Key Takeaways

Building a Multi-Brand Marketing Ecosystem from the Ground Up

I joined HCANA at its inception, when two treatment centers joined forces to form a unified recovery network. What began as a small collaboration quickly grew into a regional behavioral health organization — expanding from two to seven centers across four states in under two years.

From those early days, I played a key role in shaping how HCANA’s story was told. As one of the original team members, I helped establish the company’s creative foundation: defining how our brands looked, sounded, and connected with people. My work focused on building trust and recognition through authentic storytelling — content that felt human, not corporate.

The challenge
HCANA’s growth was fast and ambitious. Each new program — from Oasis Recovery Center to Asheville Detox Center and Knoxville Recovery Center — needed its own distinct identity while still feeling part of one family. The marketing approach had to balance individuality with cohesion, scaling creative direction without losing authenticity.

The approach

• Brand Foundations: Helped design and launch multiple centers’ visual and narrative identities, aligning them under a shared HCANA framework that emphasized compassion, professionalism, and connection.

• Creative & Social Direction: Led early creative strategy and content production, building HCANA’s first in-house social and video pipeline and guiding tone, style, and brand storytelling across channels.

• Scalable Systems: As expansion accelerated, helped develop repeatable creative systems that supported rapid launches, consistent messaging, and measurable marketing outcomes.

• Leadership & Growth: Promoted to Director of Digital Marketing in 2024, overseeing cross-channel campaigns, creative direction, and performance strategy across all active brands.

The results

• Supported the launch and branding of 7 treatment centers across NC, TN, and MA, helping HCANA grow from a local startup to a multi-state behavioral health organization.

• Contributed to 211% network bed growth and measurable digital expansion, with flagship brands achieving 100K+ annual organic sessions and sustained high engagement rates.

• Oversaw seven-figure ad performance portfolios while maintaining a brand voice centered on empathy, connection, and measurable impact.

• Remain the longest-tenured member of the original team, providing creative continuity and strategic insight as HCANA continues to evolve and expand.

The takeaway
HCANA’s story is one of vision, scale, and storytelling. From two centers to a multi-brand network, I’ve helped shape how the organization communicates recovery — blending authenticity, design, and performance to build brands that people trust.

Building a Brand and Launching the Knoxville Model

Knoxville Recovery Center launched with no brand identity, no web presence, and no audience awareness. As the founding marketing lead, I built the brand from the ground up — shaping its voice, visuals, and positioning as a high-end, one-on-one recovery experience rather than a traditional residential center.

When The Knoxville Model program was introduced — offering NAD+ IV therapy, acupuncture, private rooms, personal training, and trauma-focused therapy — my role was to turn a clinical concept into a lifestyle brand rooted in care, privacy, and precision.

The challenge

• Create a complete brand identity and messaging framework from zero.

• Differentiate KRC in a crowded market by highlighting one-on-one care and advanced amenities without sounding elitist.

• Build trust and visibility online while educating audiences about the Knoxville Model’s unique structure.

The approach

• Designed the visual and verbal brand systems — from logo and tone to launch content, landing pages, and digital campaigns.

• Produced the center’s first long-form video content, including an interview with the Program Director introducing The Knoxville Model.

• Developed social campaigns emphasizing clinical expertise and comfort, combining polished cinematography with real client storytelling.

• Used SEO-driven content marketing to seed the brand online — producing blogs and visuals that connected pop-culture curiosity with serious recovery education.

The results

• Achieved 11,637 organic clicks, over 1,020,000 impressions, and a 459% year-over-year increase in site traffic within the first full campaign year.

• Increased average engagement rate to 66% and boosted organic form fills by over 1,000 annually.

• Positioned KRC as a high-end treatment option and flagship brand within the HCANA network, driving consistent leads from professionals, executives, and high-profile clients.

Rebranding a Clinical Program into a Holistic Retreat

When I took over Oasis Recovery Center’s marketing, the brand’s digital presence didn’t reflect what the program truly was. Oasis is experiential, holistic, and rooted in the mountains of Asheville — a place where recovery is hands-on, outdoor, and grounded in community. Yet online, it looked like a sterile rehab chain.

My goal was to build a brand that felt alive — to make every visual, word, and piece of content communicate what people actually experience on campus: warmth, authenticity, and healing through connection and nature.

The challenge
Oasis had the right heart but the wrong identity. It needed to feel less like a facility and more like a refuge.
The brand had to speak to two audiences at once — people in crisis searching for help, and their families searching for trust. The challenge was to make a clinical program feel both safe and human.

Specifically, we needed to:

• Shift Oasis’s positioning from “traditional rehab” to “holistic, adventure-based retreat.”

