TrueDark Light-Based Wellness Products
Brand identity development, omnichannel marketing strategy, and strategic partnerships, for a growing portfolio of CPG health and wellness brands.
Years
2018-2021
Client
TrueDark, Dave Asprey Brands
Overview
TrueDark® is a leader in creating innovative light-based technology solutions that support human health and performance. Founded by Dave Asprey, the "Father of Biohacking", creator of Bulletproof Coffee, and four-time New York Times® Best Seller, TrueDark empowers people to leverage healthy light for healthier living with carefully crafted products that are backed by science and work as hard as you do.
Following Dave’s success with Bulletproof, he wanted to make more of his health and wellness hacks available to the world – but he wanted them to be unique, using proprietary technology so they would stand out in the market. TrueDark was the first business to launch, which he bootstrapped without any VC funding. So, he needed a team that could operate lean and hit the ground running from scratch. One other critical challenge we faced was that companies are not allowed to make health claims (e.g, “by using [product], you can fix [health issue]). This meant we needed to find a way to communicate the complex science behind the products in a way that was easy to understand without overpromising results.
Solution: Build a Brand Based on “Edutainment”
I was the company’s first Marketing hire, and my role was to build the TrueDark brand from scratch. Key responsibilities and activities included:
Brand Positioning & Strategy: Crafted a compelling story that aligned our blue light blocking glasses with the science behind circadian rhythms. Focused on providing “edutainment” – breaking down the science behind the technology via digestible sound bytes and data visualizations – so that users, no matter where they were along their own health journey, would understand the impact of each products and would be more likely to share that information with their friends and family.
Visual Identity & Design: Developed a new logo, color palette, typography, and visual language. I also served as the company’s photographer for photoshoots and guided end-to-end creative direction given that we had a very small budget to work with.
Brand Ambassadorship: Represented TrueDark in podcasts interviews, speaker sessions at conferences, and on webinars.
Strategic Partnerships: Managed TrueDark’s influencer relationships, affiliate program, and wholesale network to ensure that each brand touch felt consistent across audiences regions, and that the information being shared was accurate.
“Think of TrueDark eyewear as noise-canceling headphones for your eyes — that protect your internal processes from the disruption, chaos and noise of the world.”
— Dave Asprey
First to market with a compelling story, innovative products, and strong positioning.
The body’s sleep/wake cycle (aka circadian rhythm) naturally follows the rise and fall of the sun over a a 24-hour period. At the time, other companies were only selling one type of lens, which had an adverse effect — blocking too much healthy light during the day, and not enough “junk light” at night.
TrueDark was truly different. We offered daytime and nighttime glasses to more closely align with what someone would experience if they were outside over the course of a day. So the product was better, and it was my job to translate the academic jargon into easy-to-understand concepts for the general public. “Junk light”, a creative spin on “junk food” became a cornerstone of our vernacular. It lowered the barrier to entry for the everyday person to grasp that TrueDarks could help maintain the body’s natural rhythms, no matter what their lifestyle looked like.
Since Dave had celebrity status, I made it a point to leverage his book launches and podcast when it made sense to do so; however, I intentionally designed the TrueDark brand to be strong enough to stand on its own without solely relying on Dave’s promotion. We had not forecasted the COVID pandemic, but this event ultimately benefited the business because more people were working from home, looking for ways to take more control of their health. We didn’t just insert ourselves into the conversation, we held the mic and brought a network of strategic partners on the ride to amplify the message.
Collections
Daylights
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Block 30% of blue light. Intended for indoor use only. Most ideal for people who need to see true colors on a screen and/or stay in uniform for their profession.
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Block 75% of blue light. Intended for internal use only. Ideal for people who want to block as much artificial light as possible without triggering melatonin release.
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Sunglasses that use proprietary technology to darken outdoors and lighten while inside. Available with either clear or yellow lenses and block 30 or 75% of blue light, respectively, as well as 99% of UVA/UVB while outside.
Twilights
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Block 97-100% of blue, greeen, and purple light -- the full spectrum that can impede on melatonin production. Intended to signal to the body that it's night time so that you produce melatonin naturally.
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Uses proprietary technology to offer an in-between solution for nighttime. Most ideal for people who need to work later into the evening but still want to have the ability to read, write, move around the house, etc.
Kids
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Block 30% of blue light during the daytime. Suitable for most kids ages 2-4.
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Block 97% of blue, green, and purple light at night. Suitable for most kids ages 2-4.
The Good Kind of Noise
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Dr. Anthony Youn Swears by TrueDark Blue-Light-Blocking Glasses to Sleep Better at Night
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The 5 Products Women's Health Expert Jolene Brighten Recommends To Everyone
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The No Excuses Last Minute Mother's Day Gift Guide For Women Who Travel
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Biohacks for Beginners: Meditation, Intermittent Fasting, Cold Therapy & More
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The Plus Factor: Insights Into What the Future of Deep, Quality Sleep Looks & Feels Like
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The Bulletproof Coffee Founder Has Spent $1 Million in His Quest to Live to 180 Years Old
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Inside the Bulletproof Coffee Guy’s New Body-Hacking, Data-Driven & Spa-Like Gym
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I’m The Guy Who Created Bulletproof Coffee–This Is My Morning Routine
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4 Frequent Fliers Share Their Tips For Dealing With Jet Lag & Supporting Their Circadian Health
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Do Sleep-Specific Blue Light Glasses Actually Help You Fall Asleep at Nighttime?
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Experts Explain Why Sleeping With The TV On Is Messing With Your Sleep/Wake Cycle
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These Blue Light-Blocking Glasses Help Me Fall Asleep Faster & Better Through Biohacking
Key Outcomes
Brand Consistency: Negotiated the acquisition of the truedark.com domain name and matching social media usernames, establishing a strong and consistent online presence for TrueDark. This unified brand identity likely contributed to increased brand recognition and customer trust.
Sales Growth: Spearheaded an omnichannel marketing strategy that synergized brand, creative, and sales efforts, resulting in a 3x global sales growth from 2018 to 2021. By aligning messaging across all touchpoints, from social media to traditional advertising, we created a cohesive brand experience that drove customer engagement and conversions.
Industry Authority: My position as a keynote speaker at biohacking conferences helped establish TrueDark as a thought leader in the biohacking/health and wellness/performance industry. This increased visibility undeniably drove more web traffic and attracted new customers who became loyal to our brand.
Portfolio Expansion: TrueDark was able to capitalize not only on the biohacking community, but also other larger verticals (e.g, remote and hybrid workers, military and first responders, new parents, students, and more). Our reputation as a leader in tight technology for happy, healthy living created a launch pad for us to bring additional health and wellness brands (and products) to market.
Introducing TrueLight, the sister-brand.
While TrueDark focused on junk light, TrueLight was created to help people leverage healthy light. I collaborated with the Product Direction to launch three different product categories under this new brand’s name:
Circadian lighting
Light bulbs and nightlights that emit red light only for nighttime use so as not to disrupt sleep.Light therapy
Handheld and full-body devices that use a proprietary combination of red, near-infrared (NIR), yellow, and deep red light therapy to promote rejuvenation and recovery, as well as blankets that reflect back the body’s own IR+FIR wavelengths.Accessories (blankets, stands, remotes, batteries)
