The man behind the magic.
Creative Director · Brand Strategist · Fractional CMO
Stephen E. Terrell
Stephen E. Terrell is an American creative director, brand strategist and fractional CMO. He is best known for proposing and directing Betty White as the brand spokesperson for The Lifeline Program for a decade, and for building the marketing behind that company for 23 years. He works with founders, companies and public figures on positioning, naming, campaigns and talent pairings. He is based in Ohio and works with clients nationally.
How it started
Terrell studied journalism at Kent State University. In the summer of 1992 he met Scott Page in Cleveland and began building the marketing for what became Wm. Page & Associates and The Lifeline Program. He was there from the first transaction. The company’s work took him from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale and Atlanta.
His job was to make a young industry, one people had reason to distrust, look trustworthy. He directed the company’s public messaging, wrote its advertising, placed its press and shaped how the business was presented. In 1994 he put up the first billboard for a viatical settlement company, in Fort Lauderdale. It came down after a complaint and went back up within a day. He wrote about it in Ad Age in October 2026.
Over 23 years, as Senior Vice President of Market Development & Branding and later Executive Vice President, he helped grow the company from zero employees to sixty-four.
The Betty White decade
In 2005 Terrell proposed hiring Betty White. She served as The Lifeline Program’s brand spokesperson until 2014. He directed her in national campaigns, in a radio spot they recorded together, and in the company’s video work. He was with her the week she hosted Saturday Night Live, the week The New York Times carried the company’s image of her.
In 2011 he created “I’m Still Hot,” a music video pairing Betty White with the dance artist Luciana and directed by Josh Forbes. It earned a Silver Telly Award and a Communicator Award of Excellence in 2012. Billboard and NBC Los Angeles quoted him on the social-media strategy behind it. The full story
For the wider history of stars who kept selling late in their careers, see Hollywood Legends in Advertising, his guide to spokespeople 75 and older.
Barbara Eden
In a separate engagement, Terrell created and directed a planned national campaign for WeBuy75.com starring Barbara Eden, photographed by Mike Ruiz. The client pulled it for funding reasons four months after its launch date. The case
Cashing Out
From September 2025 through January 2026 he ran LGBTQ+ press for Cashing Out, The New Yorker documentary short about the viatical era. It was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. The work produced 17 tear sheets across 13 outlets. The press record
How he works now
Terrell works in three ways: a concept-stage consult before the brief hardens, brand reinvention as a defined engagement, and fractional CMO leadership. He also pairs brands with celebrity spokespeople and talent, working through their representation. For selected website engagements he develops the strategy, identity, copy, design and build. For broader campaigns he leads creative direction and works with the client’s own team, agency or production partners. Services
He also writes. He has bylines in Ad Age, and he is an opinion writer for the Ohio Capital Journal, Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
In the press
He has been named or quoted in the Los Angeles Times (2012), Billboard (2011), NBC Los Angeles (2011), California Broker (2010), The Advocate (1997) and News 5 Cleveland (2025). The full list
Common questions
What did Stephen E. Terrell do for Betty White?
He proposed hiring her as The Lifeline Program’s brand spokesperson in 2005 and directed her campaigns for the decade that followed, including “I’m Still Hot.”
Is he a talent agent?
No. He pairs brands with talent and directs the creative work. He approaches represented talent only through their agents and managers, and he takes no fees from talent.
Does he work with existing agencies?
Yes. For broader campaigns he leads creative direction alongside the client’s in-house team or agency.
Where is he based?
In Ohio. He works with clients nationally.
How does an engagement start?
With a conversation. Call 1-855-UNBLAND or email stephen@stepheneterrell.com.
The record
- 1992–2016The Lifeline Program (Wm. Page & Associates). Chief marketing officer for 23 years, as Senior Vice President of Market Development & Branding and later Executive Vice President. Helped build the company from zero employees to sixty-four. The full story · How one brand won three markets
- 1994The first billboard for a viatical settlement company, Fort Lauderdale. The essay and the press record
- A decadeBetty White as brand spokesperson for The Lifeline Program: national campaigns, a radio spot recorded together, and the image The New York Times carried the week she hosted Saturday Night Live. The case
- CampaignBarbara Eden for WeBuy75.com, a separate engagement: a national campaign he created and directed, photographed by Mike Ruiz, which the client pulled for funding four months after its launch date. The case
- 2019–20242Cancer.com, president. A gay-owned life and viatical settlement company based in Atlanta. Wrote on financial toxicity for LGBTQ people with cancer in Conquer (December 2022). The byline
- 2025–2026LGBTQ+ press for Cashing Out, The New Yorker documentary short, shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. The press record
- NowCreative Director, Ocean Bridge Media Group, Los Angeles · Editorial Director and co-founder, MyLifeLonger.com · Opinion writer, Ohio Capital Journal, Cleveland.com / The Plain Dealer · Volunteer creative director, Project Noelle
Recognition
- MarCom Awards: seven Platinum, three Gold, including Platinum in 2013.
- Telly Award, Silver, 2012, for “I’m Still Hot.”
- Digiday Award.
- Communicator Awards, two: an Award of Excellence in 2012 for “I’m Still Hot,” and one for B2B writing.
More
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