I’m Caitlin O’Toole; a budding Creative Director, and current Creative Marketing Manager with over 5 years experience in the fields of digital marketing, graphic design and content creation. I consider my skills to be multi-disciplinary and thrive in roles where I can combine all of these areas of expertise.
My experience spans graphic design (digital and print), content strategy, social media management, photography and creative direction from idea to execution across brands and campaigns.
I currently work for boutique agency Social Pop with clients such as Hyoumankind, Heal Within, Living Goodness and Rotoroa Island. I previously worked in-house as a Brand Assistant for Girl Undiscovered, an ethical skin-care brand which relocated to New York; I also co-founded the popular New Zealand film lab The Black and White Box.
Client data shared on this page is confidential and may not be redistributed. Thank you for your understanding.
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Adaptable
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Agile
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Attentive
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Collaborative
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Dynamic
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Dedicated
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Experimental
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Empathetic
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Forecaster
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Inquisitive
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Ideator
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Resourceful
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Spirited
• Adaptable • Agile • Attentive • Collaborative • Dynamic • Dedicated • Experimental • Empathetic • Forecaster • Inquisitive • Ideator • Resourceful • Spirited
Career Experience
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I currently work 25-30 hours per week for this boutique digital marketing agency, and have done for over 3 years.
Over this time, I have worked with 11 clients, with 7 currently under my care. My role as Creative Marketing Manager revolves around the day-to-day management of my clients social media platforms, and collaborating on their paid ad strategies. As time has gone on my role has allowed me to lead marketing and creative strategy for select start-ups, in addition to implementing and generating identified solutions. I'm also a trusted team member brought on for special projects such as strategizing new brand initiatives, product launches or branding exercises. As with many small brands I work within set budget and time constraints, but I attempt to include as much creativity and originality in my client's marketing calendars and content creation as these parameters allow. These constraints have helped me to further develop my sense of resourcefulness.
For 3 of our bigger budget clients I have been involved in creative direction, brand strategy, and brand refreshes within the past year. These experiences have shown that I can combine a companies vision for the future with innovative thinking, to produce a bespoke, engaging outcome.
My role as a Creative Marketing Mange has allowed me to seamlessly intertwine my practical creative skills with my marketing and branding knowledge. Thus, I can ensure my clients make a unique mark in their industry, and exceed business goals/outcomes.The following are tasks I have performed the past 3 years:
Creative direction — photo shoots; digital ad campaigns; marketing calendar on a monthly basis.
Content creation — Producing UGC to align with a brands intended goals. Professional full-day shoot to capture imagery for website, media, digital campaigns and organic social media.
Social media management — Instagram, Tiktok and Facebook, where applicable and client dependent. My tasks include planning the marketing calendar for the month; community management; ideating new organic strategies to grow audiences; running social media competitions; generating engaging content series; communicating key brand activities such as media features, sales, and collaborations.
Graphic design — social media tiles; EDM templates; internal communications such as brand books or creative guidelines; paid ad assets; digital brand collateral such as icons and banners; logo refresh.
Brand refresh — evolve brand strategy to grow into new markets and audiences; re-establish tone of voice; expand brand use guidelines; creating new visual elements.
Copy writing — EDM, social media post copy, paid social ad copy, one-liners for ad assets, product descriptions, blog posts
Creative consultation — on projects such as website builds; image/video editing; UGC briefs; new brand initiatives.
Trend forecasting and market research — keeping my finger on the pulse of new ideas gaining attention online; translating ones that align to engage audiences for the relevant brands.
Marketing reports — I report monthly to clients on general marketing activities and campaign results. I also translate analytics into advice on how to proceed in the months ahead.
Current and previous clients include: Hyoumankind, Heal Within, Rotoroa Island Trust, UFL Group, Living Goodness, Riverhead Ferry, Ruakaka Beachfront Motel, Wellbeing Workshop, Te Korowai O Waiheke, Geneva Painting, Trade Jobs NZ
2021 — Current
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Over my time as Hyoumankind's Content and Social Manager I have curated their everyday social media channels with a focus on Instagram, and more recently, Tiktok. I have also contributed creatively across numerous creative projects ad hoc.
