Andrew Ballenthin Marketing & Social Media Resume

Andrew Ballenthin

Toronto, Ontario, 416 317 7313

[email protected] linkedin.com/in/andrewballenthin

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Career Objective

To excel at creating and managing industry leading growth and retention marketing programs at a senior level for an entrepreneurial and dynamic company.

Overview of Industry Experience

16+ years in business to consumer: beverages, hospitality, household goods, home and real estate, health and wellness. 8+ years in business to business: supply chain, retail stores, hospitality and business consulting. International experience working with 15 countries; 6+ years based in England, 3 years in international wine import/export.

Key Skills

• Leadership – The ability to offer creativity, vision and hands-on impact with diverse groups of people by inspiring them to apply their potential toward the achievement of a common short or long term goal.

• Communication – Able to listen well and probe statistics, research and work with people to gain insight into meaningful trends and then write, present and implement programs with high levels of buy-in.

• Social Media Marketing – Over 2,500 hours invested in researching and applying social media. Achieved an audience reach of 1.8 million professionals through LinkedIn. Interviewed twice by the Wall Street Journal This Morning, selected as an international expert for video-casts series on 2010 strategic forecasting by yourBusinessChannel.com, interviewed on Rogers television and much more.

Employment and Key Achievements Overview

Sol Solutions 2005 – Present Founder, President, Marketing Consultant – Canada

Worked with over 30 businesses specializing in branding and integrated marketing strategies and programs. Clients included Volvo, Molson, Labatt, Quebecor, Harley Davidson and a wide variety of small businesses.

• Created and hosted Blog-Off I and II. For Blog-Off II $45,000 in prizes was raised, 28 bloggers participated from 6 countries and coordinated post publicity between 5 countries.

• Envisioned and delivered an integrated public relations event between Harley-Davidson and a Volvo Group business; 4 industry papers reported on it and a magazine gave a cover page feature.

• Delivered innovative re-branding implementation, sales collateral, websites, sales promotions and publicity events for clients seeking industry differentiation and growth programs.

• Presented on integrated marketing and social media to attendees at Milton Chamber of Commerce, Executive Mentors Group, Microsoft Headquarters, PMI regional annual meeting and more.

Enhanced Marketing Solutions 2004 – 2005 Director, Marketing – Canada

Responsible for managing Rothman’s Benson and Hedges (RBH) and Arrow Truck Sales, a Volvo Group Company. Duties included supplier management of 15 premium companies; Sharp Electronics, Frisco Bay/Direct Cash and providing solutions for RBH national clients like Canadian Tire and Gateway Newstands.

• Successfully redesigned branding, product positioning, pricing and sales processes for 2 buying/loyalty groups. This was quoted as one of RBH’s best launches in their company’s history.

• Achieved campaign results of 11+% response rate and 1.1% total database conversion to sales. • Revamped supplier management practices and substantially increased profit margins from previous

year while growing from $0 to $1,000,000 in new sales in 6 months. • Successfully created and implemented a new brand position and campaign for Arrow Trucks Sales.

Also worked in cooperation with Ryder Rentals at a national level for new program rollout.

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Cash Converters Canada Inc. 2003 Vice President, Business Solutions / CRM Consultant – Canada

Assessed the feasibility of a new technology program and reviewed the existing web site. Analyzed financial, legal, technology and implementation needs for head office and 30 franchisee businesses. Presented the new solution at the annual conference and gained exceptional buy-in for change.

WineSmart BV 1999 – 2003 Vice President, Marketing & Operations – European Union, UK, USA, Australia, etc.

Created, implemented and managed marketing, call centre, logistics, customs tax and technology programs for a start-up B2C and B2B wine business for international import and European Union export.

• Spearheaded a cutting edge internet site and PR campaign with Texaco and UPS for Europe’s first program to order online and have the product delivered to a gas station for pick-up.

• Acquired new customers and transitioned the company into a B2B supply chain business that imported internationally and exported to 15 countries over 700 premium wines.

Thorn EMI plc (An International Retailer) 1993 – 1999

Received a variety of promotions over a 6-year period due to developing, implementing and managing programs that improved business performance at a multi-million dollar level. Thorn EMI was a multi-national business specializing in the home furnishings including entertainment, furniture and consumer credit/financing.

Director, Business Planning, Strategy – United Kingdom • Lead marketing and operations strategic planning in a senior management team for a

cutting edge retail proposal to launch a new chain of stores. • Successfully managed annual business plan creation and sign-off for a retail division’s

senior management team on behalf of CEO and Nomura Securities. • Successfully led the creation of a strategic 5-year restructuring plan for 2 CEO’s and

Nomura Securities. The company implemented the plan and returned to aggressive growth mode. Cash flow has increased by over 300% due to the efficiencies gained.

Brand / Product Manager – United Kingdom • Managed the product portfolio of over 600 product lines and $50 million budget. • Implemented changes resulting in 10% improved gross margin and reduced cash

spend of $5 million. Increased sales in key revenue category by over 25% and improved annual net cash flow directly by $2 million.

Direct Sales / Project Manager – Canada, United States • Created and managed a direct sales call centre. Achieved the most profitable operation

out of 4 centres and wrote Best Practice guidelines for North America. • Conducted segmentation analysis on customer base and determined new target

markets and effectively implemented advertising campaigns to capture business. Retail Sales Person / Assistant Store Manager – Canada

1997-1999

1996-1997

1993-1996

1993-1993 2001 Futon 1990 – 1993 Responsible for a furniture retail chain of nine stores in Ontario. Received promotion due to effective management of marketing and operations resulting in increased sales.

