Project management
Is your organization is growing like Topsy? I can help you manage the kind of interim projects whose aim is the development of intimate, targeted relationships between your organization and the audience you need to reach.
Why can I help you?
I have several years of real-world experience working in marketing departments for high tech firms in Silicon Valley where I was involved in customer oriented market research and testing, creating surveys for clients.
I enjoy launching, managing, and promoting successful events, including vendor relations and business-to-business promotions.
I have experience producing pieces and designing giveaways
Details
Following are a few examples of my work:
Creating surveys
During the summer of 1999, I worked as a consultant for Caere Corporation, the makers of OmniPage and other optical character recognition (OCR) software products.
As part of a special team effort, I elicited strategy from product marketing and engineering stakeholders; provided tactical options for eight product lines co-designed the survey instrument (with a mathematical consultant); supervised the implementation of survey pieces and the design of web site; managed interns, and analyzed results for the executive team at Caere. During the course of the project, the goals were expanded from ONE survey for ONE product line to EIGHT product lines! The entire project (from start-to-finish) was successfully completed in less than three months.
Managing direct mail campaigns
At Networld+INTEROP, I negotiated “space for lists” exchanges with top industry publications such as IDG publications InfoWorld and NetworkWorld, and Ziff-Davis pubs like PC Magazine. Under my guidance, this program, and profits from list sales, (in one year) from a negligible 10k to a respectable revenue stream of over $100,000.00 per year! As a member of the marketing team, I organized direct mail programs consisting of 'drops' of over 1,000,000 pieces per month, analyzed direct mail results, and provided on-going direction toward marketing budgets and efforts.
Promoting events
The most fun to be had in the world of marketing is usually to be found at the end-of-development bash, the launch party, and the trade show VIP cocktail party - all of which I have had the luck of organizing: at Networld+INTEROP vendor relations (and list sales) were 'lubricated' at a famous Washington D.C. cabaret. For Global Village Communications I took the entire engineering division on a trip to Disneyland for a celebration of yet another success product cycle; while there I also managed company presence at events including CeBIT ’95 and MacWorld Boston 1996; developed a promotional party for GVIL products at Apple HQ (which also introduced Wyder's Pear Cider to the Apple community); regulary organized weekly company-wide 'Beer Bashes' and the company picnic. In a world of drear corporate events, my parties are reliably the most fun you can have with your clothes on! (Let's not even talk about Burning Man '99...)
Producing pieces
An established author, editor, and writer for trade magazines, I created - and surprisingly still have a copy of - the Interop 1993 Marketing Services Manual with the content, design, layout produced for Networld+INTEROP. Maybe Ebay would be interested in this piece of - only slightly coffee-stained - history?
Designing giveaways
For Global Village Communications external events and internal incentives, I developed shirts, mugs, pens, magnets, keychains, and other items.
Organizing beta tests, focus groups, and other related activities
Global Village Communications, Inc., producer of the award-winning TelePort modems for the Apple Macintosh, and related products for fax and telephony, were under the purview of the product marketing group at Global Village where I provided support for marketing research and testing throughout the mid 1990s. Prior to this, as a contractor, I also worked for such top-notch companies as Xerox (software testing); Hewlett Packard (participated in focus group for new corporate website); KPMG (preparing materials for consultants on kanban implementation); and General Magic.