I have worked with Hyoumankind since 2021, around 5 hours a week on average.
My particular experience has included tasks such as:Social media management — I curate the organic social calendar around Hyoumankind's monthly goals. My focus is to stay agile and recreate relevant or trending content, while using these opportunities to work towards the brand's short and long term goals. I also manage the community; comment engagement, direct messages, running brand competitions, engaging with UGC, and updating the team on any brand opportunities discovered through social media.
Photoshoots — creative direction; run sheet and shot list organization; task delegation; model selection; photography; model direction; colour grading; establishing final edit look across my own and collaborators' work.
Graphic design — EDM templates, social media tiles, story templates, paid ad assets
Brand support — supporting Hyoumankind in briefing a digital agency on brand identity and creative direction; strategising new purchase initiatives; attending refresh sessions with Hyoumankind and Social Pop management.
2021 — Current
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I have been actively involved in the launch of this start-up supplement brand, for between 5-10 hours per week for the past few months. I started with Heal Within before they had finalised their brand identity, and have been involved in all design and marketing aspects of the process since.
My primary tasks have included:
Brand strategy — collaboratively finalising brand positioning, tone of voice, and identifying customer segments.
Marketing strategy — collaboratively deciding best approach for awareness and conversion campaigns; defining audiences; designing EDM flows.
Graphic design — formal letter templates; EDM templates; social media ad graphics; design collateral.
Creative consulting — I provided feedback to Heal Within's chosen design agency on both website and packaging, to help optimise the design for conversions and retail respectively.
Copy writing — I provided help with structure, general tone and flow for various use cases; tagline creation, various EDMs, product descriptions, ad campaign messaging, and organic social copy.
2024
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I co-founded contemporary film lab The Black and White Box with a close friend looking for a creative business partner.
Running a business lends itself to wearing many hats, but as Co-Founder and Creative Director I was responsible for creative execution across all assets of the brand — identity, content, activation, and events. Beyond the marketing strategy, I designed all internal and external digital and physical assets, and helped to execute day-to-day business tasks.
With help from my work, as well as the hard work of my co-founder, we established a strong foundation for the brand and have since had many notable achievements. We worked with St. Jeromes Laneway Festival and Coup de Main; held successful events such as The Film Fair and ‘From the Archives’ exhibition in collaboration with Allpress Espresso; sponsored photography events for local artists and community initiatives; established a highly engaged audience on social media; produced album covers for the likes of Lorde; been entrusted to develop photographs for national magazine covers; printed fine=art grade exhibition works; and in general, created a trusted brand that embodies the values its team holds.
My work included:
Social media management — planning content calendar; ideating and creating content series; communicating brand activities and collaborations through posts; contacting and coordinating artist features; running competitions; community management such as responding to DMs and comments; customer support including assisting customers order or stock queries.
Brand strategy and design — from ideation to execution, I designed all aspects of the brand from logo, to systems, tone and positioning. I continued to regularly develop these over time.
Copy writing — organic social media, product descriptions, order form, EDMs
Product design — sticker design to cover a custom camera product
Marketing strategy — market research and understanding, audience research and understanding, customer segmenting, and how this informs all outcomes such as social media content and copy, offers, brand communications, brand partnerships, etc.
Creative direction and execution across events, activations, and marketing
Managing brand partnerships — worked with my partner to build and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with aligned business, as well as communicated with creatives who we were collaborating on art shows and exhibitions
2017 — 2021
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My role as Brand Assistant for Girl Undiscovered allowed me to be involved in the another small team environment. Despite the size of our team, Girl Undiscovered had amassed a following of 10,000 and a was largely focused on a US audience. I was brought on to help prepare for further international expansion.
