We are a product development company that only produces one product...ZOOM. It could be a child's toy. Or a life-changing senior innovation. But at the end of the day, every single idea must contain ZOOM, or it's back to the drawing board. We go back to the drawing board a lot. Sometimes we even bang our head on it. But nothing can leave the lab until it ZOOMS.
Our mission is a terrifying one - to delight the world with products that ZOOM. That means we must fail often. Dream. Fail. Repeat. ZOOM doesn't come any other way.
Founded in 2011, ZOOMWORKS is the sister company of Marketing Architects, one of the leading direct response agencies in the country. This unique relationship offers a treasure trove of experience in
media, creative development, web analytics, and customer service.
Our product launches have a ridiculous track record because we cheat. None of our brands move into retail without having thrived first in national direct-to-consumer advertising. This is our secret sauce. Our products generate millions in revenue before ever stepping into a retailer. In short, we bring ZOOM that WORKS to retailers day one, because we’ve already done the heavy lifting of creating a profitable, nationally recognized brand.
To our partners, we guarantee working with us is going to be nothing short of a wild ride. If you’re excited about launching products that turn industries on their ear and stretch smiles across customers’ faces, we have but one question for you…
are you ready to 
Where it all begins. Here we mine for ZOOM in all its mysteriousness. Scouring product categories, looking for new ways to delight consumers. We collaborate. We argue. We high-five. We call each other names. We build. We tear down. We build again. And we never stop until the idea ZOOMS.
Every product is one part ingenuity, one part story. So it’s at this stage we give birth to branding. What’s the product’s parable? What’s its name? Why will it change someone’s life? What clothes should it wear? How should it speak? These are critical elements to ensuring we have a truly complete product we feel is worthy to leave our lab.
Product development isn’t just about crazy-making. Survival takes discipline. ZOOMWORKS is built on a backbone of marketing services designed to elevate the brand story to a national level literally overnight. From television production to media buying to web optimization, everything is done under one roof. We’re too persnickety to have it any other way.
Logistics is the other side of our discipline. It doesn’t matter how great your product is if it never arrives. From manufacturing to warehousing, we have a dedicated team of logistic masterminds who find joy in sweating the excruciating details.
In-market product testing begins. We love to learn, almost as much as we love to create. It’s at this stage gate we put on propeller hats and dig deep into the data. What is the market telling about our test launch? How should we change? Everything is on the table. The product. The message. The media. The customer experience. How can we make it better? More interesting? More delightful? Are we reaching the right people? Why are they buying? Why aren’t they buying? Most product developers ignore this stage as it’s just too much darn work and super nerdy. We think nerds are awesome.
The verdict. The final swing of the gavel. It’s time to decide if our hunch of an idea is truly huge. And there’s no greater test than the almighty P&L. The financial arm of ZOOMWORKS is a mighty force. They objectively discern between blinded excitement and true profitability if we choose to go full steam. The data never lies. And it’s here our product idea sees the green light or the graveyard.
All systems go. Our product delights customers. Not in theory, but in the marketplace. It’s time for prime time. We push full throttle on our direct-to-consumer TV, radio, print, and web to achieve mass scale and household name status. In addition, we have an in-house team of retail evangelists who work directly with the greatest names in brick and mortar.
Chuck loves ideas. He loves them so much he built two companies. The first was Marketing Architects. As one of the nation’s leading direct response agencies, Marketing Architects offers a turnkey media and marketing platform to help entrepreneurs transform their ideas into household names. The second is ZOOMWORKS, a product development think tank recognized as one of the nation's fastest-growing of its kind. Chuck’s hands-on approach with ZOOMWORKS begins with the initial idea and doesn’t let go until it's touched the hearts of customers across America.
Before hanging his own shingle back in 1997, Chuck held key leadership positions at Fingerhut and Novus Marketing. He continues to stay connected in the community by serving on several boards and is an active angel investor. But Chuck is still mostly driven by family. His hope is that one day ZOOMWORKS will create a product so revolutionary, even his kids will think he’s cool. One can dream.
Sure, Brent has a gift for numbers. But unlike most CFO's, for him the bottom line is merely the starting line. Brent is passionate about seeing big ideas come to life and recognizes the P&L is only one part of the equation. It takes a CFO with vision to see the true potential of a budding product idea and help nurture it to long-term profitability. There’s not much that doesn’t cross Brent’s to-do list. From patent filings to multi-million dollar purchase orders to next year’s product designs, you'll find his fingerprints all over ‘em.
Brent’s tireless energy can be traced back to his days at the University of St. Thomas, where he led the basketball team to its first Final Four appearance. He is one of only a small handful of players inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. He followed his college years with an equally impressive run at Arthur Anderson, Pillsbury, and Agiliti before joining Marketing Architects as CFO back in 2002. His current role at ZOOMWORKS truly combines all of Brent's experience, both on the court and on the balance sheet.
