Map & Fire

Map & Fire is a Los Angeles based research and brand consultancy. We help you own a unique space in your market with a mix of research, positioning, and messaging – so you can connect with more customers and grow with confidence.

View happy client testimonials at: https://mapandfire.com

Founder, Brand Strategist

HelloAdvisr LLC

Strategy Advisor

TVGla

• Led a team of 14 producers and was responsible for defining the department's vision and planning, managing overall budget, conducting individual reviews, setting goals and providing guidance on all project work.

• Provided strategic insights and oversaw production efforts for the agency's two largest Digital Agency of Record accounts, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, along with a wide array of campaigns for companies including Sony, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Hard Rock Cafe, Cinemax, A&E, History Channel, Dreamworks and Gruppo Campari.

• Unified and facilitated cross-training of a production department that had been historically split between a team of digital banner producers and web/app-focused producers. In addition, established dedicated production support for the company's quickly expanding social department.

• Worked to build strong relationships with all team members by providing personal support, empowering them to take on deeper responsibilities and challenging them to work on projects outside their immediate areas of expertise.

• Improved overall efficiency and expertise of the department through process refinement, mentorship and the introduction of improved project management and communication tools.

Executive Producer

• Played a key role in building the strategy and relationship that led to the agency's first major Digital Agency of Record account with Wheel of Fortune.

• Beyond production responsibilities, provided additional insight and value by helping to guide UX decisions, as well as input on creative and technical implementations.

• Led over 75 projects for clients such as Google, Sony, Universal Pictures, Mattel, and FOX. 

• Managed and oversaw between $1.5 - 2MM of project revenue annually, consistently delivering work under projected budgets.

Senior Producer

Better You

• Founding partner in startup, responsible for full UX, product management, and technical life cycle of project.

• Wrote business requirements, defined user experience, user flows, and created interactive wireframes for the entire site.

• Designed graphical UI elements for site and prototyped frontend experience.

• Managed developers to build out front and back end coding on a LAMP platform.

Co-Founder, Head of Product Development

Bird Branch

• Worked in a variety of roles including brand strategist, UX designer, creative lead, and developer on over 150 projects.

• Collaborated with a wide assortment of clients on projects ranging from the entertainment industry to consumer products to health care both in project lead and contractor roles.

• Extensive experience with both UI and graphic design.

• Developed front and backend code solutions utilizing existing frameworks as well as fully custom implementations. 

• Responsible for managing project budgets, tracking progress, and coordinating work both with clients and additional resources.

Founder, Strategy, UX, and Design Consultant

G4 Media

Senior Web Developer

Avacus Corporation

Web Developer

O'Neil Data

Unigraphics Solutions

Software Developer

Win with a brand built on research, not guesses | Founder Map & Fire 🔥, SmokeLadder | Contributor at Foundr Magazine

I use a mix of research, positioning, and messaging to help founders and marketing leaders connect with more customers and grow with confidence. 

My writing on strategy and research has been featured in Foundr Magazine and AdWeek. 

More about my background:

I've spent the last 20 years dreaming up and then bringing to life multiple startups as well as a wide range of digital projects. With every twist and turn of that journey there’s been a consistent thread of weaving together strategic problem solving, creative expression, and a curiosity to better understand how people think and make decisions. 

In the businesses I created or co-founded, my primary focus has always been on strategy and user experience. For others, I've worn lots of hats from Executive Producer, to Designer, to Copywriter, to Developer. I've also enjoyed an unofficial Account Services role where I carefully honed the craft of client therapy.

Over the years, I've collaborated with countless passionate small businesses along with several Fortune 500 brands including Google, Sony, Universal Pictures, Mattel, FOX, Dreamworks, CBS, A&E, Home Depot, Roland Keyboards, G4 TV, and the LA Times. 

When not doing mental gymnastics, I like spending time with my amazing wife and son, hiking, surfing, and watching things that make me laugh.

Clay Ostrom

Got some very exciting news to share for my app SmokeLadder!…but it does come with a little catch…


Yesterday I officially inked a contract with our biggest user yet. They’re a Fortune 100 company that you’ve probably heard of…though I can’t share the name *just* yet. 

This was actually a process that started back in September when they first reached out. After a couple demo meetings and a very thorough procurement process the deal is finally locked in.

They have a group of 6 brand strategists that will all be using SmokeLadder for their positioning and messaging work. 

Their team manages a ton of products, so as part of their positioning and strategy work they evaluate competitors along with their own websites and landing pages all the time. 

Here’s the catch.

I wasn’t targeting Fortune 100 companies with SmokeLadder…they found us. 

My main ICP, and basically all of our paid users, are folks in the agency space or consultants. 

The reason I went that direction is that every time an agency works on a brand they either:

1) Get paid to help their clients improve their positioning and messaging
2) At a minimum need to understand their client’s positioning (and their competitors) in order to execute all the other work they’re doing

For my own agency, every time I meet a new company the first thing I do is analyze their positioning and messaging to see how they fit in the market. (Makes those intro calls way more productive.) 

From a pure Jobs to Be Done pov, this big company isn’t too different. 

They’re not taking on clients, but managing their huge portfolio of products is similar to how an agency works. Constantly jumping from one product to the next. 

So, I’m not planning to switch my friendly PLG motion to Enterprise sales jusssst yet but I am excited to learn a lot from a new kind of user. 

In the meantime, it’s definitely cool to see that validation from a big name brand. 

Happy to celebrate the win. 🙌

Founder Map & Fire 🔥 // SmokeLadder.com | Research + Positioning + Messaging | Contributor at Foundr Magazine

Hit a fun little milestone here this week – 15K followers. 🎉


I’ve been making an effort this year to have more real conversations with new connections so that it’s not just another pretty round number, but something that actually makes an impact. 

It’s part of my bigger push this year to share more of myself and my ongoing founder journey here. 

Over the past several years it’s been a sloooow evolution of sharing…

…general thoughts on topics I enjoy, to…
…my specific pov on those topics, to…
…my direct thoughts via video, to…
…now my actual path behind-the-scenes building things…
(even including some of that scary vulnerability stuff) 

Strategically I think this is the path needed to survive as a small brand these days. Those relationships and connections are something bigger brands can’t replicate.  

But also, being more personal is just more fun. 

I spent quite a while being a bit cautious about how I present my ideas and myself. I'm starting to get more comfortable stripping those layers away.

And the true final boss obstacle for me is of course…the selfie. 😂

I’m determined to get over my hangups one goofy smiling photo at a time. 

So, if you want more of my thoughts, wins, screwups, journey, and the *occasional* selfie shoot me a connection. As long as you want to have a real conversation I'm down to chat. 😀

Curious, creative & collaborative brand and creative strategist armed with a wealth of expertise in leading insight & evidence discovery.

My primary aim is to simplify strategy so teams embrace its value for brand-building activations. My primary skill is distilling evidence gathered from humans, culture and the brand into compelling strategic ideas that drive growth. 

Proud and deliberate generalist with deeper roots in spirits, food, CPG and non-profits.  Brand nerd & evangelist fortunate to teach strategy at Miami Ad School, Cairo Ad School, One Club for Creativity Creator Lab and UM.  Always learning.

Healthy obsessions with pop culture, people, food & wellness fuel my work and my life.

taplio

The Battle

Clay Ostrom

Serena Berra

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taplio

The Battle

Clay Ostrom

Serena Berra

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Clay Ostrom's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreClay Ostrom's LinkedIn Performance