My role was specifically involved in the creative team, within design and content creation. I worked alongside the head designer, Hannah Sames, and, creative director, legendary female photographer Sara Orme. My work had to speak to a free, wild and playful nature at every touchpoint, be it a social post or the investment memorandum. Under Sara’s expertise I also received invaluable mentorship on colour grading, image manipulation, and photoshoot assisting which was hugely inspirational as a budding photographer. As a part of the small business culture, I was able to sit in on meetings and be a part of conversations at all stages of the business journey; from product ideation, to manufacturing, to market. This was invaluable for me at the start of my career.
Although I spent only 9 months with Girl Undiscovered before their relocation to New York, my job responsibilities included:
Social media management — creating the monthly marketing calendar, content curation, contacting UGC creators to be featured.
Packaging design — populating dielines; copywriting; image retouching and manipulation; information hierarchy and placement.
Graphic design — EDM creation; paid social campaigns; social media tiles; information memorandum; internal presentations and communications; brand postcards.
Shoot assistant — styling assist; caring for and changing equipment; coordinating run sheet.
2018 — 2019
Social Media
15% of views were replays
(7.8k total views*)
1% engagement rate*(based on total people reached)
*Boosted organic post
49 follows
(from 6.3k people reached*)
1.5% engagement rate*(based on total people reached)
*Boosted organic post
The Black and White Box
Instagram
Setting the brief for all aspects of The Black and White Bos’s marketing myself, the sky was the limit when shaping our Instagram.
As a fan of going the extra mile I decided to create a feed where every last aspect was highly considered, since I didn’t have the pressure of a budget and very few time restraints. Rather than making a digital graphic to tide us over, I would often come up with physical concepts we could photograph to make our messages visual. We used this format to celebrate milestones, promote offers and introduce new products. From my experience this always attracted a lot more engagement, particularly comments, then any of our other posts.
I was very new to the world of social media marketing throughout my time at The Black and White Box, therefore I have few metrics recorded. However, from what I can recall, the community I built has been one of the most engaged I’ve experienced to this day. The the content I produced was some of the most engaged with content I’ve created.
Content shown includes: imagery concepted and directed by myself; curated imagery I selected from our customers; mixed media tiles both designed and edited by me.
In the period July 2017 – February 2021
4,800+ organic followers
194 published posts
J U L Y 2 0 1 7
Hyoumankind Instagram
The goal for Hyoumankind’s organic social grid is been to focus on the USPs that set Hyoumankind’s pillows apart.
Their hero product, the Go Pillow, is a custom-designed memory foam pillow to be used everywhere – in bed each night; at the beach; travelling; on public transport; at your work desk. My intention with our posts is to encourage the audience to forget what they think they know about pillows. To help people understand the innovative nature of this product, I aim to showcase the unique situations in which the Go Pillow can be used beyond the bedroom.
Content seen on these grids includes my photography, brand videography, content from UGC creators, and inspiration images sourced to enrich the visual experience of the brand. Together, all visuals work to emmerse you in the brand world of Hyoumankind; thoughtful but daring, comfortable but adventurous.
In the period July 2021 - July 2024
18,280 engagements, including 8,432 organic
(25% increase vs. previous period)
5,326,573 impressions
(81.2% increase vs. previous period)
59.7% increase in organic engagement rate
Increased following 168.8%
with a net follower growth increase of 72%
Increased profile actions 139.5%
99% of which were website clicks
34.5% of views were replays
(2.5k total views*)
8.9% engagement rate
(based on total people reached)
*Organic post
1hr41min watch time
(962 plays)
5.4% engagement rate*(based on total people reached)
*Organic post
J U L Y 2 0 2 1
20.5% of interactions were shares
(73 interactions total*)
5.2% engagement rate
(based on total people reached)
*Organic post
Living Goodness Instagram
When I took on Living Goodness as a client I wanted to help breathe new life into their feed. They were using outdated templates which didn’t align with their brand identity, as well as imagery which lacked their personality. At the time, this brand identity only extended as far as their packaging and website. I worked diligently to translate their fun, engaging identity onto their social feed.
