Kotty Shepard Email & Phone Number

Elgin, Illinois

I am responsible for budgeting, planning, organizing, and executing trade shows to promote company products and brand. I plan, track, and manage the marketing and the trade show budgets. I collaborate with German and Swiss colleagues in marketing strategy meetings. I create, manage, and implement videos. Developing compelling video content that engages the target audience and achieves marketing goals is one of my specialties. I am the creator of advertisements, including; designs, illustrations, publications, composing marketing materials, website blogs, product promotions, and sustaining social media presence. I proof, edit, and improve German translators’ content writing. I collaborate with the sales team and product managers to develop effective sales collateral and promotional materials. I oversee a team of marketing professionals, providing guidance, feedback, and training. I conduct market research and competitor analysis. I create digital marketing, including SEO, social media, and email marketing.

Addison, Il

I am the marketing manager reporting to the president of Whittemore. We work in a 2-person office. I maintain the office equipment. I assist sales with prospecting, qualifying and disseminating leads to teams. I compose, proof, and copyedit marketing campaigns for the website, social media, trade shows, prospecting new clients, brochures/sales collateral, and email blasts. I keep a close watch to ensure brand cohesiveness in all aspects of the website, social, presentations, and marketing pieces. Our sales team relies on me to design marketing and sales literature, dimensional drawings, and materials. I create collateral packages. I coordinate travel and hotel arrangements. I manage all tradeshows, plan, and host customer appreciation evenings from invitations, meal selection to coordinating travel. I have top-notch administrative skills, am organized, a self-starter, detail oriented, can work in a fast-paced environment. I am the QuickBooks administrator responsible for payroll, reports, and invoices. I perform all of these tasks in addition to other administrative duties with expertise.

Batavia, Il

At Barco Products over the years, I was counted on to wear more than one hat. I was a catalog production manager and before that a product marketing manager. I produced design concepts for catalogs, email blasts, web-banner ads, slip packages and trade show materials. I managed and directed graphic design team in layouts and styling to create marketing concepts for five brands, 4,500+ products and the production and distribution of over six million printed catalogs. Brand guidelines were important to me and I both catalogs and websites looked and felt consistent for five companies. I directed our printer in reserving paper, scheduling, layouts, documenting edits and signing off on final print jobs. I wrote appropriate brand marketing materials and product content strategies for catalog and website resulting in over $21 million in sales. I was the company photographer. I photographed products to enhance product images aligned with brand strategies to capture assets used across categories and websites for 4,500+ products. As a product manager, I built and maintained vendor relationships comprising of 70% of the company’s profits. It was my responsibility to select new vendors and products; negotiate pricing, terms, service obligations, promotional activity and assured the execution of 74 vendor agreements and over 4,500+ products. I analyzed competitive performance and landscape in the site furnishings marketplace. I developed strategy and products to retain competitive advantage. I have a proven ability to build product collections that grow sales and maximize profits. I identified vendor issues and addressed quality-related concerns retaining customers and saving money.

Batavia, Il

I developed products with our sister company to sell on our website(s) and in our catalogs. To accomplish this, it took a lot of research to select and negotiate with vendors for the inclusion of products in product mix. I fostered ongoing vendor relationships, identified potential problem areas and addressed quality-related issues. Continual analysis of our product mix and demand gave me validity to recommend expansions and deletions of products and lines. Quarterly I evaluated the competitive landscape targeting key players, product segments, products, pricing, website presence, and marketing strategies. Since I was the one to bring on new products, I developed and coached educational sales tools to ensure sales and customer service readiness.

B.S, Public Service Administration

Activities and Societies: National Agricultural Marketing Association Member & Board Member

Education record