Achievements

Create products that go beyond the expected

There is no better form of advertising than a great new product. More than just an attempt at increased market share, your next new product should capture the imagination.

• Created lighted showerhead from initial concept to fully functioning show model in 39 days
• Expanded lighted showerhead into Swarovski Crystal line of super-high-end products with list prices of $10,000 and $15,000
• Both products were created in collaboration with outside teams and in-house talent.
• Garnered editorial coverage on HGTV and in prestigious publications including the Robb Report (cover) and The Wall Street Journal
• Generated a bridge to gain PR in unrelated publications including professional lighting magazines
• Products lead to new international markets including Gibraltar, Moscow, Dubai, Hong Kong and Germany.

Develop technologically advanced programs

It's not enough to just create products that push the envelope. You need to ensure that people can enjoy them, too.

• Lead a team including outside product design and electronic engineering resources to create a push-button electronic shower controller
• Managed product development for proof-of-concept show model to gauge interest and gain key dealer commitments
• Identified collateral requirements for a successful marketing launch
• Managed team to create support materials including ads, public relations, literature, instructions, and installation video.

Create Market-Leading Packaging

Packaging is the last ad before a buying decision is made. A cohesive strategy is vital for healthy sales.

• Conceptualized and implemented market leading packaging
• Package contributed to products “flying off the shelves”. In one case – during a reset – three people took the product right out of the shipping box, not waiting for it to be placed on the shelf or to know its price
• The product line became the top-performer in the category at national home center Lowes and a bath supply retailer Bed Bath & Beyond
• Custom package inserts gave larger retailers their own look, which helped with market saturation and comparison shopping concerns

Find a Cash Cow and expand on it

Get to the essence of a product and say it in one line or less.

• Spear-headed marketing efforts to introduce the Rainmaker showerhead
• Coined the Rainmaker tag line “When all you want is a good clean shower”
• Tag line touched a strong latent need in the marketplace leading to profitable line extensions

Maximize investment by multi-purposing components.

• The Regent product line was created using existing parts from high-end models
• The resulting product lead to increased component demand for the high-end products and added revenues to retail segment, which reduced overall costs and increased revenues

Help your customers help theirs

Boost sales by thinking beyond your immediate target to help people buy what they really want

• Fist-hand experience with major retail line reviews
• Category management approach made us the go-to people and led retailers to create “category captains”
• “Store within a Store” concept helped retailers organize offerings across brands to help consumers make a buying decision
• Total category sales increased 20% at The Home Depot

Create closed-loop marketing programs

Anything worth doing is worth improving. Create feedback mechanisms to identify new opportunities.

• Created marketing programs based on strategic objectives
• Anticipated shortfalls to meet strategic objectives within current offerings
• Outlined key initiatives and efforts required to meet objectives
• Proposed complete programs for strategic review
• Identified budgetary requirements for each initiative
• Refined budget through cost-benefit analysis
• Managed deliverables to timetable
• Cross-department integration of launch efforts
• Identified and used key metrics for program improvements

Keep track of your creative efforts

There is more than one way to meet any objective. Gain the most from your creative team by empowering them to do more.

• Created a system of cataloging and managing creative projects
• Key program information collected in one accessible resource
• Reduced “find time” by over 90%
• Increased productivity an average of 15% per year
• Ensured latest digital assets were being used.
• Activity-based cost accounting (ABC) for all creative efforts and expenditures
• Able to summarize effort and expense by individual and group, by item and by marketing program
• Created processes to ensure objectives were met
• Able to contain “cost creep” early on in the project
• Objectives clearly defined using Dale Carnegie methods
• Process documentation following ISO guidelines

Forecasting

• Use of sales input, actual sales and external factors in predicting requirements
• Statistical analysis led to 1 month JIT end inventory and 100% demand predictions within time gate

Inventory Management

• Lead cross-functional team to reduce excess inventory
• Used sales promotions and liquidation to free up cash for new initiatives
• Total inventory reduced 16% in 6 months

Budgetary responsibilities

• Managed budget to actual sales and forecast
• Responsible for 12 employees covering graphic design, marketing and display fabrication and associated collateral
• Ran a profitable design agency for 9 years

US Patent 6,073,882 Flying vehicle with retractable wing assembly

• Devoted 1999 to patenting a novel wing folding mechanism
• Created a business plan and explored the possibilities of creating a company that manufactured roadable aircraft
• Gained support including the donation of a brand-new jet engine from Williams International
• Reviewers at the NASA's SBIR program named the idea “The most innovative I have ever reviewed”, “Probably worth funding as part of an overall program”, and “highly innovative…could address an untapped portion of the transportation market.”

US Patent 6,845,866 Dispenser

• Patented a novel advertising vehicle for batteries, razor blades and similar disposables.