• Translate Asheville’s natural beauty into a brand aesthetic built on calm, movement, and openness.

• Build emotional connection through storytelling that felt personal, not polished.

The approach
I led a full creative rebrand and content relaunch — from strategy and visual design to on-site media production.

• Rebuilt the visual identity around healing in nature — neutral tones, natural light, and grounded typography.

• Directed cinematic content showing yoga in the garden, mindfulness walks by the river, sound healing sessions, and adventure-based therapy in the mountains.

• Produced testimonial campaigns featuring real clients and staff, transforming lived experiences into brand storytelling.

• Unified the brand voice across Meta, YouTube, and Google Business — consistent tone, visuals, and CTAs built around empowerment and safety rather than fear.

Each piece of content served a dual purpose: emotional connection and measurable performance. Educational carousels, documentary-style reels, and long-form videos created a rhythm that built trust over time.

The results
The rebrand changed how Oasis was seen — both by potential clients and within the recovery industry.

• Generated over 111,000 annual organic sessions with an average engagement rate above 58%, marking Oasis as one of the most-searched treatment centers in the Southeast.

• Achieved a 2.3% average CTR across paid campaigns with seven-figure ad ROI, proving that authenticity and emotional storytelling drive conversion.

• Elevated brand sentiment and visibility across every channel — transforming Oasis from a local center into a regional destination for holistic recovery.

Oasis became more than a rehab brand; it became an experience. A visual and emotional retreat — where recovery felt personal, beautiful, and worth believing in.

Creating a Clinical Brand People Could Trust

Asheville Detox Center opened its doors with no existing identity — just an idea: to make the first stage of recovery feel safe, professional, and humane. Detox is one of the hardest services to market. People fear it. They imagine hospital beds, pain, and isolation. My goal was to flip that narrative — to build a brand that made people feel secure, informed, and cared for.

From the ground up, I defined ADC’s identity — clinical but calm, medical but human. Every visual, every sentence had to answer a single question: Can I trust these people to take care of me?

The challenge
Launching a detox brand meant navigating fear, stigma, and misinformation. We had to:

• Build a credible brand identity that balanced medical authority with compassion.

• Educate potential clients about why medically supervised detox is the safest, most responsible choice.

• Replace fear with reassurance through design, storytelling, and education.

The approach
I led brand development and digital strategy from concept to launch.

• Visual identity: Developed a clean, clinical design system — crisp whites, muted blues, and minimalism that signaled safety and professionalism.

• Educational storytelling: Produced infographics, carousels, and videos explaining the detox process step-by-step: what to expect, how withdrawal is managed, and why 24/7 medical supervision matters.

• Humanization: Created testimonial-driven content from staff and clients that reframed detox as a courageous first step, not something to fear.

• Multi-channel rollout: Built ADC’s web presence and social channels in tandem with SEO optimization and brand-aligned paid campaigns to establish early visibility.

The tone was calm, factual, and empathetic — designed to convert anxiety into trust.

The results

• Within the first campaign cycle, ADC’s organic traffic grew 20% quarter-over-quarter, with sustained growth in new users and engagement.

• Educational content became the center’s highest-performing category — frequently saved, shared, and referenced in calls from prospective clients.

• Established ADC as Asheville’s most trusted medical detox facility, setting the tone for future HCANA launches.

The takeaway
Detox isn’t easy to talk about — but that’s the point. By pairing medical transparency with emotional sensitivity, we made people feel something rare in this space: safety.
ADC’s success proved that clarity and compassion convert better than fear — and that even in the most clinical corners of healthcare, good storytelling can save lives.

The challenge was:

• Finding ADC’s brand voice and defining its identity in a competitive space.

• Overcoming the fear factor of detox by making it feel secure, professional, and medically trusted.

• Educating potential clients about why medical detox is the safest option.

Approach:

Creating a Clinical, Trustworthy Brand Identity

• Developed clean, professional visuals to make ADC look like a secure medical facility, not a rehab.

• Designed infographics and carousels explaining detox procedures, safety, and what to expect.

Overcoming Detox Hesitancy with Education

• Launched a series of explainer videos featuring ADC’s medical team, answering FAQs like:

  • “What happens in medical detox?”

  • “How do we manage withdrawal symptoms safely?”

• Created client stories about people who feared detox but successfully completed it.

Focusing on Medical Expertise & Safety

• Highlighted ADC’s licensed medical team and 24/7 supervision to build trust.

• Used calm, reassuring messaging that focused on security, safety, and medical oversight.

Results:

• Positioned ADC as a trusted medical detox facility.

• Increased engagement on educational posts, with many being saved and shared.

• Established ADC as the go-to detox center in Asheville, appealing to people who were hesitant about detox.