PHILOSOPHY Sharing a Company\'s Brand Story Through Integrated Marketing Communications

2. The first piece of the puzzle focuses on strategy — defining a clear industry position — and considers three of the traditional 4Ps of marketing [product, price, place]. To me, overseeing an organization’s marketing communication efforts is like putting together a puzzle. The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Overview

3. The fourth component — promotion — focuses on sharing the company’s story in a way that reaches the target audience by their preferred channel of communication and motivates the target audience to act. When all the pieces fit — the synergistic effort is reflected in an organization’s bottom line. The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Overview

4. I have drawn on my versatile writing style and keen sense of design to develop branded communication strategies . . . for a full range of media types and platforms for both business-to-business and consumer product and professional services organizations. The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Overview

5. While the product sectors and go-to-strategies varied, the objective – to leverage an organization’s strengths to pursue opportunities for further growth – remained consistent. This effort often began with reinforcing, repositioning or reinventing the brand. The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Overview

6. The samples that I am sharing illustrate two very different approaches to brand development based on the divergent customer drivers of each industry. An earlier stint on the agency side, provided me with a comprehensive understanding of the intricacies of the creative process and a hands-on lesson on how to best manage creative resources to maximize output . The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Overview

8. In this position, I reorganized, refocused and spearheaded the marketing communication , product development and sales support function for a corporate gifts wholesaler. I joined the organization, which I later re-named Vitronic Promotional Group, after it acquired a competitor of equal size. Both companies were well-established players in the industry, but were complacent and lacked solid industry identities and out-dated product offerings. VPG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

9. After attending my first industry trade show soon after joining, I determined the message driver of the distributor base – new products or product INNOVATION . VPG | Brand Story I kept this insight in mind, when I began integrating the two organizations. In addition, I drew upon a wealth of information published by the industry’s trade associations , including a yearly state of the industry report , which ranked sales by market type. The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

10. VPG | Brand Story Once I established a solid industry position for the new entity – low cost, design leader – I needed to translate it – both visually and verbally – to create a personality for the new identity. The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications I used this information, combined with results from extensive industry, competitive and sales history analysis to determine the organization’s strengths and where it could best compete in this industry.

13. VPG | Brand Story The distributor audience took notice – sales grew by 25%, while profitability grew by 40% . With a focus on continuous product innovation, the contribution of new products to the bottom line grew from negligible to over 40% in less than three years. The distributor audience took notice. Sales grew over 25%, while profitability grew by 40%. With a focus on continuous product innovation , the contribution of new products to the bottom line grew from negligible to over 40% in less than three years. The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

14. In the corporate gifts industry, print catalogs remained the preferred channel to receive information and served as a year-long reference source. The company’s transformation occurred over a period of two plus years , beginning with visually integrating the two organizations. VPG | Brand Story VPG | Catalog and Accompanying Collateral The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

17. 2005 Vitronic & Four Seasons Prior to acquiring a competitor and undergoing BRAND INTEGRATION and TRANSFORMATION. The acquired company’s brand image looked similar. VPG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

18. VPG | Brand Story 2006 Vitronic | Four Seasons & Admanco YEAR 1 | Visual Integration [This stage completed in less than 4 months] VISUAL Integration Two BRANDS | Corporate IDENTITIES [Two 90+ page catalogs] THEME | Expect the Unexpected The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

19. 2007 Vitronic Promotional Group [Shows 200+ page catalog with a few coordinating sales collateral pieces] Year 2 | One BRAND and Corporate IDENTITY [new name and visual look] POSITIONING STATEMENT | New Name. Same Trusted Brands. THEME | New Leader in Real Cool Stuff PRODUCT FOCUS Change | Lead with TOTE and BAG Lines VPG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

20. 2008 Vitronic Promotional Group Joined the ranks of Top 40 Supplier of Promotional Products Year 3 | Full BRAND and Corporate IDENTITY Integration THEME | Discover the Seven Wonders of the Promotional Products World VPG | Brand Story This 200+ page catalog earned the top industry honor as BEST Full-Line CATALOG . The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

21. 2009 Vitronic Promotional Group Maintained position as Top 40 Supplier of Promotional Products YEAR 4 | Full BRAND and Corporate IDENTITY Integration THEME | There’s no place like Vitronic! COLORS and FABRICS and FRINTS, oh my! VPG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

22. VPG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications 2009 Vitronic Promotional Group Accompanying cover letter for catalog mailing

23. Communication channel development VPG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications VPG | E-COMMERCE -> Web Site and Email Strategy Proved vital to creating the perception of freshness in an industry driven by new products.

25. VPG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Web Site | HOME PAGE THEME | Explore the Seven Wonders of the Promotional Products World. The Journey Resumes in Quest of Striking . . .

26. VPG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Email Program I developed a content schedule, which focused on time relevant ideas such as seasonal products, promotions, new products and gift ideas. SAMPLES | Product-focused emails

27. Distributor Newsletter | Blog To position the company as the industry leader in value-priced, retail-inspired design, I developed a newsletter | blog that featured industry relevant topics and promotional ideas VPG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications

29. ERG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Previously, it handled real estate investment, development, leasing and management needs for its parent, Western & Southern Financial Group. Once again, I joined this company at a time of transition in its history. Eagle Realty Group made a strategic decision to acquire a company as a means to expand its property management and brokerage services to third-party accounts.

35. ERG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications 1997 Eagle Realty Group Executive management developed a capabilities brochure without input from the core businesses. When I joined the company, the department heads voiced concerns that the brochure took a one size fits all approach and did not contain the information relevant to their business areas. At that point, the company had selected a logo design and corporate colors.

37. ERG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Semi-Annual Market Report | PERSPECTIVE MESSAGE DRIVER | Local Market Expert To position the company as the local market expert , I published a semi-annual market report which chronicled key transactions in the specialties of office, retail and industrial leasing, in addition to the sales of investment properties. In this industry sector, keeping a pulse on the marketplace is second only to strong client relationships. Brokerage Services

38. SAMPLE Proposal Cover Letter MESSAGE DRIVER | Local Market Expert I tailored each proposal and accompanying cover letter to address concerns of the owner — whether they were a result of a national event or property specific. The average proposal ran 20 to 30 pages. ERG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Residential Property Management

39. Web Site Home Page | Office Tower Development [Now gracing the Cincinnati skyline and known as the Great American Tower at Queen City Square] The project took 15 to 20 years of planning before it rose from the banks of the Ohio River. During my tenure with Eagle, I developed many sales tools — including a web site, numerous brochures and proposals — before the development even broke ground. ERG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Investment Management | Development

40. Community Involvement United Way Communications Chair 2001 – 2004 Western & Southern Financial Group During my tenure chairing the communications aspect of this fundraiser, I developed a unified graphic look based on each year’s theme and then applied it to an integrated 4-level associate campaign , which utilized the company intranet, email and print. In addition to championing the project, I wrote copy for the various communication tools. ERG | Brand Story The Art of Sharing a Company’s BRAND Story Through INTEGRATED Marketing Communications Corporate Communications