Professional Summary

Award winning client-side Advertising Director creating campaigns that solve business challenges, drive traffic, grow revenue, and change brand perceptions. Led all AT&T wireless advertising, managing high-volume work with agility and velocity averaging more than six marcom campaigns a year from strategy through deployment. Highly collaborative across channels, departments, and leadership levels. Proven ability to provide actionable feedback, simplify complexity, and reduce friction.

 

Experience

Second Stage Consulting                                                                                                 Atlanta, GA I 09/24 – Present

Consultant

Providing marketing consulting services from temporary leadership and brand strategy, to process audits, project management oversight, and go-to-market plans 

• Audited Google Ads program for local Atlanta business; built new campaign with improved targeting and approach; changes have decreased costs ~20% from previous campaign while increasing conversion rate

• Led marketing for Southeast-based eCommerce start-up; created all marketing strategies and tactics including consumer value proposition, brand guidelines, communication strategy, content, paid social and digital ads which positioned them for launch

• Provided guidance on operational issues including business plans, process, vendor procurement, regulatory compliance, product packaging and distribution; lead to $8k sales in first few months, exceeding expectations

• Created audience personas for a boutique law firm to identify opportunities for engagement which led to improved targeting in advertising and increased ROAS

• Secured a partnership with a growing podcast network which provided immediate sales impact

• Built simple websites for small business start-ups including ecommerce capabilities

• Provided objective, third party insights on pro bono campaign working with limited resources

• Created target personas for a boutique law firm to identify opportunities for engagement

 

AT&T                                                                                                     Atlanta, GA & Los Angeles, CA I 12/05 – 7/23

Increased corporate responsibilities from field advertising to ownership of a line of business; Gained broad experience: retail, product marketing, subscription services, D2C, and entertainment through AT&T initiatives and partnerships; Led internal teams and external agencies through periods of major change including new campaigns, mergers, restructuring, new category expansion, shifting media, and contracting budgets. 

 

Director, Integrated Marketing Communications, Branding, Advertising I 03/14 – 07/23

 

Result Highlights

• Drove marketing strategy behind “Lily” campaign by making complex offers more accessible to customers, leading to lowest ever churn and highest subscriber growth over previous five years (2015); reintroduced campaign (2020) leading to seven growth quarters

• Piloted creation of the first digital video ad library by working with, and encouraging agency partners to maintain quality standards, reduce expenses, and increase speed-to-market; project resulted in >$5M estimated production savings over three years and yielded thousands of digital ads

• Presided over annual departmental production budget; set and achieved annual budget forecast ($60-90M) for over seven years amid frequent reductions and evolving needs

 

Directed advertising strategy, creative development, and production of all creative campaign materials: TV, Digital, Social, Audio, Print, OOH, Live Activations resulting in net positive port-ratios and improving brand sentiment

• Drafted simpler marketing briefs by distilling the value proposition into clear agency input; during this period AT&T increased brand and message recall norms for the entire category by 2+ basis points

• Led development of award-winning Multicultural Millennial campaign to grow brand relevance in low-share markets; using audience research insights, the team engaged targets through authentic taste-maker collaborations introducing the brand to a previously unserved segment

• Drove strategy behind “Just Ok is Not Ok” campaign; trended above category norms for brand / message recall and doubled likeability norms making AT&T a more desired brand

• Continuously improved digital ad performance via A/B testing and analytics to ensure all KPIs were met

• Led joint marketing projects across partnerships with brands like Apple, Samsung, Facebook, NCAA, Hello Sunshine, DIRECTV, Warner by integrating teams, efforts and working towards mutually successful outcomes

• Launched the first free delivery and product set-up service by collaborating across channels to establish a go-to-market plan and the introduction of a sub-brand

• Led high-volume production of 30+ video spots per year across digital, social and TV far exceeding industry averages showcasing an ability to handle multiple cross-channel projects at once

• Supervised creation of bespoke digital and social content through disciplined briefs leading to steady increases in demand generation and increasing online conversions during key selling periods

• Drafted briefs for custom research, performed on-going market intelligence analysis and monitored trends to inspire creative, provide points-of-view, and ignite change

 

Managed advertising operations including hiring, budget management, and process improvements

• Provided proposals to reduce spending by initiating projects earlier, securing definitive approvals, and eliminating redundant touchpoints

