Kathryn Long Email & Phone Number

Burlington, On, Ca

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Offering fractional marketing support to Cannabis brands and retailers at critical stages of growth. Defining brand foundation and come-to-market strategies. Recommendations built from 5+ years of Cannabis experience, with relevant industry benchmarks and client data for the best possible ROI/ROAS. Ability to deliver complex campaigns that align all customer touchpoints and client channels in a way that breaks through this highly regulated environment.Skill Set: Customer Retention · Customer Acquisition · Marketing & Promo Strategy · Retail &Marketing · Brand & Product Marketing · Sales Promotion · Loyalty Programs · Social & Digital Strategy · Traderand-building

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

C-Suite Level Marketing Leadership Strategic Partnerships & GuidanceFocus on mid--to-small sized businesses ensuring they have the right foundation for successOffering key Leadership & Hands-On Execution Professional Marketing Leadership

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Following the Friendly Stranger Holdings Corp acquisition by Fire & Flower, I continued as the Voice of the Shopper this National cannabis retailer. Developed and executed programs using data from HiFyre Retail platform to increase basket size and brand loyalty. Oversaw visual merchandising for all banners and rollout of new brand positioning while partnering cross-functionally to support operations and marketing initiatives.• Developed internal online ordering platform for store level optimizing spend, saving $90K annually• Trade Marketing Director Key LP and Accessory Partnerships • Rolled out Local Marketing Strategy for 4 banners and 107 shops• Led Visual Merchandizing update for 4 banners and F&F rebrand • Cross-functional liaison between departments: Ops/Retail/Legal • Environics power user

Promoted within 11 months to VP of Marketing. In June 2020, took over leadership of Merchandising team for the 14+ store roll-out over 6 months. One of three executives who helped to develop one Ontario’s most recognizable cannabis retail businesses, which was subsequently acquired by Fire & Flower for $30M+. - Led and developed six-person Marketing/Merchandising Team; implementing seasonal promotions calendar which drove cross-functional alignment of Ops/Merch/HR for all promotional aspects of the business: NSO, LSM, Tentpoles - Continued leadership of compliant marketing & communication strategies for all three brands - Worked with key teams to evolve robust PR strategy leveraging the FSHC founders’ history to break the stigma associated with cannabis - Established KPIs for all programs quarterly, competitive and campaign program reports, and overall budgets for the marketing department and FSHC as a whole - Launched White Label Brand Queen West ’94 into the OCS with revenue forecasted at $165K this year - Developed innovative key partner programs bring in an incremental $780K in revenue annually

Burlington, Ont

Reported to the President. Responsible for the strategic development, management and implementation of marketing and communications for three legendary Cannabis brands in Ontario: Friendly Stranger CCS, Happy Dayz and Hotbox Lounge & Café.- Identified ROI and Business Case for Consumer Research on growth brand(s) solidifying our competitive advantage and ensure FSHC was delivering a best-in-case guest experience- Developed Friendly Stranger brand essence within the four walls helping to develop the brand character and in-store visual merchandising look & feel- Defined compliant marketing & communication strategies for all three brands with legal advisors- Developed robust PR strategy leveraging the FSHC founders’ 25+ Y history to break the stigma associated with cannabis- Established KPIs for all programs quarterly, competitive and campaign program reports, and overall budgets for the marketing department and FSHC as a whole- Directed marketing research and competitive intelligence of marketplace for data insights and trends impacting sales, with strategic position of our three brands, carving out our niche in the highly competitive Ontario market

Burlington, Ont

Senior Brand Manager on the Jack Astor’s business developing effective brand and local store marketing programs that helped drive sales and guest count for 41 Jack Astor’s restaurants across Canada.Managed a team of four direct reports while working with our internal and external agency partners to develop National marketing and brand initiatives (including all POS and marketing material for our restaurants), media and communication executions for all channels (TV, radio, print, OOH, online, social, direct mail, etc) and locally specific restaurant marketing.Highlights:* Proposed annual Jack's brand and communication strategy, working through various approvals from executive team and operations and presented at annual conference to our 41 restaurants* Created new Budget Control Report template for marketing team for all SIR Corp brands* Managed the bi-annual competitive review and strategy of menu pricing

Burlington, Ontario

Toronto, On

Worked with senior leadership team to grow CRM and loyalty business for major automotive brands; Nissan and Infiniti. Major focus on optimizing consumer lifecycle strategies towards customer acquisition, maintenance & retention goals. Moved on to lead the digital programs for some of Canada’s premier brands; McCormick, Kraft, Coca-Cola, and Rogers. Focused on managing our cross-functional team for all campaign initiatives: strategic planning against client needs, creative development, user experience, technical architecture, project management, dev, reporting/analytics and media execution and planning.Highlights:* Managed the strategy and execution of McCormick Canada's digital rebranding of flavour.ca (now hellowflavour.ca) and social media accounts* Led sunset launch campaign for iCoke Canada with extremely positive results and close to zero negative influence on public fandom with the redemption of over 1 billion iCoke rewards* Managed the data management team for Rogers Enterprise Staging database restructure* Leader in hitting targets and goals for my portfolio of brands'; adherence to budget/maintaining profit, expanding scope, effective resource management

