Daniel Harmon

Current

• Cofounder at Pixlin—Journal Smart

Past

• Writer at VSA Partners
• Copywriter Intern at DDB Chicago
• Designer, Copywriter, Animator and Account Executive at FamilyLearn, Inc.

• Sales Representative, Manager and Trainer at Alliance Marketing, Inc. (now Pinnacle Security, Inc.)

see less...

1 more...

Education

• Brigham Young University

Recommended

6 people have recommended Daniel

Connections

99 connections

Industry

Marketing and Advertising

Daniel Harmon’s Summary

I learned about the value of brands early in life.

At age 14, I decided to attend a private school. But as the fourth of nine kids, extra money didn't exist for things like tuition. So to earn money for my education, my younger brother and I set off to sell Idaho potatoes grown on our uncle's farm. As you can imagine, spuds aren't exactly in high demand in Idaho. Which is why we hauled a bunch of 50-pound boxes of potatoes in our Taurus station wagon down to Utah where the market was hot.

Armed with our fresh, hand-selected product, a compelling sob story and the Idaho brand, we hit up our grandparents' neighborhood in Provo. It was a straightforward sale. No gimmicks or fancy pitches. At every door, we communicated what mattered most: we were doing it for a good cause and the potatoes were fresh from Idaho.

Besides the obvious lessons of hard work, overcoming humiliating rejection and earning my own way, I learned what "Idaho potatoes" meant to people. Our potatoes were more expensive than the grocery stores' (40 cents per pound vs. 20). But we still moved a ton of those tubers (literally). I funded much of my high school education on the power of the Idaho brand. And it wasn't about a logo, a clever tagline, or trendy corporate colors. It was about the value people felt when they heard "Idaho potatoes": the highest quality, the best flavor and the most enjoyable texture—in short, what a potato should be. Way to go, Idaho.

Daniel Harmon’s Specialties:

Copywriting and concepting for ads, brochures, web and direct mail; design, animation, marketing, blogging, sales, developing and maintaining client relationships

Daniel Harmon’s Experience

• Cofounder

  Pixlin—Journal Smart

  (Internet industry)

  June 2008 — Present (1 year 6 months)

  I do design, copywriting, marketing and strategy. This is an Internet startup—a gig I work on a little at nights and on weekends.

• Writer

  VSA Partners

  (Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Design industry)

  August 2007 — September 2008 (1 year 2 months)

  I wrote print ads, billboards, scripts for online videos, webpages, web banners, brochures, direct mailers, sales tools and marketing materials for Caterpillar, Harley-Davidson, Sappi Fine Paper North America, Tishman Speyer, Avery Dennison and Epic Burger.

• Copywriter Intern

  DDB Chicago

  (Public Company; 51-200 employees; OMC; Marketing and Advertising industry)

  June 2007 — August 2007 (3 months)

  I concepted and wrote TV, print and non-traditional ads for McDonald's Monopoly, McDonald's Corporate, McDonald's Olympics, Dell Business and The Chicago International Film Festival (my personal fave).

• Designer, Copywriter, Animator and Account Executive

  FamilyLearn, Inc.

  (Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Computer Software industry)

  April 2006 — May 2007 (1 year 2 months)

  FamilyLearn is an Internet startup, so I got to wear almost every hat in the company. I had a hand in creating everything from the company mission statement and vision to marketing strategies, product innovations, sales scripts and brand positioning.
  
  My most notable contribution was designing the logo for MemoryPress.com and the look and feel for its UI. I also designed online sales pages, booth materials, collateral pieces and an ad for The Funeral Business Advisor (insert clichéd "dead" joke here). I helped craft press releases, copy for online sales pages, blog posts and product packaging copy. As an account executive, I had the most over-the-phone sales during the second half of 2006.

• Sales Representative, Manager and Trainer

  Alliance Marketing, Inc. (now Pinnacle Security, Inc.)

  (Marketing and Advertising industry)

  May 2004 — December 2005 (1 year 8 months)

  After two years in the trenches of door-to-door sales, I learned two incontrovertible facts: I could sell anything I truly believed in (in this case, ADT home security), and I hadn't the faintest desire to make door-to-door sales a career.
  
  In 2004, I was the second highest-grossing first-year sales rep. At the beginning of the following year, I was made a manager, and I achieved the most personal sales of any manager that year. I also co-recruited, trained and managed the office with the highest production per rep in 2005.

Daniel Harmon’s Education

• Brigham Young University

  BA , Advertising , 2001 — 2007

  I minored in advertising design and took additional classes for fundamentals in animation, figure drawing, film and CGI. As a volunteer creative in the Ad Lab, I designed ads for local and regional accounts—including print ads for the Stadium of Fire, part of America's Freedom Festival at Provo.

  Activities and Societies:

  BYU Men's Chorus, Ad Lab, Seminary Teaching Program (a training course for teaching the scriptures to high school kids).

Additional Information

Daniel Harmon’s Interests:

family, the gospel, blogging, journaling, advertising, design, paintballing, piano, singing, snowboarding, politics, Spanish, movies, reading, basketball, BYU football, juggling, shooting guns

Daniel Harmon’s Groups:

•    The Official Brigham Young University Alumni Network

Daniel Harmon’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch