My Successes
The Aftermath of Skill and Passion
Highlights for Children
Columbus, OH
Global multi-million dollar publishing company with nearly 2 million in magazine circulation, hundreds of thousands club subscriptions, and a multitude of other products with a purpose of helping kids have fun while learning.
Role:
- Director, Digital Marketing Development
- Director, Digital Marketing, Club Subscriptions
Timetable:
2016-2018
The Need
Increase Ecommerce share of revenue in the company's overall channel mix to reduce reliance on direct mail and reduce costs
What I Did
Drove revenue growth and profitability for magazines, clubs and merchandise. Developed strategy for new customer acquisition, retention, and digital marketing campaigns. Generated results through email, paid search, paid social, affiliates, display, PLA, SEO, and other digital initiatives. Expanded and implemented new customer acquisition channels and business models to profitably acquire new audiences using external digital channels to grow Ecommerce sales.
Successes
- Helped grow YOY Ecommerce net sales 54% and profit contribution 28% in the first year by optimizing existing media channels for maximum profitability, expanding existing media scope, and testing into new media channels.
- Tested new promotion offers, segmentation, personalization, new digital channels, new creative, and drip campaigns, gaining 178% new membership enrollments during the first year.
- Optimized extended affiliate channel increasing YOY new club enrollments 76% during second year, leading to highest producing Ecommerce channel for Highlights Clubs at ROI on par with other productive off-line channels.
- Increased magazine YOY new subscriptions from extended affiliate channel 5x by testing and optimizing the offer.
- Grew magazine new subscriptions from affiliates 30% by changing management and optimizing program.
McGraw-Hill Education
Columbus, OH
Global $2B learning science company that employs more than 6,000 people in 44 countries
Role:
Digital Director of Consumer Marketing
Timetable:
2014-2016
The Need
Build a consumer business. The company sells primarily to schools and wanted to expand by marketing directly to parents of school-aged children.
What I Did
Led development of direct-to-consumer business for School Group, targeting parents and homeschoolers with children in grades preK-12. Created business plans, budgets, strategic marketing plans, and media schedules. Conducted analysis, managed outside vendors, and implemented marketing plans. Partnered with product development, research, creative, web IT and other departments to build consumer business.
Successes
- Planned and executed initial consumer pilot test, testing multiple marketing channels, offers and creative, generating return-on-ad-spend ratios as high as 64:1.
- Built consumer email database that nearly tripled prior email sales in that channel.
- Reversed 13% YOY decline of new subscription sales for premium, cornerstone product, growing it 3%.
- Identified 11 opportunities worth nearly $1M in potential revenue for company’s original website using analytics.
- Used geo-targeting strategy, uncovering correlations in sales data and doubling paid search (PPC) conversion rates.
- Implemented clearance website increasing web traffic, liquidating inventory, and adding $200K annually.
Acco Brands
Kettering, OH
$1.8B global supplier of branded office products with over 6K employees marketing in over 100 countries
Role:
Director, Direct-To-Consumer Marketing
Timetable:
2013-2014
The Need
Reverse Ecommerce revenue decline after recent platform change and grow the channel.
What I Did
Drove multi-channel marketing programs for AT-A-GLANCE, DayRunner, Mead, and Day-Timer. Oversaw customer acquisition, customer retention, web merchandising, customer database and analytics. Managed revenue and advertising ROI. Developed and implemented direct / digital / online marketing strategy, managed product selection, pricing strategy, promotions and partnership opportunities. Managed 5 direct reports in team of 9.
Successes
- Reversed double-digit YOY sales decline to single-digit growth in first 5 months, and double digits by month 10 by analyzing and optimizing all existing media channels.
- Improved customer acquisition 13 percentage points and beat expense expectations by maximizing new consumer acquisition levels through effective SEO, paid search, affiliate, comparison shopping engines, and paid listing ads.
- Maintained high levels of consumer retention using email, direct mail, catalogs, and social media by monitoring efforts and shifting ad dollars to efforts with highest return on ad spend.
- Implemented regular web testing practices and improvements, reversing web conversion decline to double-digit improvement of 46%.
Digital River Education Services
Austin, TX
Formerly Journey Education Marketing which merged with Academic Superstore representing the leading seller of software, hardware, and high-tech products exclusively to students, teachers and schools
Role:
- Director, Marketing and Merchandising - Digital River
- VP, Marketing and Merchandising - Journey Education Marketing
- Director, Marketing and Production - Journey Education Marketing / Academic Superstore
Timetable:
2008-2013
The Need
Grow online and offline marketing channels
What I Did
Led company’s marketing and merchandising efforts. Managed 3-14 direct reports. Channels included schools, consortias, and 2.3K bookstores from major brands such as Barnes & Noble. Marketing vehicles included PPC, display ads, SEO, CSE, affiliates, email, trade shows, catalogs, direct mail, space ads, and PR.
Successes
- Grew trackable marketing vehicles 49% YOY.
- Achieved record breaking company catalog response rates. Improved catalog response rates 274% within first few months, almost doubling sales with same circulation and improving profit 39%.
- Directed web efforts across 30K e-stores and 4 brands (Academic Superstore, JourneyEd, Gradware, and CampusTech), selling software, hardware, and technology products to students, parents, teachers and schools.
- Directed social media efforts leading to sales growth of 4,052%, placing it in top 10 revenue channel contributors. Opened company’s first-ever Facebook store; changed format from strictly marketing ads to include interactive fun; and expanded beyond Facebook and Twitter to include Google+, YouTube, and Pinterest.
- Expanded product mix to largest point ever, adding additional long-tail products including new categories.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Home furnishings/gourmet cookware retailer with 250+ stores, 1M+ direct-mail business, and $2.1B e-commerce sales
Role:
Director, Direct Marketing
Timetable:
2007-2008
The Need
Grow the business and increase traffic to website
What I Did
Developed direct marketing strategies and programs to drive catalog, Internet, and retail sales. Created seasonal, yearly, long-term financial and circulation plans. Directed monthly operations forecasting and P&L management. Managed staff of 5, with 4 promoted due to improved performance. Participated in cross-functional team that managed Direct-to-Consumer merchandising, inventory, creative, and Internet.
Successes
- Helped grow catalog-driven e-commerce sales by 28% by using regression models and increasing incentives to purchase on the website.
- Increased catalog versions’ circulation 21% by partnering with database teams to design and implement modeling and analytical tools, improving targeting / mining.
- Participated in developing customer acquisition programs across channels by including email appends, new movers program, and leveraging proprietary co-op prospecting database which reduced prospecting costs.
Other Companies I Helped Grow
