Lisa Sands Email & Phone Number

St. Augustine, Fl, Us

Oversee marketing strategies tailored to company objectives through the development and management of strategic partnerships. Identify and negotiate new advertising partnerships; develop and execute comprehensive advertising campaigns to grow brand awareness and generate leads from consumer audiences. Coordinate advertising efforts with PR initiatives. Inspire and guide a cross-functional team.

St Augustine, Florida, United States

Responsible for development and execution of the marketing strategy for CIE Tours. Design, direct, calendarize and analyze marketing and PR campaigns made up of digital, traditional and co-op partner marketing across B2C and B2B channels. Build and manage strong preferred supplier relationships with travel agency partners, suppliers, airlines, national tourism organizations, and other industry stakeholders. Negotiate, secure and implement preferred co-op agreements, develop agency performance incentives. Develop the marketing budget and ensure CIE Tours is highly visible and well positioned in the market, and that the brand story is engaging, authentic and represented consistently in all channels.

Greater Philadelphia Area

• Negotiated, managed and executed a $4 million annual marketing budget for AAA's Travel business line. Implemented advertising campaigns on time and within budget. Engaged and educated members on the value proposition of the brand and their membership benefits through integrated print, digital and public relations outreach.• Established relevant messaging and continuity across integrated communications channels, including strategic direction on content, design, and creative for print, digital, email, website, press releases, consumer events, trade shows, social media and video communications. Established key performance indicators, identified target audiences, wrote creative briefs, copy writing for all channels, analyzed performance metrics and reporting including earned media value to make data-driven decisions; tested and optimized campaigns for improvement.• Managed and coached a team of four marketers to achieve their best performance and the company’s business objectives, resulting in zero employee turnover in 11 years.• Networked partner funding and relationships with local area managers and senior executives at more than 30 major ocean cruise, river cruise, tour operators, hotel/resort chains and attractions partners to develop product-focused, dual branded marketing campaigns aligned with achieving our shared goals. • Tested and implemented innovative sales promotions designed to increase customer acquisition, retention and loyalty; used insights to make data-driven decisions to grow sales through travel agent (B-to-B) and online (B-to-C) distribution channels.

Greater Philadelphia Area

In addition to my role as Director, Travel Marketing and Communications, I assumed this responsibility in 2014. I led the team in the creation, editorial direction, writing and publication of AAA Club Alliance's first traveler-focused publication, AAA Traveler Magazine, launched May 2014. • Provided editorial direction for a quarterly 64-page magazine designed to engage and inspire travelers to plan their next vacation, resulting in 2% annual conversion of subscribers to purchasers. Managed publishing, content development and advertising sales of $500,000 annually. Aligned strategic business objectives with editorial plans; developed story ideas, worked with tourism entities to write feature articles and recurring sections; and coordinated integrated channel distribution of the magazine via print, digital, and social media. • Wrote press releases and conducted media interviews in alignment with the magazine’s editorial content.• Launched the magazine’s associated Instagram page and grew to 1,500 social media followers in the first year. In 2017, my writing was recognized with a Silver Award by the North American Travel Journalists Association (see "Pure Adventures in Costa Rica" attached below).

Greater Philadelphia Area

Evaluated opportunities for creating incremental revenue for the organization, built financial models and managed a variety of online transactional and IT projects from inception through implementation. Managed business development team generating $25 million in incremental revenue annually. Sold travel technology and reservation services to executive decision makers within the travel industry and in new emerging businesses. • Developed new product launches, sales strategies, operating budgets, and marketing plans with full P&L responsibility.• Launched AppleVacations.com including content strategy, user experience, copywriting optimized for search engines and advertising sales resulting in $11 million in first year travel sales. • Implemented a co-branded credit card program and associated competitive analysis resulting in $5 million in the first two years

Greater Philadelphia Area

Responsible for creating a consistent brand experience for travel agent (B2B) customers and employees, and articulating it across marketing channels, including web, print, TV and radio. • Managed external public relations activities including social media (Facebook and Twitter), wrote blogs and press releases, and conducted media interviews. Coordinated and attended trade shows.• Developed a web-based travel agent training program, including scripting and video, attended virtually by more than 10,000 travel agents nationwide.

Greater Philadelphia Area

Managed 250-person call center with annual sales in excess of $100 million. Responsibility for managing sales conversion at the agent level and coaching sales managers to achieve desired results. • Developed performance measurements, set sales goals, and coached team to achieve customer satisfaction, reduction of expenses, and increased revenues. • Applied critical thinking skills to analyze quantitative and qualitative information in regards to sales forecasts, sales production, staff planning, and call reporting. • Prepared strategic goals and sales plans, and implemented more efficient procedures and policies that positively impacted customers and staff. • Recruited and trained new sales staff.

Greater Philadelphia Area

Managed relationships with cruise lines and tour operators, and developed marketing campaigns targeted to MBNA’s 30 million credit card customers to achieve $300 million in annual travel agency sales. • Managed outbound telemarketing initiatives, including scripting for telemarketing agents, coaching for performance, and sales management for more than 50 call center associates.• Coordinated internal training programs and sales collateral for travel agents.• Negotiated preferred customer benefits and prices on vacation products and override programs.• Developed creative advertising campaigns to generate travel business.

Greater Philadelphia Area

General Manager, Consumer Sales: Project leader for cross-departmental team that developed the first transaction-based consumer website for Rosenbluth International, at the cusp of the Internet age. Responsible for generating revenue on the website through advertising sales, reaching $5 million in the first year. Managed all project aspects and contracts with external providers including website design, technical site hosting, advertising sales, booking fulfillment, and product development.Client Services Account Manager (Corporate Travel Accounts): Facilitated, negotiated, developed and administered travel management programs for mid-sized corporations, with total travel spending of $80 million. Developed and implemented aggressive growth plans to network existing business and cross-sell company services, increased sales revenue by $12 million. Reorganized operational procedures and initiated cost controls, which increased productivity of 35 direct reports by 20% and reduced expenditures by 15%. Through ongoing consultative services in the areas of travel policy development, ongoing account reviews, and improved customer satisfaction, achieved a 99% client retention rate over three years.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Responsible for selling consortium memberships valued at $50,000 annually to corporate travel agencies worldwide, including identification of prospects and cold calling using selling skills to achieve targeted close rates. Developed new products to enhance value to members. Event Planner for four annual conventions with attendance of more than 300 at each venue, including logistics, event marketing and execution.

Bachelor Of Science, Business Administration

Activities and Societies: Member, Honors Society; Alpha Kappa Psi; PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America)Major: Marketing.

Honors Graduate, Top 5 Percentile, Honors And Ap Coursework

Activities and Societies: Student Government, Yearbook, Spanish Club, Cheerleading