ABG — Global Brand Marketing and Business Operations Services

ABG contracted me in January 2013 to lead and produce global company rebranding initiatives; a complete overhaul and reinvention of internal collateral materials, products and online identitiy. They had limited marketing direction pre-2013, and were relying on late 90s-to-mid 2000s brand materials to represent themselves. Their marketing efforts were stuck in the past, and it also showed in their industries served—with sales stagnant and attracting no momentum for over a decade combined with a company ownership restructuring due to the recession.

The challenge seemed daunting at first, but ownership allowed me the freedom to entirely uproot and gut its brand. The goal was to rebrand, plan, attack and shift their industries served along with product branding initiatives. Cause and effects of the mass marketing overhaul aimed to replace aging accounts spread across low-profit industries with new businesses from one, high-profit industry, Electric Utilities. Establishing brand and product awareness outside of the midwest within the Electric Utilities industry was the underlying motive for my direction.

Rebranding ABG within 3 months time from logo to website dev to collateral sales materials and signage influenced ownership with offering me an Executive Director position to come inside, steer, and solely establish ABG’s present and future 360° global brand initiatives. Daily to weekly Initiatives includes: Web Development, Product Development, Print, Web, Signage, Trade Shows, Merch, Ads, Email Campaigns, SEO Campaigns, Marketing, Vendor Negotiations and Contracts, Ecommerce Development and Integration.

ABG’s focused marketing initiatives has solely replaced low profit, stagnating accounts with higher profit, recession-safe businesses. Previous to my hire, ABG’s AGR was stagnating for over a decade due to a lack of target-marketing while servicing low-profit, bulk bag commodity accounts across pigment/inks, chemicals, food and medical grade industries. Electric Utilities accounts barely equaled 10-15% of the company’s sales before my hire. ABG’s success and growth since 2013 is marked by an increase in target-marketing Electric Utilities accounts with our patented products being marketing as safety tools for linemen. This recession-sage i which comprises more than 78% of our annual sales.

Sales have increased 41% during my tenure as marketing director; solidified by a 6% CAGR rate. All of this has occurred without a staff to assist marketing services and efforts**. Aside of managing many marketing responsibilities and roles, supervising operations and having oversight on everything you can think of that drives a modern manufacturer—IT, Network Comm, Employees, Freight logistics, Business planning and growth—often takes priority over most marketing responsibilities.

** I’ve never been granted an annual marketing budget by ownership during my tenure with ABG, which is quite odd considering the amount of marketing goals and on-going initiatives met during a seven-year tenure that continues influencing the company’s growth. Marketing professionals and HR reps, if you’re confused reading this (as to how one person can manage an entire firm’s worth of work), don’t be: Having no internal support, budget, staff, nor the luxury of a contracted firm and a handful of freelancers, has greatly effected my skillset in positive ways (if not negatively affecting my stress level). Location is everything for opportunities, and I’m accepting that this is the best of a present reality that affords me to care for my family. The experience has been great either way as I await newer pastures to uproot my family to be a part of.