1910 Yonge Street, Toronto, On

Recruited to work on the Interac Business as an Account Director on A59’s largest account. Worked with clients to initiate short and long-term planning across five financial products. Within two months portfolio expanded to include Gay Lea Foods (farmer co-operative), Federal Government Department of National Defence, Provincial Ontario Savings Bonds and Grape Growers of Ontario. Worked closely with agency partners and Chief Strategic officer on new business pitches. Launched social media initiatives for Gay Lea Foods including the development of three Facebook application, brokered long-term third party content management system as well as all 2012 content planning. Highlights:* Oversaw all senior relationships with clients and partnering agencies* Became lead Account Service representatives for all new business pitches* Reinvented Shortbread Bliss Facebook application and campaign for Gay Lea foods exceeding objectives by 247-500%* Managed team through all day-to-day requests; developing strategies, creative briefs from inception to production leading to the completion of TV and radio broadcast, print, online, SEM, etc

479 Wellington

Recruited to head the Tim Hortons Canada and LG Electronics brands from an entire digital perspective as an Account Director. Promoted within four months to take on Capital One Credit Cards, Dr. Oetker, McCormicks and Ogilvy Renault Law Firm. Developed all strategic initiatives across six brands and currently manage an account service team of five. Responsible for my business unit’s revenue generation and forecast projections while overseeing all senior relationships with clients and partnering agencies.* Responsible for increasing client advertising spend from 2 million to 4 million in first 9 month period* Strategic thinking on accounts, bringing an understanding of users, brands and digital media to the client’s business challenges aligning with key benchmarks* Nurtured client relationships leading to improved communication and trust allowing for negotiation into retainer position with largest brand Tim Hortons* Supervised brief preparation, scoping, user and technical requirements, IA wireframes, resource scheduling, revenue monitoring (P&L), technical build and Quality Assurance Testing* Projects varied from microsites, social media (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, FourSquare), mobile sites, online banner ads, intranets and corporate sites (w/ CMS tool integration)

Toronto, Canada Area

Managed and executed all Mazda Canada's National brand advertising initiatives from brief to final reporting. Worked with cross-border sister agency for creative, resource and cost efficiencies.Highlights:* Managed and executed the Mazda alternative reality game (ARG) called 33 Keys for the launch of the 2010 Mazda3 (Quebec) to win a custom-designed 2010 MAZDA3. The initiative won the Media Innovation Award and the Canadian Marketing Award; was cited as the “next best thing” in the Sept ’09 issue of “Strategy Magazine”; and boosted regional sales by 30% over the previous year* Ensured full optimization of Mazda’s virtual footprint against strategic plan. Positively impacted online presence via product launch banner ads, SEM, social media sites (Facebook / Flickr / Twitter / Youtube / Blogs) and text ad support* Strengthened communications with the seven North American offices via weekly status video/teleconferences* Revamped budget planning system and set up new yearend client auditing system. Introduced a sponsorship auditing process relating back to key Mazda performance metrics/passion points to remain on brand* Work extensively with Google Search Engine Marketing (SEM), banner ads, key words, hosting, serving, and metrics including tagging, click-through optimization and site analytics

Toronto, Canada Area

Contributed to the team’s execution and management of the company’s most lucrative, ($150M) account - all national Lexus and Lexus dealer advertising. Headed a 4-member professional team. Liaised with internal contacts (Creative, Media and Production Departments) and Lexus’ external divisions (Marketing, PR, Lexus University, Parts and Service, Customer Relations, and Dealer Associations). Responsible for industry and competitor reviews and well aware of any new initiatives within the marketplace. Supported Account Director, senior management, and Lexus clients. Appointed as lead trainer of Dentsu staff on the Lexus product knowledge, in particular the hybrid systems. Delivered external briefings for research and sponsorship suppliers. Originally retained as an Account Coordinator and then swiftly promoted to Account Executive before the final, most senior role. * Managed the launch and website of new IS-F Series which spurred an increase of +800% in ‘08 fall sales over ‘07. Lexus IS-F * Held total control over Lexus’ 2007 Hybrid’s 3-phased synergistic launch: TV commercials; newspaper and magazine print executions; online educational videos and ads; and dealer collateral* Conducted LCI’s first-ever foray into qualitative research for the Hybrid technology associated with their National Dealer Association. Synthesized findings and presented to top Lexus clients* Blueprinted the template and process for Lexus clients to complete a report referred to as Brand Billing for subsequent review by Lexus Japan* As an integral team member working on the Lexus Dealer Association Advertising, pitched and created the Online Ad Builder for all Lexus dealers, allowing them and their suppliers to create their own Tier 3 ads* Coordinated the “Lexus Moments Magazine”. Managed the print, out of home, online, SEM (Search Engine Marketing) brand, and retail advertising* Received a Cassis Award for the Lexus “Moments” branding campaign for Best Insight

Toronto, Canada Area

Bachelor Of Commerce, Marketing & Economics

Activities and Societies: * Commerce Frosh Week Representative * United Business Games member for 3 years * Committee Member for the World.

Post Graduate In Marketing Management, Marketing Management