Client Testimonials
Much credit for the transformation and unprecedented growth of the out of home (OOH) advertising industry over the last eight years can be attributed to the superb positioning, strategy, branding, and communications advice and expertise provided by Lee Rafkin in his role as a strategic marketing consultant to the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA), Geopath, and OUTFRONT Media.
Lee worked with diverse industry leaders (from small, large, and global entities) and delivered a unified industry approach supported enthusiastically by the major constituencies. His consulting work was done on time and under budget. He brought branding & marketing expertise to the industry and along the way he became an expert in all things out of home (OOH). He is a joy to work with because he is passionate, curious, smart, hardworking, dependable, honest, and a very nice man.
Nancy Fletcher
President & CEO Emeritus, Out of Home Advertising Association of America
Lee Rafkin is one of our industry’s leading brand consultants. When CBS Corporation spun off its outdoor advertising business in the United States, Lee was hired to create a new name and brand for our company. Working with our leadership team, Lee created the perfect name, a dynamic new logo, and a smart brand strategy to position us as a forward-looking leader that always strives to be out in front. Lee rolled out the new OUTFRONT brand throughout our organization and partnered with our CMO to launch OUT to the world, from Times Square to the New York Stock Exchange. As a member of the OAAA Board of Directors, I’ve continued to work with Lee and have admired his work. Lee is smart, capable, and highly respected. I would recommend him highly.
Jeremy Male
Chief Executive Officer, OUTFRONT Media
As Chairman of the Board at OAAA, I’ve worked closely with Lee on important initiatives for our industry. Over the years, Lee has become a trusted advisor. He is passionate about the work and effective in driving results. Our board was confident enough in Lee's abilities to entrust him with the search and onboarding of the organizations' new CEO.
Sean Reilly
CEO, Lamar Advertising
Chairman of the Board, OAAA
There is a reason I’ve worked with Lee Rafkin for almost 20 years at three different organizations, five brands, three categories, and four continents, and that is simply because Lee “gets it.”
I’ve worked with Lee at AOL International, Discovery Networks, and University of Maryland. Not only is he a smart brand strategist and thought partner, Lee is exceptional at getting corporate buy-in at the highest levels with everyone from marketing experts to those completely new to the idea of branding. Lee is not the kind of consultant who goes into his “black box” and comes out with “the answer,” which he throws over the transom. Instead, Lee demonstrates a deep commitment to his clients by consistently over-delivering – not only strategically, but also by helping organizations with the change management and operationalization of the brand strategies he recommends.
Lee is also very adaptable. I’ve worked with him on projects in China, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Argentina and more, and have observed Lee successfully adapting his communications and management style to suit the client’s needs, linguistically and culturally.
There is one final reason why I’ve worked with Lee on so many assignments for so many years: He’s fantastic.
Kris Sexton
VP, Marketing
Gilchrist Hospice Care has worked with Lee Rafkin on our naming and branding strategies twice in the past 15 years. Both times Lee’s market assessment, creativity and recommendations exceeded expectations. We learned from the branding process and continue to learn as we work with our new name, identity, and communications. Our continued success serving people in need has been positively influenced by Lee’s work and consultation.
Cathy Hamel
President, Gilchrist
Repositioning and rebranding an 80+ year-old non-profit with thousands of members is no small feat. Lee Rafkin made the process absolutely seamless. We emerged with a completely refreshed brand that the organization and our members embraced immediately. Moving away from a traditional acronym was a bold move. Our new name perfectly embodies our mission and our product, and our entire organization wears our new logo with pride. When speaking with my peers across the market research landscape, they always refer to Geopath as the benchmark for rebrand success. I am so grateful we undertook this endeavor with Lee.
Kym Frank
President, Geopath
My team and I were novices when it came to marketing and branding, but we knew we needed to create a new image for our multi-specialty, hospital-owned medical group. Aside from its association with GBMC hospital, the physician practices had no name recognition or identity, and as a result, had low morale as a team. We knew of Lee Rafkin’s work from previous projects he had done with an affiliated program, so we decided to see if his style and approach would satisfy our needs and be able to unite our initially disparate ideas.
Working with Lee was a revelation for many of us. He spent considerable time exploring who we were, what we wanted to be, and what our market knew and thought about us. He taught us about creating an identity and principles of branding, without imposing any pre-conceived notions of what the end product should be. He worked to gain our trust by being knowledgeable yet humble, advising and leading, without directing or judging. This approach allowed our medical group leadership team to be more open to ideas and feel safe to voice our opinions. His easy but informed style enabled us to feel comfortable with our making the decisions, rather than relying on others to tell us what we should choose. We grew united by Lee’s approach, which helped forge internally a better image of what we wanted to be, rather than just a group of independent practices.