Regional Manager – Ontario • Managed staff of 40. Responsible for managing marketing, merchandising and smooth

running of all stores. Retail Sales Person / Store Manager

1991 – 1993

1990 – 1991

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Training and Education

Terminal Ill Volunteering & Care - Peel Hospice Ontario Data Privacy - Cassels Brock Strategic Marketing and Planning - Chartered Institute of Marketing Advanced Market Research - Chartered Institute of Marketing Web Design Planning - Chartered Institute of Marketing Cognos - Product & Customer Dbase - Thorn plc Leadership in Management - Dale Carnegie Xcellence in Management - Thorn Americas/Zerox – Certified Trainer Sales and Management Communication - Dale Carnegie, Fred Pryor, Zerox - Certified Trainer Project and Time Management - Fred Pryor, Franklin Quest - Certified Trainer College - Business Administration - Toronto School of Business Grade 13 Honors - Kitchener Waterloo Collegiate

Public Speaking and Media Accomplishments

2009/10 Highlights - Practical social media from a marketing perspective.

- Created and directed Blog-Off contests with over 40 bloggers participating, 7 judges and $45,000 in prizes - Blog-Off II achieved 27,700 page views, 110 blog posts, 1,262 comments in 12 days - Received mention of Blog-Off contest on Huffington Post news site - 2 interviews with the Wall Street Journal This Morning - Presented at Microsoft Headquarters Canada - Presented to the Milton Chamber of Commerce - Presented to The Executive Mentors Group - Presented to Strickland Associates' client base - Guest presenter at Leesa Barnes Podcasting breakfast - Interviewed on Rogers television - 4 online TV/Radio interviews with ThatChannel.com - 3 expert video casts by youBusinessChannel.com - 2 program interviews on BlogTalkRadio.com - Co-authored articles with Ecademy co-founder Penny Power - Interviewed Charlene Li, David Tokheim, Penny Power - Worked with 50+ social media marketing professionals and writers across 5 countries - Achieved over 135,000 page views, 350+ posts, 2,100+ comments on personal blog in 12 months - Directing 13 volunteer media and marketing people across 5 countries in post Blog-Off Contest which will achieve a reach of over 4 million people online via audio/video casts, blogs, press releases, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and more. - Seminar instructor on LinkedIn Super Users for 2010 Social Media Telesummit for up to 200 people - Upcoming feature in white paper by Mindeliver Media - Upcoming full chapter feature in Conrad Hall's book, Voices of Influence in 2010 - Upcoming listing in Conrad Hall’s North American social media directory

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Industry Recommendations

“I had the privilege of participating in Blog-Off II and was impressed with the way Andrew managed the competition, from training contestants on the use of TypePad to providing status reports throughout the contest period. Furthermore, he fostered a spirit of collaboration rather than competition, and as a result, I've connected with several excellent bloggers from whom I'll continue learning in the future.” Janet Barclay, Founder Virtual Assistant, Blog-Off II participant “I don't want to oversell it, but Andrew is a genius! As a participant in Blog-Off II, I could only marveled at his professionalism, dedication, and the high caliber of work and creativity displayed in his creation of the site and the (much larger) contest. Andrew's Community Marketing Blog is a dynamic work in motion, much like Andrew himself, a relentlessly innovative marketing professional. It was a privilege to work with him and all of the other professionals involved.” Elizabeth Thomas, Freelance copywriter, Blog-Off II participant “In addition to being creative, enterprising, and innovative, Andrew has ushered contestants through the Blog-Off with consistency and care, making himself readily available and offering plenty of encouragement. The Community Marketing Blog-Off is a great idea and has inspired me to learn from the varied offerings of many of the contestants, as well as to dig deep to offer the best of myself in my posts. Thank you, Andrew, Blog-Off judges, and fellow contestants!” Lucia Brawley, Writer for Huffington Post, Blog-Off II participant “My referral to Andrew was after meeting with several other marketing/social media consultants. The immediate benefit of our initial discussion was that Andrew 'gets it': the critical importance of integrating classical marketing with social media marketing. It's not one or the other - it's a focused, targeted & blended strategy and execution of deliverables aimed at value added branding, community credibility, business development, client retention & loyalty, measurable results and increased sales and bottom line profits. Andrew had a unique in-depth approach to learning my business, understanding my clients' needs, and identifying and analyzing my specific goals. And this was only the pretext to his comprehensive, integrated marketing proposal and 'bang on' targeted recommendations which I could apply immediately. Andrew's ongoing knowledge, best practices and cutting edge expertise in the social media arena provides enormous value as he consistently aims for my continued success. I constantly refer Andrew to my business colleagues and they are agreeing that he is leaps and bounds beyond any other marketing consultant out there.” Nancy Jo Bidderman, Real Estate Agent Harvey Kales Ltd, past client “Andrew is a highly intelligent, energetic professional. He was a great help to our Strategic Sourcing Process project. During the project, Andrew demonstrated his excellent abilities to: - facilitate out of the box thinking to solve international manufacturing quality issues - bring our team together to align goals and internal processes - go beyond the project requirements and coached team to help develop skills to support the program’s future success - challenge us to go with sharper thinking to deliver strategic and operational effectiveness.” Ge Qu, Business Development Manager GCP Elastomeric Inc, Past Client “Andrew is a brilliant lecturer and gifted public speaker. He successfully demonstrated, to a group of our corporate clients, his ability to effectively communicate by sharing his in-depth understanding of social media, in relation to business professionals, and how it can increase corporate ROI. By embraced his audience with current statistic, visionary concepts and amusing, case in point examples, Andrew engaged the participants, and initiated interactive discussions & business networking.” Susan Sparkes, The Selection Group, Managing Partner Over 20+ recommendations on my LinkedIn profile – linkedin.ca/in/andrewballenthin

Andrew Ballenthin Marketing & Social Media Resume

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