From Craftsman Story to National Brand

Marketing Direction & Brand Growth Consulting

85% peak email open rate. 25% email click-through rate. 100% follower growth on Facebook and Twitter.

THE CLIENT

Superior Ink is a Denver-based apparel and screen-printing company founded by Dominic Rosacci on a “Life of a Craftsman” philosophy — bridging high-volume production with the standards of handcrafted art. The company specializes in sustainable, high-quality work for brands that care as much about how something is made as what it looks like.

THE CHALLENGE

Superior Ink had what most brands don’t: a genuinely compelling story and a craft-driven identity capable of attracting clients like New Belgium Brewing and Chipotle. What it lacked was the marketing infrastructure to carry that story to a national audience. The brand’s digital presence was underdeveloped, growth depended on word of mouth, and search visibility for core terms like “screen printing” and “custom t-shirts” was limited. The goal: retain artisan credibility while building the tools to attract sophisticated, conscience-driven clients at scale.

THE STRATEGY

Thelemata’s read on Superior Ink was that its philosophy — the “Life of a Craftsman” — was the actual differentiator, not the product specs. Most screen printers compete on price and turnaround. Superior Ink could compete on identity. The strategy prioritized building a brand voice and content engine before optimizing for direct response, on the theory that the right clients would respond to the story and convert at a higher rate than cold outreach would produce.

EXECUTION

Thelemata served as embedded Marketing Director, managing Superior Ink’s full marketing budget and sales strategy.

Brand Positioning: Developed company descriptions, a multi-paragraph mission statement, and brand narrative anchored in “inspiration fueling positive creation.” Positioned the brand to speak credibly to national clients while preserving its handmade identity. Managed the launch of the “Life of a Craftsman” video project — including premiere strategy, outreach, and distribution.

Content Strategy: Established #WisdomWednesdays — a recurring content series using grunge-style typography to drive consistent traffic to social channels and the company website. Built a content calendar designed for both brand-building and direct response.

Social Media: Developed and executed Superior Ink’s social media strategy across Facebook and Twitter. Introduced targeted CTAs for industry decision-makers. Doubled followings on both platforms within the engagement window.

Email Marketing: Executed Mailchimp campaigns achieving peak open rates of 85% and click-through rates of 25%. Segmented campaigns to reach the right contacts at the right time.

SEO and Market Research: Conducted competitive SEO research and developed a keyword strategy targeting “screen printing,” “custom t-shirts,” and related terms. Oversaw technical SEO improvements to improve search visibility.

Direct Sales: Managed inbound business inquiries, custom quotes, and client communication for specialized orders including 5-panel snapbacks and sustainable boutique apparel.