Marketing Communications Executive Leadership
Integrated Marketing, Advertising, Media & Public Relations • Corporate Identity & Product Brand Development and Management
Industries: Financial (B2C) • Defense (B2B) • Process Manufacturing (B2B) • Hardware/Building Products (B2B, B2C)
Results-driven MARCOM professional with demonstrated success strategizing, creating and implementing technology-focused communication initiatives supporting strategic objectives for organizations ranging from $20 million to nearly $1 billion in annual revenue.
Areas of expertise:
• Establishing and maintaining successful integrated marketing, branding and communication strategies
• Assembling, integrating, mentoring and directing marketing and creative teams
• Creating innovative project management solutions with a focus on tracking and reporting accuracy
• Producing search engine optimized web sites and effective internet marketing and communications campaigns
• Discovering and implementing revenue-producing lead generation sources
• Cultivating new go-to-market products and sustaining product lifecycles
• Developing cost efficient marketing and sales support collateral materials
• Crafting highly effective press releases for print media and the internet
• Initiating and maintaining media & community relations
• Managing crisis communications
------------------ PROFESSIONAL & STRATEGIC ACHIEVEMENTS --------------------
Director, Marketing & Business Development
ACADEMIC FINANCIAL HOLDINGS, LLC • Tampa, Florida • 2006 - 2007
(Recognized leader in the student lending industry) • www.academicfinancial.com
• Responsible for the company’s marketing, lead acquisition and business development initiatives. These efforts resulted in an increase of student loan volume from $500 million in 2006 to nearly $1 billion in 2007 with $41 million in gross revenue to the company in 2007.
• Grew the company’s Broker Division volume by more than 600% in one year. Added 13 new clients and nearly $485 million in student loan consolidation volume in less than one year. This led to internal warehousing and securitization of student loans and major lender status for the company.
• Redesigned company web site, visually as well as the site architecture. Wrote, optimized and managed the site’s content and created metatags to increase search engine traffic.
• Increased organic search keyword rankings from scratch. To date (beginning March 1, 2007), 25% of the company’s keywords are found within the first 50 results of the top three search engines.
• Converted the company web site to a “lead generator” by eliminating a lengthy application form and establishing direct customer contact via incoming phone calls. Increased the close rate by over 60%. Also created a dropped lead retrieval process that resulted in a “saved lead” success rate of 53%.
• Managed Google and Overture CPC campaign annual budget of nearly $500,000.00.
• Increased CPC conversion rate on Google from .45% to 30.3% and Overture from .58% to 21.9% by editing and redefining keyword campaigns.
• Initiated a link-building campaign with .edu and .org web sites to increase search engine traffic, improve organic search rankings and establish business relationships with college financial aid departments.
• Designed an import process for leads generated from the company web site, lead generation companies and other internet sources. Incoming leads were uploaded to FTP sites and automatically downloaded into the company’s dialer system providing real-time access for the Call Center. Dramatically improved response time and increased close rate by 47%.
• Discovered, implemented then evaluated lead acquisition sources for the company (currently using LeadPoint, Lead Genuity, QuinStreet and Data Champs). These acquired leads generated nearly $17.5 million in revenue for the company from March to November 2007.
• Created a new tracking system and reporting dashboard for corporate marketing campaigns. Recommended a more robust internal data and telephony system. Designed a reporting dashboard that converted an antiquated, “cut and paste” Excel process to a multifunctional system that is now used for marketing purposes as well as for all departmental reporting.
• Conducted E-Mail Blast campaigns to drive inbound phone leads to the Call Center. Managed large internal database lists as well as acquired lists for the campaigns. E-Mail Blast campaigns accounted for over $5.0 million in revenue.
• Assessed past Direct Mail campaigns and initiated a series of test mailings (increments of 5,000 pieces) to establish a control piece and measure different control variations and designs. These small test mailings produced over $2.3 million in revenue in less than six months.
