TWIST
Michael Ozan
Brand Storyteller & Business Owner — 25 Years of helping brands to instill confidence, impact culture and inspire devotion.
"Think you have a small business, positioning, messaging, sales or brand problem I can't solve? Try me." Mike Ozan is a writer, brand strategist and creative visionary. For twenty years he has led the award winning creative team at TWIST known as the Fearless Thinkers on a mission to help challenger brands impress the world. With an entrepreneurial fist, a full-throttle drive and a fearless beating heart, Mike Ozan is not just a writer, not just a brand strategist, not just a business problem solver, but an unstoppable rebel force in Cleveland, Ohio – a creative force to be reckoned with. For the last two decades, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of TWIST Creative Inc. Mike Ozan, has been notorious for creating solutions that turn heads, warm hearts and shake foundations. One of his team members once said, “When it looks as though Mike Ozan is on the ropes, he probably just put himself there to figure his way off of ‘em.” It’s true, that’s what he does: he puts himself in the shoes of the audience, works a plan and then executes. A native Clevelander, Mike is passionate about brand building for neighborhoods and working with nonprofits to innovate new communication platforms that use the principles of advertising to educate and invite participation in actions which disrupt the cycle of poverty. The chief creative behind hundreds of brands, today Mike focuses his energy on finding disruptive new answers for regional challenger brands who face competitors who outspend them 100 to 1. Mike and the team at TWIST have received hundreds of awards for their brand storytelling, visual identity, advertising campaigns and content platforms.
Connie Ozan
Brand Designer & Business Owner — 25 years of helping brands visually express their character, market position and culture
Want to know if your logo is serving your brand? Ask Connie. "Identity and key visuals such as color and typefaces speak to your customers' subconscious. The right impression establishes trust and puts your brand into consideration." Ask Connie a question about your logo or any component of your visual brand. She can advise you on corporate identities, product package design and any visual portrayal of your brand. She’s the Pusher of Boundaries, the Maker of Possibility and Creative-Answer-To-The-Next Problem. She’s Connie Ozan, the Designated Designer of Brand X Cleveland. Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer of TWIST Creative, Inc. and board member of the Cleveland Institute of Art. Connie leads with an innate ability to always see what’s possible. There’s a word that often attaches to Connie’s name when brought up in conversation: Remarkable. It’s the way she leaves her mark on a project, the people around her and the creative presence she has when she steps into a room. Master of trends, style and color Connie’s work for the arts resides in the permanent collection of SFMOMA as part of the American Institute of Graphic Art Collection and she and her team at TWIST have received hundreds of awards for their elegant and disruptive visual brands.
Charlene Coughlin
Strategic Marketer & Agency Leader — 16 Years of Agency Account Services and Management
Ask Charlene how she converts customer agreements into relationships that mature to high value and mutual benefit. “Bold thinking, being listened to but also pushed when appropriate, someone on the outside that understands their business goals and objectives and honestly, a great relationship that produces great work.” Or you can ask her how to build an integrated marketing campaign that hits your goals and objectives, about building a team for success or the best reality TV show for binge watching! Top gun relationship builder, energetic developer of marketing campaigns, multiple board member, and extra-curricular go-getter – Charlene Coughlin is omnipresent. And everyone in Cleveland knows it. Everyone. Managing Director at TWIST Creative, Inc. for the past 7 years, Charlene has harnessed the power of relationships between clients and team members, she’s budgeted budgets, made the right connections to/for the right people, and has managed multiple projects from raw start to creative finish in the most timeliest of fashions. It’s been said, “Charlene walks one foot with the agency and the other with the client.” It’s not impossible, that’s just Charlene: Adweek Executive Mentee 2020, 4A’s Executive Leadership Program, Gold / Silver / Bronze ADDY Award Winner, Emmy nominated.
