About Us

Enabling Brands To Leverage the Power of Integrated Design

Jump to SOTL’s: Philosophy | Leadership

The company name, “Seven On The Line”, is inspired by my favorite athletic pursuit – Ultimate Frisbee. It refers to the beginning of each new point, when all seven teammates are ‘on the line’ and ready for action. “Ultimate” is a beautiful sport of individual skills and technique within the context of a total team game. It’s strategic, fast-paced, spirited, technical, and tactical — much like the agency business.

I launched SOTL as a reflection of what I enjoy most in the business world — working with creatives, strategists, architects, and builders to champion powerful ideas, interact with a wide spectrum of stakeholders, and deliver customized solutions that enhance business value. It’s a team game and I relish the role of fierce client advocate and catalyst for creative and delivery excellence.

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Seven On The Line’s Philosophy

ONE: We are independent advisers, yet fierce client advocates, and protect your investment as we would our own $.

TWO: We are agile, nimble, focused and provocative. We aren’t slow, mechanical, scattered or cautious.

THREE: Fact-based analysis and experience-based intuition are close cousins. Each is key to discerning consumer wants and building powerful and effective solutions.

FOUR: Smart consultants are wired to ask lots of questions before tendering answers and recommendations.

FIVE: While process definitely has its place, empathic listening and agile responsiveness are more critical to client trust and satisfaction.

Principal: Jeff Skoke

Raised in Miami, and a West Coaster since 1999. A mix of left and right-brained thinking helps me anticipate different stakeholder communication styles and objectives. I am a business development catalyst, marketing and design strategist, and client liaison in aligning project deliverables to enhance business value and shape brand perceptions.

 

Jeff in S Korea

Bio

  • 1993. Exits commercial banking, dog-tired of spreadsheet analysis and corporate bureaucracy.
  • 1999. Dives into dot-com insanity, witness to the volatility and innovation coming from Silicon Valley and SF. Joins a start-up web content aggregator, pitching software licensing deals while the CEO was positioning our profit-less firm to be bought for tens of millions by a Canadian high-flying wireless venture.  Crazy times. 
  • 2001.  Immersion on the agency side of brand-building and retail / restaurant design. The right kind of place to hone natural abilities as a sales leader, a strategy consultant, and a client advocate. Quarterbacked a bunch of new client wins and positioned the company to better compete against far larger agencies.
  • 2005.  Recruited by a nationally-recognized customer experience agency to lead western US new account acquisition. Retail innovation through the multiple lenses of brand + digital strategy, store planning + concept design, architecture + engineering rollout, and foodservice operations consulting. Learned plenty, and witness to the strengths and limitations of an “integrated agency model”.
  • 2007.  First of three kids arrives…it’s a girl! Dad is humbled and delighted.
  • 2009.  With more children on the way, it’s time to flee the Bay Area, purchase a century old Portland abode, and dive headfirst into the Pacific NW vibe.
  • 2011.  Throw caution to the wind as a full-fledged entrepreneur. With two partners, we build a design studio from scratch, landing gigs with Whole Foods Market, Jamba Juice, Love Culture and others. Plenty of self-reflection and tests of inner resilience over the next couple years.
  • 2014.  Seven On The Line launches, with the core belief that clients are well-served by an impartial advisor that can deliver truly customized services in a world where agency / studio business models are constantly in flux.

The journey continues…and I still make (slower!) cuts on the ultimate frisbee fields.

Questions? Feedback? Let’s Chat.

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