I started to write in a new tongue-and-cheek tone inspired by their tagline, brought in their bespoke illustrations to serve as playful visual branding elements, and included more of their vibrant brand colours into their graphics.
I have 3 goals for Living Goodness — showcase the diversity of their product through user-generated content and recipes; show that the product is high-quality by promoting their collaborations with respected food vendors such as BurgerFuel and Apostle Hot Sauce; generate food videos that sauerkraut enjoyers would find relatable or amusing to grow a valuable audience. All of these goals should help to build the brand’s reputation.
From May 2023 to May 2024
6.1% organic & 4.2% combined engagement rate
(167% increase and 85% increase respectively vs. previous period)
2,631 engagements
(from 61,907 impressions. These increased 7% despite 42.7% impressions decrease)
673.3% increase in net follower growth
60.9% increase in organic saves
vs. previous period. I’m curating content that engages people enough that they to want to refer back
29% increase in profile visitors
vs. previous period
Explore a selection of my original works spanning photography, graphic design and content ideating, made specifically for social media, below.
Please see more of my digital campaigns, photography, shoot management and design projects further down the page.
M A Y 2 0 2 3 — M A Y 2 0 2 4
22.4% of views were replays
(1.7k total views*)
85.1% people reached were non-followers*(introducing our product to new people)
*Organic post
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Social template
Unity Mixes — 'D for Dance'
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Discount template
Living Goodness
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Organic social photography
Girl Undiscovered — photography for Easter gift
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Stocktake template
UFL Group
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Product promo direction
The Black and White Box
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Infographic design
The Black and White Box — services pricelist for event
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Infographic design
The Black and White Box & Allpress Espresso
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Info tile
Hyoumankind
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Organic social photo
Hyoumankind
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Social template
Living Goodness — Ongoing content campaign
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![Infrographic design]()
Infographic
The Black and White Box
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Content direction
The Black and White Box
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Tile design
Rotoroa Island — Bird of the Year mini campaign
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Concept and design
The Black and White Box — product promo
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Illustrative event tile
Unity Mixes
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Tile design
The Black and White Box
Marketing Activitiy
Go Pillow Colourway Launch Campaign
Wholesale Traffic Campaign
Launch Assets
Video
Image
Refreshed Assets
O R G A N I C S O C I A L
In 2023 the Hyoumankind team wanted to run a limited-budget organic campaign with the objective to build excitement and anticipation around their upcoming colour range.
This was a general awareness campaign. The outcomes being measured were a general increase in organic impressions and engagement, but I was also interested to see the relative increase in profile actions (clicks to website).
It was my responsibility to ideate and create the visual output of this campaign and decide on rollout structure.
I opted for a ‘grid takeover’ delivery following a very organic style, utilising a row-by-row structure with 1x row per new colour. Each row consisted of 1x sneak peak of the new colour, 1x moodboard image strongly influenced by the colourway, and 1x shot of the pillow ‘in use’, where content allowed. Copy was angled towards slowly revealing the colourways name and sharing unique features and benefits of each the various materials. To complete the campaign, I proposed that we end with a giveaway to win one of the new colours.
I sourced mood board imagery, created imagery concepts, and shot the imagery in a range of playful manners. I also edited UGC from influencers to look more closely aligned with Hyoumankind’s aesthetic.
Out of 13 published posts over 13 days…
12,422 organic impressions (25.1% increase vs. previous period)
323 organic engagements (617.8% increase vs. previous period)
2.6% organic engagement rate (473.6% increase vs. previous period)
43 profile actions (30.3% increase vs. previous period)
P A I D S O C I A L
When I started with Living Goodness in 2023 the company had not utilised the full potential of paid social, nor had they used Meta ads to generate business leads. To get the ball rolling the Social Pop founder and I created strategy for a top-of-funnel campaign to get more business customers to visit the ‘Wholesale’ web page.
