Melissa Harton Email & Phone Number

Graham, North Carolina

Brand Continuity: • Unified Acucote’s brand identity among customers and employees. • Redesigned all marketing materials to incorporate the up-to-date logo, color scheme and font. • Implemented a standardized email signature. • Developed a corporate style guide.Product Launches: • Works closely with the Business Development and Commercial teams to strategize product launches, i.e. trademark registration, sales representative training, marketing materials creation, social media announcements, direct mail marketing and product videos.Advertising: • Create and maintain advertising and promotional opportunities. • Identify publications for advertisement placement and manage publication deadlines.• Write and distribute all press releases. • Create annual media plan to target press release opportunities and advertising placement.• Attend/organize industry tradeshows.Building Stronger Customer Relationships:• Acknowledge new customers and build the relationships early, i.e. introduction email and handwritten follow-up letter.• Create and distribute customer insight survey three weeks after new customer purchase(s). Analyze all feedback and provide a monthly report to the Business Development Team.• Host quarterly focus groups and in-person interviews with sales and customer service representatives to identify customer needs. • Developed a contact management system to segment customers by purchased product(s), market segment(s), etc. Website/Social Media Management:• Website metrics: develop qualitative/quantitative results each period. Analyze page views, click-throughs, visit duration, geographic location, success of new products, etc.• Create/distribute email marketing campaigns: dissect open rates, click-throughs and geographical location. • Lead the short and long-term strategic direction, management and execution of our social media platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+).

• Assists in raw material changes and transitions that increase margin and improve MOQs to our customer base. • Works closely with digital media vendors to evaluate new raw materials. Attends digital media vendor meetings for current product lines and potential products for these lines. • Manages the launch of all new digital products for all print segments. • Manages digital raw material trials. Works closely with customer service, OEMs and Acucote’s customer base to compile feedback and make recommendations to Commercial Team.• Monitors low volume order entry trends and creates sales growth initiatives to combat slow moving inventory. • Participates in the handling of digital media complaints through communication with our internal teams, vendors and customers. • Participates in processing custom digital media order requests - including vendor selection and general application recommendations.• Builds relationships with digital press OEMs to complete product testing.• Reviews weekly sales reports and works with sales representatives to close digital opportunities. • Visits sales territories annually to learn more about the digital market/trends and the needs of our customer base. • Provides the digital segment budget based on sales history and future opportunities.• Provides market analysis for the digital media segment.

• Develops and grows relationships between key accounts and Acucote. Works directly with sales representatives assigned to each key account location to grow business. • Corporate manager for all FLAG converters. Expands and maintains relationships with FLAG converter members.• Works with sales representatives to resolve key account issues and complaints.• Manages communications between key accounts and internal teams.• Hosts quarterly business reviews with associations and Acucote sales representatives. • Documents and distributes reporting on account progress, goals and quarterly initiatives.• Identifies declining trends within key accounts and works directly with representatives to identify possible solutions and causes. • Establishes and oversees key account budgets.• Assists with sales force training as necessary.• Serves as the Marketing Manager and manages the marketing program and all initiatives. • Manages ad agencies and graphic designers for all campaigns.• Provides final approval on all marketing initiatives and corporate messaging created by marketing firms and the Marketing Coordinator.• Supervises Marketing Coordinator. • Designs, produces, schedules and supervises additional marketing campaigns.• Serves as a CRM Administer.

I was the lead coordinator of the following special events: May 2011 Commencement, Reception and Graduate Celebration Party, 2011 Convocation, CLE workshops, seminars, book signings, guest lectures and December 2011 Commencement. I was responsible for the procurement, planning, management and implementation of coordinating staging, rentals, vendors, catering and talent/speakers for special events. In addition, it was my role to manage the logistics of special events, such as: purchase orders, contracts and the creation of timelines. I also managed the internal kiosk message board system and our school website by researching, writing and posting information and news articles to the schools on-campus constituencies. I assisted my team by updating the official Charleston School of Law Facebook and Twitter accounts. I also assisted in the design of promotional materials such as: email blasts, flyers, posters, newsletters, e-newsletters, invitations and save the dates. I assisted departments and student organizations in marketing by developing annual marketing strategic plans. I also assisted in the development of our social media strategic plan and developed guidelines of "Best Practices" for the Charleston School of Law Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. I organized all scholarship contributions since 2004 and cataloged the data using Sonis. I was also responsible for maintaining positive relationships with donors, and I developed implementation plans for a yearly donor report. I worked with web developers to determine the layout and content for the new Charleston School of Law website. My responsibilities included: determining the functionality of the homepage, all content for the homepage, assigning internal permissions to all faculty and student organizations, training all faculty and student organizations on the new interface, and editing the entire website.

Charleston, South Carolina Area

I was a member of the New Process Development team, and the Lead of the design coordinators on the team. This was a beta team which reduced creation timelines and managed interdepartmental concerns during a migration process from independent teams into teams of editorial, marketing and design and account managers. My team was successful and trained the remaining 100 employees on how to function in our team structure. My day-to-day tasks included conducting interior and cover design consultations with authors to assist with layout and formatting decisions. I would make the requested changes to an author's interior and cover design files and created publicity materials such as posters, bookmarks, business cards and sell sheets and produced video book trailers.

Charleston, South Carolina Area

I worked with independent authors by conducting marketing consultations, disclosing timelines and ensuring the author understood the guidelines of Associated Press style. I would also review, edit, approve and distribute press releases to a minimum of 1,000 mediums. I also reviewed and edited ForeWord Clarion and Kirkus Discoveries book reviews.

Charleston, South Carolina Area

My duties were primarily marketing the organization. I redesigned the website and managed the content with daily updates. I designed the marketing materials for local newspapers and wrote press releases and featured articles for local newspapers and magazines. I also planned and hosted center events including the launch event and open houses.

M.A., Communication

Research methods, strategic planning and public relations were the focus of my graduate program. Over the course of my program, I.

Bachelor Of Arts, Communications; Corporate Communications

Activities and Societies: Sigma Kappa, Lambda Pi Eta, Communications Honor Society and Gamma Sigma Alpha Honor Society