At the crossroads of analytics, media and creative, sits Jeff. Most days you’ll find this chief marketing officer at his desk gleefully slicing and dicing large databases of obscure data points, reshaping them into customer insights of jaw-dropping clarity. From frontend advertising response to backend conversion stick rates, if it involves connecting to customers, Jeff and his team of marketing brainiacs are critically evaluating all variables and planning new strategies for even better performance across all channels.
Jeff’s knack for marketing and statistics started back at Fingerhut, where he rubbed elbows with another young go-getter, Chuck Hengel. He went on to play a key vice president role at Novus Marketing before becoming president of the database modeling division of Paradyze.
In 2002, Jeff reunited with Chuck at Marketing Architects. As a partner, he has been instrumental in making Marketing Architects a national leader in direct response advertising. He now brings that same marketing horsepower to the world of product development for ZOOMWORKS.
When it comes to getting things done, nobody does it like Christopher. As head of Technology and Operations, his expertise refuses to stay confined to any one role for ZOOMWORKS. From managing millions of credit card transactions through a one-of-a-kind PCI compliant infrastructure to relentlessly contemplating the best way to hang a product on a peg at Target, it’s all in a day's work for our resident Swiss Army Knife.
Christopher has a rich technology background which flourished at Thomson Reuters, where he was responsible for the global operations of the company’s internal IT function. He led teams supporting the regional operations across 44 countries and 300+ premises. In 2009, he was recognized by InfoWorld as one of the top 25 U.S. CTO's.
Not only does Christopher have a British accent, but he’s also a card-carrying member of MENSA, which affords him a level of arrogance that we Americans somehow find charming. His team of technologists and logistics gurus at ZOOMWORKS ensures that product ideas have the rocket fuel needed to launch.
Retail is all about relationships. At least that’s how Paul sees it. It’s not about number or size of rooftops. It’s about building unique partnerships. As chief retail officer, Paul and his team have defied convention on all fronts of the retail landscape. Handshake by handshake, they have built a network of cherished retail relationships that give the products of ZOOMWORKS turn-key access to the largest and smallest rooftops in the land.
Relationships have always driven Paul. For well over a decade at Marketing Architects, Paul has been credited with overseeing the creation of the most coveted media networks in radio and television. The secret to his success has been treating his partners with a level of respect unlike any other in the media industry. It’s that tradition he now brings to ZOOMWORKS. Paul recognizes retail as yet another primetime media outlet. The value he puts on building loyal relationships has fast earned him the respect of big box and specialty retailers from coast to coast.
He used to have a full head of hair. But Rob traded in his hairline to head up a team of eclectic crazy-makers responsible for building nationally adored brands from scratch. Rob oversees a department of world-class writers, designers, producers, animators, and engineers responsible for developing every square inch of a product’s brand identity and advertising campaign. From logo design to the final television production, everything is done in-house by this team. Rob is too persnickety to have it any other way.
Rob started his career at Campbell Mithun, where his work in television and radio earned him the youngest vice presidency in the company’s history. Over the course of eight years, his clients ranged from cellular to cereal, and included such iconic brands as General Mills, Hostess, Burger King, Domino’s Pizza, and Hefty. In 2004, Rob joined Marketing Architects, tasked with building the creative division into an industry leader. For him, ZOOMWORKS presents a new challenge of now not only developing the brand for a client, but also being the client.
Katie never met a wall she didn’t tear down and build something better in its place. That’s how she thinks. Her positive outlook on...well…everything...has infected her entire team of retail evangelists. From strategizing national roll-outs, to rethinking how a product could be displayed on an end cap, to opening up new product licensing opportunities, this team shows up to the task like none other.
Growing up, Katie sharpened her competitive edge on the ice rink as a professional figure skater. Between a hectic practice schedule and helping out with her father’s growing business, she learned early on the value of hard work and ingenuity. It was this spirit that earned her a sought-after internship at The Walt Disney Company. She then soared through the ranks at Marketing Architects, where she was responsible for heading many of the key growth initiatives for the agency. Now spearheading retail for ZOOMWORKS, she thrives in the challenges brought to her desk daily by the ever-changing retail landscape. And of course, she does it with a smile.
Ever wonder how products get made? Meet Kerry. He’s spent his career globetrotting from factory to factory, developing and fine-tuning products that have become household staples. From Under Armour to Oakley to the beloved “swim noodle”, chances are you interact with one of his award-winning products daily.
Kerry has always loved a good challenge. From elite-level skiing to being recognized as a champion pogo sticker, Kerry is game for mastering anything. His hunger for eclectic challenges led to a stellar career sourcing internationally for Target, where he was Managing Director for Mexico, Latin and South America. Kerry has also run his own product development company designing, manufacturing, and selling his ideas through big box retailers. In 2013, he joined ZOOMWORKS, where all his years of invention have been put to critical use.
Chuck Hengel, President / sales@ZOOMWORKS.com / 1-800-799-0771