With low budget of around $8 a day, the outcomes being measured were landing page views, and cost-per-result.
It was my responsibility to ideate and create not only the visual output of this campaign, but work with Social Pop’s founder to strategize the right messaging to engage our target audience - primarily those in the food industry working in butcheries, delis, small supermarkets or eateries, but we also cast the net wide enough to reach some general foodies and home cooks.
I opted for messaging which highlighted the brands freshness of ingredients and goodness of live bacteria for gut health, both important aspects of the Living Goodness brand. I would save further USPs for a middle-of-funnel retargeting campaign run at the same time. Copy was kept short and punchy to attract attention but gave enough information for interested parties to be curious to learn more.
Using brand imagery I designed easy to read assets (tiles) which were bright and attention-grabbing in keeping with Living Goodness’ brand feel. The first set of assets were replaced after almost a year, as they had avoided fatigue throughout this time.
I am now 2 months into the same campaign with refreshed assets. The direction for this was to utilise new wholesale bucket imagery we suggested they get created, to more accurately align ourselves with wholesale clients. Playing into that fun side, we utiltised sauerkraut related puns to keep the tongue-in-cheek feel, very different to Living Goodness’ competitor brands who are largely ‘health’ focused in tone and branding.
Since 19th July 2023 to September 2024…
7,289 landing page views (campaign lifetime)
$0.53 cost-per-result (campaign lifetime)
132,468 indivduals reached (campaign lifetime)
Photography & Editing
Beyond the Bedroom
In 2024 the Hyoumankind creative team decided to continue our Beyond the Bedroom campaign first shot
in 2023.
Creating concepts and mood boarding was my first task.
This time I recommended we go for a more elegant and fashionable shoot, with an element of playfulness we don’t usually try. Because we were lacking content of the various Go Pillows in use I thought it would be best to divide the shoot into two content objectives: the first being ‘Beyond the Bedroom’, dreamy sleep/bed shots focused on the silk Go Pillow case in White and Black; the second being ‘Ultimate Lounging’, elevated beach shots focused on the Go Toweling’s most popular colourways - pink, yellow and navy.
‘Beyond the Bedroom’ sleep/silk was focused on showcasing the almost surreal joy of comfort in unexpected places.
This concept is both practical and symbolic: practical because the purpose of the Go Pillow is to provide you with consistent support wherever you take it, but symbolic of the freedom you gain when you don’t have to compromise comfort for adventure.
C A M P A I G N
I was once again tasked with creative direction for the shoot — this included moodboarding for collaborators to follow, deciding shot list, location suggestions, general shoot coordination including best times / locations to shoot, and leading post-production editing. I was also responsible for the photography of the shoot.
‘Ultimate Lounging’ was focused on displaying the pillow in a more trendy, aesthetic way by having it used as a fashionable prop.
Traditionally Hyoumankind has been quite literal with their imagery, preferring pillows be used correctly by models in their shoots. I proposed that it was time to present the pillow in this elevated way as a luxe accessory; this was not only to create more engaging imagery, but to have the audience view the Go Pillow as more than sleep aid. We want to position the Go Pillow as an elevated everyday luxury that fits into one’s ‘idealised’ lifestyle; like Frank Green who elevated the once boring ‘water bottle’ into an aesthetic essential.
I collated the mood boards, shoot outcomes, finer details and props list into a Shoot Overview for the team — including Hyoumankind management team, stylist, videographer and assistants.
The shoot was a success. I captured a variety of photographs which brought the mood board to life in a way that was genuine to Hyoumankind.
By the end of the day I felt I was able to successfully direct the models (who had no prior experience) to feel confident and comfortable in themselves and in front of me. This allowed me to produce a set of images that let their natural state of being, authentic movements and sense of joy bring a genuine warmth to the imagery. It reminded me of one of my first commercial shoot experiences, assisting for Sara Orme who created such a beautiful space for the models to be themselves and capture their natural beauty. I was overjoyed to feel that, in my own way, I had created a very similar magic to what originally inspired my style.