Lee held many focus groups involving our patients, members of various communities surrounding us, and many of our own medical staff. With Lee’s guidance in educating us without judging us, we grew as a team and were able to create an image for ourselves, a brand, and a marketing approach that has been very successful and well received. Because of Lee, we created the image of what we aspire to be, and we hold true to that image today, years later. It is our identity, not one Lee gave us, and that made it all the more successful and impactful.
As the leader of our multi-specialty medical group, Lee has taught me about leadership – the difference between guiding and directing; the creation of a sense of safety to explore options; and the willingness to embrace challenges in a creative, imaginative and individual way. I have used these lessons repeatedly ever since. It was a pleasure working with Lee Rafkin – and I look forward to working on another project with him.
Harold Tucker
Chief Medical Officer, Greater Baltimore Medical Center
President, GBMC Health Partners
Lee was engaged to run a Brand Council for all of our Latin American pay-TV networks at Discovery Communications. Working with network heads, programmers, marketers, researchers and creatives over a two year period, Lee completely repositioned two of our TV networks, tackled regionalization in Brazil and Mexico, established guidelines for licensing our brand in Latin America, and responded to competitive threats by National Geographic.
Lee has an incredibly sharp and strategic mind, and is also one of the best communicators I've ever seen. He trained our junior people and was able to galvanize our senior team like no one else.
Luisa Valor Casali
Vice President of Marketing & Communications, AMC Networks Latin America
I worked closely with Lee to develop a global brand strategy and go-to-market plan for Nestle Health Science’s allergy management business. Lee led highly complex, parallel projects in the UK, China, and Mexico, and developed an exceptional strategy and launch plan for our pediatric allergy initiative, which became one of the core growth pillars of our entire company. It was great to work with Lee. He has the unique ability to transform insights from different markets into an actionable and concrete plan, and the skills necessary to lead and run a big global project like this.
Elodie Roch L’Hotellier
Senior Global Strategy Lead, Nestlé Health Sciences
Lee is one of the best brand consultants I have ever worked with. From the initial stages of creating brand positioning and architecture to the implementation of our identity guidelines and advertising, his thought process, work ethic, and in-depth marketing and branding knowledge enabled us to achieve our goals. He was an invaluable part of our team.
Kurt Ivey
Chief Marketing Officer, Macerich Shopping Centers
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Lee at Covidien and then Medtronic on multiple market research, strategy, branding, and business development initiatives over the years. Lee immediately steps-up, becomes knowledgeable of the domain, and helps better refine our activities to meet the business objectives. He constantly delivers insightful and impactful reports that allow us to make critical business decisions and influence our investment strategy. I highly recommend Lee and I look forward to future projects together.
Kevin Condrin
SVP, Chief Commercial Officer, ReShape Lifesciences, Inc.
Lee is an exceptional strategic thinker who delivers work on par with the biggest consulting organizations. I’ve hired him for multiple engagements at different companies, knowing his work will be exceptional and that he will connect with even the most discerning corporate audience. He delivers insightful solutions, and I would highly recommend him.
Julia Vander Ploeg
SVP & Head of Digital Marketing, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
I’ve had the opportunity to work with Lee Rafkin on multiple fronts, from the repositioning and rebranding of out of home advertising, to the recruitment and onboarding of a new CEO for our industry trade association. Rafkin is a unique force in facilitating positive outcomes for major industry initiatives. His thought leadership and ability to build alignment among diverse groups has engendered great respect among all the top CEOs in the out of home media business. Easy going and personable, lover of classic motorcycles, Rafkin is an invaluable asset to any company seeking to grow their business by building critical alignment.
Kevin Gleason
President & CEO, Adams Outdoor Advertising
Lee Rafkin is a razor-sharp marketing mind packed with effective, straight-up communications savvy. I have worked with Lee in various adjacencies in the Out of Home media space for several years, and have found him to be passionate, smart, diplomatic, and unafraid. Lee understands the broader pulse of the public, the B2B space, and the roles & responsibilities of brands in both. He gives no safe harbor to easy thinking and demands the next level from brands and people. He is a very strong collaborative problem-solver. Lee makes a difference. Period.
Rick Robinson
Partner & Chief Strategy Officer, Billups Media
When I started what is now proudly known as BOLDSITE Media, Lee Rafkin was my first call. Having had the pleasure of working with Lee on a CBS Outdoor rebranding, I knew he would guide us through the creation of a killer brand and the foundation for a successful future. Thank you, Lee. Your work speaks for itself.
Bob Johns
President, BOLDSITE Media
I had the privilege of working with Lee on a workshop that transformed how our teams approach commercial innovation in Europe. Throughout the project, Lee demonstrated expertise, passion, and dedication to support us in developing winning concepts for our core brands. His ideas were refreshingly creative and backed by strong industry insights. The value of his work has been long-lasting. Lee left us with the tools and mindset to continue innovating and adapting long after his workshop was over. I would highly recommend Lee.
Marie Dieye
Marketing Manager, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health Care
Southern Europe/France
