Real Work. Real Progress.
I don’t show up with the answer—I help people and teams find their own through clarity, collaboration and insight. Here’s what that looks like in practice.
Brand Ignition Case Studies
University of Waterloo, Faculty of Science
A leading Canadian science faculty known for its research excellence and experiential learning opportunities.
The Challenge
The Faculty needed a clear “Why choose us?” message to better position itself with prospective students and differentiate from other top science schools. Multiple departments had distinct voices, making it challenging to align around a shared brand story.
The Approach
We facilitated discovery sessions with faculty, staff, and utilized previously conducted student research to surface core strengths and differentiators, and co-created a positioning direction that captures the Faculty’s unique value.
The Outcome
Final messaging is now moving toward leadership approval and will inform recruitment marketing and Faculty-wide brand alignment.
Centre for Purposeful Leadership
A leadership development organization whose flagship offering, The Art of Convening®, helps leaders create trust-based, transformational spaces across diverse contexts.
The Challenge
CPL’s signature program, The Art of Convening, had evolved over many years—but its positioning and messaging no longer fully reflected its depth or relevance to today’s leadership landscape. The team needed clarity on core audiences, updated messaging to serve multiple contexts, and a stronger marketing foundation to support growth.
The Approach
We led the CPL leadership team and core practitioners through a Brand Ignition process to clarify their ideal audiences (from corporate to spiritual leadership), define the three core values at the heart of the Art of Convening, and craft a positioning statement that speaks across contexts. We also facilitated sessions with their team to craft audience-specific messaging, helped design a simple marketing funnel with an introductory guide and monthly free session, and supported a website revamp that honors both the program’s sacred foundations and its evolving potential.
The Outcome
The process gave the founders and Convening practitioners renewed clarity and energy—grounding the offering’s relevance in today’s world and equipping the team with clear messaging and tools to engage a wider range of leaders. The updated positioning is now reflected across CPL’s website and outreach.
Journey Ignition Case Studies
TBS Education
A top European business school with strong international enrollment goals.
The Challenge
TBS Education wanted to improve recruitment and conversion of international students—but lacked a clear view of how those students were experiencing the decision journey. The marketing team needed deeper insights into student struggles and opportunities to improve engagement.
The Approach
We mapped the full international student decision journey through in-depth interviews, identified 77 needs, and prioritized 26 key struggles using a visual journey map and heat map. A 2-day collaborative workshop with school leaders generated actionable ideas to align marketing and improve the student experience.
The Outcome
The project gave TBS Education a clear roadmap for improving recruitment and conversion—grounded in real student insights. The team now has aligned priorities to enhance key touchpoints and better support students throughout the decision journey.
“Working with Brent and the Strategic Fuel team was a turning point in how we understand and support prospective students. We partnered with Strategic Fuel to improve the conversion funnel for our MSc programs, especially for international students. Their structured and analytical approach brought clarity to a complex challenge. Through interviews with both enrolled and non-enrolled students, they helped us identify 77 specific needs in the student decision journey—including 26 areas where students struggled to get the information or support they needed. The result was a clear, actionable roadmap highlighting exactly where we need to improve if we want to compete at a higher level and better support students choosing a business school in France. Brent and the Strategic Fuel team bring real expertise in prospect analysis and uncovering the pain points that hold back conversion. I highly recommend them to any institution looking to improve the student experience and drive enrollment."