”DO WHAT YOU LOVE … let me take care of the rest”
Is my guiding principle and call to action to all those fabulous entrepreneurs and small business owners who are incredibly good at what THEY do, but not so great at branding, strategy and/or marketing.
Trust me, it’s okay. I’m not good at accounting so I hire an accountant. The basic idea is that everyone has a gift, talent or natural ability. Mine is all things brand and marketing.
If money were no object, this is what I’d be doing. This is my personal passion. I truly enjoy working one-on-one with my clients to help reach their dreams, and the relationships I build are part of that job.
As a Toronto small business owner AND marketer, I know firsthand what my clients are facing and treat their business like my own, with a clear intent and a devotion to results.
So while you’re out doing what YOU love (selling your products or services), I’ll do what I love (branding and marketing for you).
Have a look at the short video below and learn more on what drives my passion for branding, marketing, social media and helping small business owners and entrepreneurs.
LIFE IN THE CORPORATE WORLD
I bring over 15 years experience from the consumer packaged goods, retail and foodservice industries; having worked on both the client and agency side.
I started my branding and marketing career in Atlanta at the Coca-Cola Company. That was a great place to learn all things marketing and understand what branding means in the corporate world, to retailers and customers. Fresh out of university, I developed a program for Fresca that increased brand awareness and sales, and a communication program that kept the Bottlers informed and engaged with the company.
In 1999 I moved to Toronto and worked as a Retail and Regional Marketing Manager for Coca-Cola Ltd., on the Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire accounts. During my time I created the first co-branded vending machines between Coca-Cola and Canadian Tire, sealing an exclusive three year contract.
From there I was an Account Director for a boutique marketing promotions agency, leading the Coca-Cola and Campbell’s Foodservice businesses. During this time I brought in over $200k in billings from the Coca-Cola account and over $500k by helping pitch and win the Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Canada account.
I learned a lot about operations and purchasing in a franchised environment while at Arby’s of Canada as their National Marketing Manager; gaining a strong understanding of the overall business model, learning the effects of materials and labour costs, and operations on the bottom line. While there I saved franchisees over $150k in material costs and help launch a new product that accounted for 8% in sales.
Hudson’s Bay Company was my last stop in the corporate world. In charge of strategic development, planning, pricing and merchandising for the Foodservice division of Zellers and the Bay, I really got into digital marketing. Developing websites, CRM strategies and repositioning brands were some of my favourite times there. While in this role, I developed a growth strategy and marketing plan that generated over 15% in total sales; including a new pricing and product strategy resulting in increases of +4% comp sales and +8.5% comp gross profit. I also developed a customer relationship management strategy and grew our database by over 300% in 6 months.
Want to find out more about what makes me tick? Contact me.