Senior Marketing Manager
TIME WISE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (MEP MSI) • Celebration, Florida • 2005 – 2006
(Solutions provider for lean manufacturing and supply chain management to manufacturers and contracted government agencies)
www.timewisems.com, www.ironwoodmaine.com
• Designed, developed optimized and maintained the corporate web site, five manufacturing extension partnership (MEP) affiliate web sites, two intranet portals and an independent web project for the CEO in less than one year.
• Spearheaded national marketing efforts for the company’s Boeing Project, targeting and landing all of Boeing’s subcontractors for lean manufacturing and supply chain management training. Projected revenue to the company: $535 million over five years.
• Booked, coordinated and managed all Department of Defense industry-related trade shows for the company, including designing and purchasing new modular trade show properties for the company. Leads generated from the events resulted in 42 new clients and estimated revenue of $174 million.
Director, Marketing Communications/Creative Services
INTERTAPE POLYMER GROUP • Bradenton, Florida • 2001 - 2004
(Manufacturer/distributor of adhesive tapes & packaging systems for North America industries) • www.intertapepolymer.com
• Responsible for all integrated marketing plans and creative services for nine corporate divisions (eight B2B, one Consumer Products division) while managing an annual budget of $4.5 million. During my tenure as Director, the company grew from $384 million in annual sales revenue to $652 million.
• Charged by senior management with providing creative direction, branding, promotion and marketing guidance for new products and market niches that expanded the company’s smallest product division (woven coated products) into a wide array of new business initiatives in the agricultural industry. This effort provided the company with enough leverage to bid on a $450 million federally mandated opportunity.
• Turned around a 23% market share decline in the B2B automotive aftermarket industry. Reestablished industry leadership by re-designing product packaging and re-branding the entire product line, resulting in reacquisition of all lost market share and acquiring an additional 3% market share increase in just 1 1/2 years.
• Collaborated with the Vice President, Consumer Product Marketing to re-brand and redesign confusing and inconsistent product packaging, directed a unique, creative print advertising campaign, negotiated strategic print media buys and fostered an industry related co-promotion. Achieved a 10.7% increase in national market share in 18 months, significantly increasing IPG Brand display dominance in major retailers including Home Depot, Lowe’s, True Value, Ace Hardware, Do-It-Best, Menard’s as well as enhanced product inventory presence in Staples, Office Depot and other major private label retailers.
National Marketing Director
SUCCESS EVENTS INTERNATIONAL • Tampa, Florida • 2000 - 2001
(Largest motivational seminar company in the U.S., promoting more than 25 large venue events per year)
• Established new, profitable seminar markets that negated a $1.3 million deficit and generated a $670,000 profit in less than six months. Established a tour of smaller, secondary cities using local and regional celebrities and three or four speakers geared to issues pertaining to the local business environment. Many competing companies have adopted this strategy.
Director of Creative Marketing
PRIMENET DIRECT MARKETING SOLUTIONS • Clearwater, Florida • 1999 - 2000
(Large national direct marketing company focused on automotive, financial, insurance and real estate markets) • www.pnms.com
• Created an “Idea Team” consisting of personnel from all levels of the company who produced fresh, innovative ideas that resulted in considerable savings by avoiding possible production problems due to press, folding, and mailing incompatibilities. Achieved a savings of nearly $2.3 million in production and labor costs over a one year time period.
Creative Director
A&R ADVERTISING • Tampa, Florida • 1996 – 1998
(Full Service Advertising Agency)
• Created and produced print, radio and television advertising campaigns and marketing promotions that complemented corporate national electronic campaigns and increased previously projected annual sales by nearly 14%.
Senior Art Director
THE TAMPA TRIBUNE • Tampa, Florida • 1989 – 1996
(Major Daily Newspaper)
• Designed and produced a series of formatted print ads and complementary direct mail pieces that resulted in a 22% increase in sales revenue (beyond the advertisers’ contractual agreements) to the publisher.
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Military Service: United States Air Force • Information Specialist (79150) • Honorable Discharge
Community Involvement: United Way of Tampa Bay, United Cerebral Palsy, Horses for the Handicapped
Education: Bachelor’s Degree, Marketing • Northern Michigan University • Marquette, Michigan |