• Identified workflow improvement opportunities through audits; developed a new process and created cross-functional teams to implement changes; outcome became the foundation of a project management organization

• Led construction of the first dynamic content optimization (DCO) ads by working across functions to improve online targeting and build stronger relationships with key audiences by serving more effective and efficient ads

• Partnered with media and communications planning teams to optimize asset delivery for all campaigns during periods of dense media opportunities like NCAA Final Four and College Football Playoffs

• Managed more than 15 direct reports over time, including hiring, talent evaluations, recommendations for compensation and identifying key team members for recognition

• Developed direct reports through mentorship, communication, and patient education leading to numerous promotions and increasing the number of high-performing contributors in key roles in the company

• Directly managed three agency relationships (General Market, Hispanic, Multi-cultural) towards a common goal

• Developed Spanish in-language ads using deep audience research to guide decision-making, improved AT&T performance with Hispanic segments

 

 

Drove and adapted company culture by taking initiative, active participation in growth opportunities, and passionate support of corporate responsibility (CSR)

• Partnered with employee resource groups to review ads for cultural relevance and to avoid PR issues

• Created CSR spot directed by, and starring, transgender talent, reinforcing LGBTQ+ commitment

• Developed TV spot for holidays driving awareness of screen addiction and promoting responsible product usage

• Partnered with concerned employees to reduce plastic waste on AT&T campus with internal awareness campaign resulting in greater adoption of reusable lunch kits

• Mentored three employees outside the department giving career guidance, advice, and assistance

• Developed recognition program with a weekly peer-to-peer recognition component as well as a monetary reward for excellence leading to improved relationships

 

Lead Manager, Marketing Communications I 08/08 – 03/14

 

Managed daily projects and supervised other employees, keeping teams moving towards a common goal

• Managed workload of junior team members, assigning and monitoring projects, aiding their professional growth

• Supported Director in execution of national campaigns spanning device and value messaging by authoring creative briefs and overseeing production

• Provided custom status reporting for various levels of senior leadership ensuring all were suitably informed and able to make critical brand decisions

• Volunteered to lead departmental production budget tracking, continuing oversight as responsibilities grew

 

Represented Field Marketing interests within a centralized headquarters structure 

• Led a team providing media and advertising materials to field marketing leaders tasked with specific local goals, budgets, and deliverables; managed six regions within a heavily matrixed organization like a franchise model

 

Sr. Ad Manager, Cingular/AT&T Field Marketing Communications I 12/05 – 08/08

 

Supported Field Marketing teams with on-time and accurate delivery of brand advertising materials

• Managed day-to-day advertising projects including proofing, amending, selling, and producing

 

Additional Professional Experience

Media:                Advertising & Marketing Strategist, The Charleston Post and Courier,

Agency-Side:      Account Executive – Sr. Account Executive: Cramer-Krasselt, Clockwork/Adair-Greene, WestWayne/22-Squared

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Recognition & Success                            

2021 Highest Ranking Advertiser for consistent diverse casting (Numerator via AdAge 01/21)

2021 Cannes Lion-winning co-creation and cultural insight campaign

2021 Shorty Award (2) GIF for Best Use of Native Advertising & Best Media Buying on a Shoestring 

2020 Gold Andy for single cinema spot

2019 Cannes Lion-winning cinema campaign

Ad of the Day honors: AdWeek for individual spots (Issue dates: 07/18, 11/18, 12/22)

2001 Membership Director Charleston AMA

2001 Charleston Chamber of Commerce Enrollment Team

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Education & Certifications

University of South Carolina - Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, Advertising, 1995

Udacity Course - Nanodegree Digital & Social Marketing, 2021

Vanderbilt University Course (Coursera) – AI Large Language Model Prompts, 2024

Project Management Institute – Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, 2024

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Technical Expertise & Core Skills

In addition to noted capabilities and outcomes, my knowledge and experience base also includes:

 

Strategy:            Brand Planning, Comms Planning, Business Planning, Research, Consumer Insights, Brief Writing, Analytics

Execution:          Production, Project Management, Brand Design, Media, SEO/SEM, AI, Written and Verbal Communications

Management:     Budget, People, Leadership, and Process Management, External Agency Management, Account Management

Technical:          Microsoft Office Suite, Workfront familiarity, Google Analytics, Canva Design, Wix Web Design, ChatGPT, Claude