Following the shoot I began the editing process. I made minor adjustments to get presentable images for the Hyoumankind team to make their selection. This was to optimise the editing process as best as I could; with thousands of photos, it would have been inefficient to edit countless double-ups we didn’t need.
Following their selection I set to work on colour grading and retouching, utilising both Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop as needed. This took my RAW files and turned them into a finished product that is dreamy and elevated, just as I was aiming for.
Beyond the Bedroom is just one example of a photoshoot I have directed, photographed and edited.
Below is a handful of my favourite photographs which showcase a combination of these three skills.
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Product photography
Heal Within
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Commercial photography
'Beyond the Bedroom' 2023, Hyoumankind
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Fashion photography
Personal blog, in collaboration with Jemma Barclay, Pigment Studio and Red11 Models
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Editorial photography
Layla Kaisi Collection, in collaboration with Made Up By Ruth and Layla Kaisi
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Product photography
Heal Within
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Commercial photography
'Beyond the Bedroom' 2023, Hyoumankind
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Fashion photography
Personal blog, in collaboration with Jemma Barclay, Pigment Studio and Red11 Models
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Commercial photography
'Beyond the Bedroom' 2023, Hyoumankind
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Editorial photography
In collaboration with Brydie Lloyd, Lorenzo Thapliyal, Red11 Models, and AUT Fashion graduate collection
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Product photography
Heal Within
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Commerical photography
'Beyond the Bedroom' 2023, Hyoumankind
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Editorial Photography
Layla Kaisi Collcetion, incollaboration with Made Up by Ruth and Layla Kaisi
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Commercial photography
Beyond the Bedroom' 2023, Hyoumankind
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Commerical photography
'Beyond the Bedroom' 2024, Hyoumankind
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Commerical photography
'Beyond the Bedroom' 2023, Hyoumankind
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Editorial photography
Personal blog, for Senso
Graphic Design
The ability to produce my own solutions, bring my own creative ideas to life and bring art into everyday living is the reason I am a Graphic Designer.
Storefront signage
The Black and White Box, 2019
Over the last 8 years designing for various projects and clients, I have experienced both sides of the coin: having to design a solution which fits certain guidelines, or having my imagination be the only limit of a design solution.
Although it’s incredibly fulfilling to be completely free with what you create, designing bespoke and imaginative solutions while adhering to specific guidelines has ultimately helped me to become a more resourceful and creative thinker. In turn, it’s helped me to produce work that those setting the brief didn’t think their brand could achieve.
While my work over the last few years has been more digital focused, I have multiple years of experience designing for a diverse range of printed outcomes for external and internal use. I am personally very interested in designing for brand activation and physical products/spaces and look forward to doing more in the future.
Please find below an overview of the design solutions I believe will be of interest.
Window decals
‘From the Archives’
The Black and White Box, 2020
Digital
Event poster
‘D for Dance’
Unity Mixes, 2020
Branding
Logo design
The Black and White Box, 2017
Pin design
The Black and White Box, 2019
Ad campaign assets
Hyoumankind, 2025
Photo Book
‘From the Archives’
The Black and White Box, 2021
Order form
The Black and White Box, 2019
Packaging Refresh
Girl Undiscovered, 2019
Custom Packaging Sticker
The Black and White Box, 2020
EDM templates
Heal Within, 2024
Ad campaign assets
Heal Within, 2024
Event poster
‘From the Archives’
The Black and White Box, 2020
Web banner
The Black and White Box, 2020
Logo Design
Unity Mixes, 2019
Tote Design
The Black and White Box, 2019
Thank you for viewing my bespoke portfolio. I look forward to hearing from you.
While this is a showcase of the work I believe will interest you most, if you would like to see more of a specific style I am more than happy to share on request.
caitlin@caitlinotoole.co.nz
(+64) 27 253 2808