Bio

Erin Ladd Sanders is an award-winning copywriter, published author and Broadway produced playwright.

With more than twenty years experience as a writer and creative director in digital and print media, Erin has a proven track record of producing dynamic, engaging copy, websites, ads and integrated marketing campaigns. He's led teams in creating innovative content and transforming brands for a wide variety of clients, from Fortune 100 companies to dotcom start-ups.

Erin's books include In the Name of Peace: How History's Great Pacifists Changed the World (Murdoch Books) and Spy Chronicles: Adventures in Espionage from the American Revolution to the Cold War (Amazon Digital). His articles and plays have been published in Central Park, American Theatre Magazine, Travel + Leisure, Taxi Magazine, and a number of custom publications and websites.

As a playwright, Erin co-wrote the play Sally Marr and Her Escorts, with Joan Rivers and Lonny Price, which opened on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theater. The play received Tony® and Drama Desk® nominations for Best Leading Actress and was optioned as a feature film by Universal Pictures. His other plays include Snapshots (Miranda Theater), Little Men (Public Theater) and Dear Miss America (Edinburgh Festival Fringe). In addition, he wrote scripts for ABC Daytime's One Life to Live and educational stage adaptations of the popular PBS series, Ghost Writer.

Portfolio

TD Bank

Web

Challenge: Bring the financial entity under one set of online design standards and launch their redesigned site.

Solution: Following the merger of TD and Canada Trust, I led the team in conducting intensive focus and user testing to establish new online brand standards. We prototyped and architected the site, implemented new content management middleware, ported secure and public content, and launched with deep transactional capabilities.

Role: Creative director, user-experience lead, content strategist and writer.

HSBC

Web

Challenge: Design HSBC's Private Banking website for clients with over $5M in investment assets.

Solution: I led the team that redesigned the site to showcase HSBC's wealth management capabilities and give their private banking business a new look. The site required a sophisticated design and intuitive navigation for a constituency expecting a high level of service.

Role: Creative director.

Amex Custom Publishing

Copy

Challenge: Provide copy and editorial planning for various American Express custom publications.

Solution: Wrote copy and provided editorial support for Amex publications Travel + Leisure, Lifestyle and Travel for Physicians, Luxury Golf Homes, Horizons, and Connections.

Role: Writer, editor.

Tommy Hilfiger

Web

Challenge: Design and build the inaugural Tommy Hilfiger site.

Solution: Before Tommy Hilfiger resolved his channel conflicts and became another online retailer, he said to my team and me: "Make me the Martha Stewart of fashion!" We created an early Flash media portal that showcased Tommy's models, sports sponsorships, recording artists, and fashion shows. This was one of the earliest broadband sites with lots of streaming media.

Role: Creative director, writer.

Garnet Hill

Web

Challenge: Design and build the popular catalogue company's first online retail site.

Solution: Discovered customers' expectations for a Garnet Hill site were much different than for their catalogue. Thus my team designed a site that simplified the product search and purchase experience and deepened the story on their unique products.

Role: Writer, creative director.

Books

In the Name of Peace:

How History's Great Pacifists Changed the World

In the Name of Peace discusses the pacifist leaders, famous and less well known, whose adherence to non-violence, even in the face of brutal opposition, has changed the course of history. Pacifist leaders and their philosophies have affected societies, shaped the outcomes of conflict and enriched civilization. At the same time, pacifist action has brought about cultural ruin and prolonged conflict, and has left societies vulnerable and stagnating due to passive leadership. This book offers the compelling and dramatic stories of seventeen of these pacifists and shows how those opposed to violence have affected world culture.

Spy Chronicles:

Adventures in Espionage from the American Revolution to the Cold War

Beginning with the American Revolution, Spy Chronicles weaves 15 gripping tales about some of the most colorful, daring, and intriguing characters in the annals of espionage. The last several centuries have witnessed the most devastating wars ever faced by civilization and many of these conflicts turned on the actions of a few clandestine men and women. Whether through bravery, loyalty, duty or sheer lunacy, the spies captured in these stories all influenced the outcomes of major wars and each made an impact on the course of world history.

Plays

Sally Marr and Her Escorts

Written with Joan Rivers and Lonny Price, the comedy tells the funny and poignant life story of comedienne Sally Marr, mother of famed comic Lenny Bruce. The play opened on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theater. Joan Rivers, in the title role, received Tony® and Drama Desk® nominations for Best Leading Actress. The play was optioned for a feature film by Universal Pictures.

Snapshots

A dark comedy with live music, the play explores the funny and harrowing fallout when a son returns to his mother and father's home after a mysterious absence. The play premiered in a one-act version at HOME for Contemporary Theater and Art in New York City; a two-act version premiered Off-Broadway at the Miranda Theater. The play was published in Central Park.

Little Men

The drama explores the conflict and shifting loyalties of a disparate group of American conscientious objectors during World War II interned in a Civilian Public Service labor camp. The play premiered in a workshop production at The Public Theater and received the National Archives Playwriting Award, Washington D.C.

Dear Miss America

A derelict mechanic has a fateful midnight encounter with a former beauty queen in this haunting story of faded glory. The play premiered at The Laurie Beechman Theater at the West Bank Cafe and toured to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.