Melissa Kessler Email & Phone Number

London, Gb

Pleasanton, California, Us

To Note: CashStar was acquired by Blackhawk Network in August of 2017.Senior member of the account management team in the global branded payments space, strategically directing merchant clients in increasing reach, loyalty and revenue. Key areas of focus include building deep, trusted relationships, analyzing data to deliver business intelligence when advising decision makers, promotional marketing consultation, driving cross functional collaboration and product strategy across digital and B2B prepaid channels.

Miami, Florida, Us

Directed sales for the world’s leading distributor of spa & wellness gift cards. Responsible for gift card sales distribution programs in 70,000 retail outlets and digital distribution partnerships as well as the corporate gift sales division with well over 2,000 active accounts. Managed a team of sales directors and managers. • Responsible for consistent YOY sales increases • A leader and a seller, managed the company’s largest account, Costco: built seasonal programs, created strategic plans and managed all negotiations and communications. Oversaw merchandising, marketing campaigns, fulfillment of hundreds of thousands of orders annually, and expansion into digital distribution.• Outstanding success in building and maintaining relationships with key decision makers with excellent levels of retention and loyalty. Worked closely with top accounts to ensure proper kick-off, optimal distribution and ongoing growth occurred.• Identified new opportunities and executed on revenue generating, non-traditional cross-marketing and sales programs with consumer brands at retail including Almay, Hanes, J&J, L’Oreal, Nike, Playtex, Remington and Sephora. • Oversaw marketing efforts to ensure sales initiatives coincided with the brand voice while resonating with the corporate buyer as well as the consumer- from gift card messaging and production to corporate sales presentations, newsletters and the corporate sales website.

Miami, Florida, Us

Managed third party retail gift card distribution business & marketing programs via Blackhawk, Incomm and Walgreens. Created retail education materials, employee contests and standalone third party retail marketing campaigns, a first for the brand. • Implemented production efficiencies, allowing the cost of gift card production to decrease annually compared to years prior.• Conducted extensive analysis on sales by store data and measured marketing campaign success rates, refining subsequent programs to further connect with the consumer and increasing ROI. • Created additional distribution channel with BJ’s Wholesale via the company’s secondary brand SpaWish, and implemented two seasonal distribution programs in over 300 locations. • Managed the gift card processor relationship creating multiple efficiencies in production and distribution. • Negotiated multiple partnerships at retail (Almay, Beringer, Russell Stover, private label packaged goods and floral promotions), all resulting in increased awareness, additional placement and sales increases.

New York City, New York, Us

Developed and implemented retail sales drivers, cross promotions and customer experience enhancers, 90% on barter, for 6 national brands including: sweepstakes and instant wins, promotional offer distribution in the marketplace & gift-with-purchase programs; Partners included film studios (Fox, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros.), video games (2K Sports, EA, Konami), CPGs (Coca Cola, Fuze, Schick, Glaceau), QSRs (Burger King, McDonald’s, Subway, Papa John’s), record labels (Universal Music, Virgin) & retailers (24 Hour Fitness, Adidas, Disney, Office Depot, Reebok). • Negotiated and planned all promotional partnerships, continually increasing the number of promotions annually as well as the loyalty member database by roughly 300k+ consumers per-year.• Managed Foot Locker Inc.’s multimillion dollar gift card business & its marketing programs for 2,500 retail locations and third party locations via Blackhawk, Incomm and Walgreens. Oversaw card production from forecasting, design and production to distribution. Created exciting and new seasonal sales campaigns and unique cards and packaging. Managed gift card B2B sales representation, as well as its website, budget, advertising, trade show strategy and sales materials.• Successfully executed 8 ‘Friends & Family’ corporate programs annually. Managed annual RFQs with vendors, design briefings, printing, shipping, email/online distribution, list management, expense management and result tracking. Increased gross sales by 25%. • Supervised and developed promotional team.

Authored, designed, executed and re-capped all of Westwood One/ Metro Networks’ client tailored Ad Sales promotion campaigns via sweepstakes, on-air, online, 1-800 call-in, aerial banners, sampling teams and automobile-wraps. High profile clients included: Clorox, Colgate, JCPenney, KMart, Mercedes, Tempurpedic, Tylenol, Visa and Walgreens. Collaborated with over 250 Account Executives, multiple clients, legal counsel and web/design teams. • Created and updated national Ad Sales presentations/collateral materials distributed internally & online.• Supervised and developed promotional team and intern responsibilities.• Sourced premium items and their distribution.