Rita Abad Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Il, Us

New York, Ny, Us

Dallas, Texas, Us

As a Shopper and Commerce Lead at Hawkeye for Talking Rain, a category leader in the fast-paced Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, I have consistently delivered exceptional results for my clients across retailers such as Kroger, Albertsons, Walmart, Target, Walgreens, Costco, Sam's Club, Amazon, and Instacart. My responsibilities include:• Facilitate the integration of account, shopper, eCommerce, and media teams on the agency side and shopper, brand, loyalty, and sales teams on the client side, breaking down silos for better collaboration.• Incorporate shopper and eCommerce strategies and priorities into annual brand planning to drive connectivity and efficiencies across disciplines and functions.• Develop highly effective Commerce strategies in partnership with media teams and retailer media networks to allocate $7MM+ across retailers and touchpoints to achieve significant ROI.• Partnered with the analytics team to develop and pilot a statistical model-based solution that assigns ROI credit to shopper marketing tactics for incremental volume sold at the retail level. • Utilized clients' IRI data, syndicated research, shopper insights, retailer trends, case studies, and best practices to drive thought leadership, educating and inspiring clients and agency partners for continuous improvement.• Hired and mentored a diverse and high-performing team consistently praised by clients for their attitude, expertise, and dedication.• Secured over $5MM in organic growth by implementing Epsilon Loyalty and Groupe solutions by consistently pitching and selling agency capabilities, and delivering added value.• Lead communication strategy for Commerce, aligning with brand vision, and developing conversion-driven creative.

Irving, Texas, Us

Shopper Marketing and eCommerce strategy and execution for brands in the Smoker's Health, Digestive Health, and Allergy categories. Retailer-centric (RMN) activations for all GSK CH brands at Walgreens, CVS, Target, Family Dollar, and Dollar General retailers.• Led two best-in-class innovation launches for Voltaren (first prescription to OTC switch) and Advil Dual Action brands at Walgreens that delivered and sustained 2X market share over competitors, captured 67% share of all pre-sales and over 50% of all launch sales• Industry-first closed-loop sales media program for the launch of Voltaren at Walgreens by modeling look-a-like audiences from existing RX customer data that were further enriched with triggers and behaviors. Each audience was served with unique creative to reach the right people at the right moment • Developed and managed Shopper Marketing plans to culminate in GSK being awarded: Walgreens "Supplier of the Year" and "Innovation Partner of the Year" in 2020 and Target HBC “Vendor of the Year” in 2018.• Deployed the first GSK chatbot at retail for Smoker's Health at Walgreens in 2018• Launched the first Smart Display at CVS for Flonase brand that leveraged an API from the Weather Channel with allergy data inputs and displayed real-time allergy/pollen data to shoppers in-store and on mobile devices• Hired and mentored 4 junior team members across retail and brand disciplines

Designed and deployed lead generation marketing programs for global brand ARGOS across several US markets, yielding 25,000+ new business leads.

Chicago, Il, Us

Responsible for developing immersive on-premise experiential programs targeting diverse audiences for Cazadores Tequila (Bacardi brands) that drove brand awareness, loyalty, and double digits sales lift. Assessed program effectiveness in collaboration with analytics team, set KPIs, and streamlined communication across brand team, vendors, venues, and distributors.

Chicago, Il, Us

Led multicultural experiential marketing strategy and execution for Anheuser Bush brands: Bud Light, Montejo, Presidente, and Stella Artois. •Launched Grupo Modelo's Montejo brand in the US by leveraging sports (LA Dodgers), music (four-time Grammy Winners "Mana" US Tour), and shopper marketing efforts on-premise and off-premise•Managed a team of 12 event managers who created culturally relevant experiences and shareable content across diverse audiences (meetings & incentives, music, sports, and retail events)•Built a technology solution that tracked real-time event KPIs, trained and managed staff, and generated reports for internal stakeholders and clients.•Grew a multimillion-dollar budget for the agency by 20% through organic growth.

Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois, Us

Marketing lead overseeing partnerships, digital agencies, shopper marketing, and integrated planning.• Led Partner Marketing and Shopper Marketing programs with CPG companies (Dr. Pepper, McDonald's, Orville) and Retailers (Walmart, Walgreens, and 7-Eleven) that generated over $4MM in incremental revenue.• Worked with movie studios, game providers, and internal cross-functional teams to deploy marketing initiatives that generated movie rental demand and added value to partners.• Created an Integrated Marketing process for the organization to facilitate prioritization and internal alignment of marketing channels and business initiatives.• Hired and managed digital agencies and vendors to deploy consumer promotions.• Original founding team member of "Redbox Tickets Pilot" an innovative ticketing platform developed from the ground up to sell admission tickets to family, sporting, and entertainment events that leveraged movie rental preference data. • Developed and cultivated B2B partnerships with key players in the incentives and rewards industry such as AOL, Giftango, and Aimia• Managed and mentored 3 direct reports

New York, New York, Us

Worked with a team of multicultural marketers in support of Hispanic and African American initiatives for Kmart in the US and Puerto Rico.Managed day-to-day client communications for TV campaigns, radio spots, print ads, consumer promotions, and digital projectsLaunched "Latina Smart" the first influencer-driven platform to provide inspiration and education to Latina Millenials on how to overcome the barriers of getting into college, and managed the development of a Facebook app to award scholarships for participants from the Hispanic Scholarship FoundationManaged the launch of the first in language microsite for Kmart.com and facilitated content management amongst different business units

Founded and managed a boutique Sports and Events agency focused on reaching multicultural consumers via events, sports, sponsorships, entertainment, and public relations. Generated $6 million in new business revenue and grew the agency to 8 full time staff.Clients: Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey, Seccion Amarilla, Napa Auto Parts, Disney on Ice, Clorox, Coca-Cola, Miller Lite, Sauza Tequila, Columbia College Chicago, The Government of Mexico, Pollo Campero, and The Chicago Fire

Chicago, Il, Us

Managed day-to-day planning and execution of retail and shopper strategies across multiple channels for Miller Brewing Company's Hispanic Business.Developed programming and creative, collaborated with sister agencies, partners, and vendors to ensure timely delivery of materials and client reports for each promotional programConducted market research to provide the client with competitive analysis, channel opportunities, and emerging trendsAccountable for flawless execution against client established scope and objectives while maintaining financial responsibility

Planned and executed experiential marketing campaigns, promotions and sponsorship activations targeting the US Hispanic consumer for accounts including Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, US Army, AT&T Mobility, Cingular Wireless, Allied Domecq, Sara Lee, and Chase Financial Services. Lead planning and execution of projects, including the RFP process, event strategies, vendor management, staffing, budget, operations, and post project ROI evaluation. Day-to-day contact with clients, internal teams, third-party vendors, other agencies, and customers.• Managed sponsorship activation initiatives of the Mexican National team for Coca-Cola, Budweiser, and AT&T• Planned and executed programs and sponsorships for Copa Coca-Cola, a grassroots Hispanic soccer tournament in top 12 U.S. Hispanic DMA’s. Winner of the 2004-Ex-Award: Best Multi-Venue Event.• Communicated and sold key programs to Coca-Cola Local Bottlers/Retail partners, ensuring almost 100% Market participation and an increase in retail participation on a national level.• Managed programs with media and business partners such as Adidas, McDonald’s, PowerAde, Fox Sports en Español and Eurosport.

Digital Marketing Strategy Certificate

Master'S Degree, Arts, Entertainment And Media Management

Bachelors, Arts In Communications. Certificate In Marketing