITY IS A LIAR
A cheat. A thief. A fraud. And for as long as you’ve been lacing up track
spikes, it has robbed you of precious turnover, split seconds and welldeserved finish tape. That’s because gravity lives in a world of can’ts,
won’ts and don’ts. And it wants desperately to hold you back and keep
you there too.
But now it’s your turn to call gravity’s bluff, to rub gravity’s nose in it. It’s
time to strap 99 grams of truth to your feet and finally find out just how
fast you really are.
IN LEVITAS VERUM:
In lightness, truth
5
adidas misc
As brand marketing becomes increasingly more conversational and content driven, adidas has come to rely on Thread more and more to help the company
tell its stories through social media, PR, video, web, ecommerce, events, retail, product launches and everywhere else great storytelling is needed.
GERBER GEAR PRODUCT SITE
In preparation for a large expansion of Gerber Gear’s Bear Grylls collection into a major retail presence including Amazon and Walmart, Thread developed and implemented a cohesive, distinct voice for the range’s product copy.
UMPQUA BANK ENVIRONMENT
Thread has helped Umpqua Bank with its storytelling as it’s grown from a handful of locations to the largest independent bank on the West Coast. We work
with Umpqua on everything from advertising, environments, events, web and social media, to helping innovate new products. Design: Ditroën Design
UMPQUA BANK NEIGHBORHOOD NARRATIVES
Thread has helped Umpqua Bank with its storytelling as it’s grown from a handful of locations to the largest independent bank on the West Coast. We work
with Umpqua on everything from advertising, environments, events, web and social media, to helping innovate new products. Design: Ditroën Design
UMPQUA BANK misc
Thread has helped Umpqua Bank with its storytelling as it’s grown from a handful of locations to the largest independent bank on the West Coast. We work
with Umpqua on everything from advertising, environments, events, web and social media, to helping innovate new products. Design: Ditroën Design
PROMETHEUS PROPERTIES REBRAND
Thread led a two-year campaign that rebuilt the Prometheus Properties brand from scratch, transforming it from an enormously successful but invisible $4 billion holding company into one of the most respected
and loved brands in its industry. This year, it was recognized as the property management company of the year by the National Association of Home Builders. Design: Owen Jones & Partners, Ditroën Design
PROMETHEUS PROPERTIES REBRAND
Thread led a two-year campaign that rebuilt the Prometheus Properties brand from scratch, transforming it from an enormously successful but invisible $4 billion holding company into one of the most respected
and loved brands in its industry. This year, it was recognized as the property management company of the year by the National Association of Home Builders. Design: Owen Jones & Partners, Ditroën Design
PROMETHEUS PROPERTIES REBRAND
Thread led a two-year campaign that rebuilt the Prometheus Properties brand from scratch, transforming it from an enormously successful but invisible $4 billion holding company into one of the most respected
and loved brands in its industry. This year, it was recognized as the property management company of the year by the National Association of Home Builders. Design: Owen Jones & Partners, Ditroën Design
Your legs are lazy. That’s why
they love crowds and lift lines.
Their favorite trick is to whip
off a quick section of steeps,
tuck themselves into a packed
lift maze, and pat themselves
on the back for 10 or 20
minutes while they wait to
load yet again. Legs hate our
guts. They hate our 3-minuteor-less lift lines all day, every
day, all season. They hate our
300 days of sun every year.
They hate our 3,241 feet of
unbroken vertical from peak
to base. They hate the thought
of skiing 35,000’ of vertical
before lunch. And they hate
our two entire mountains full
of untouched freshies with no
one to ski them but you. Your
legs want to go back to the
resort you went to last year.
The one that talked a good
game about terrain and snow,
but was too crowded for you
to get in more than an hour or
two of turns a day. Legs love
Colorado. Legs love Utah.
They hate us.
SUN VALLEY RESORT SEASONAL CAMPAIGN
America’s oldest ski resort, Sun Valley turned to Thread to help it tell its story of how being situated out of the way yields some unique and alluring advantages.
Thread creates seasonal ad campaigns, web copy and other story-driven messaging for the resort and Sun Valley’s marketing group. Design: Blue Collar Interactive
AND THE FAMILY SHOWERED
HAPPILY EVER
AFTER
Easy-to-install squares with all the benefits
of true linoleum: natural ingredients, extreme
durability and easy care.
WWW.ECOHAUS.COM
PORTLAND BELLEVUE SEATTLE
4121 FIRST AVE. SOUTH SEATTLE, WA 98134
M - F 8 - 6 SAT 10 - 5 SUN 11- 5 PH: 206.682.7332
ECO-FRIENDLY BUILDING MATERIALS SINCE 1992
ECOHAUS & MARK SPENCER HOTEL misc
Along with our long-term clients, Thread engages in project work with a wide range of regional, national and international brands to help them uncover their brand story and tell it across all brand touch points. Design: Ditroën Design
gorge grown OUTDOOR CAMPAIGN MISC
Along with our long-term clients, Thread engages in project work with a wide range of brands to help them uncover their brand story and tell it across all brand touch points. Design: Owen Jones & Partners