Robert Birks Email & Phone Number

Oakland, California, Us

Stand up and lead new cross-agency integration and collaboration model to improve cost and resource efficiencies (both externally and internally) and accelerate growth to build a more holistic and integrated Blue Shield brand. Lead development of an enterprise-wide "super brief" as a strategic tool for agencies to use for identifying solutions to overcome key business challenges across internal business units. Consult and collaborate with internal business partners on agency scope of work development including contract development and fee negotiations. Identify and secure external agency resources and expertise to fill internal business partner resource and/or capability gaps.Maintain internal awareness of agency capabilities and resources and lead agency search process for business partners.Design, plan and implement agency business reviews and evaluations.Design, plan and implement professional development trainings for internal Marketing and Brand partners to strengthen skills and capabilities.Stand up and manage new Marketing Center of Excellence as a resource for internal teams and business partners. Design, plan and implement bi-annual Brand Summit for internal and external stakeholders.Provide on-going consultation and thought leadership to internal business partners enterprise wide.Lead and manage all Blue Shield facility branding for both domestic and international locations.

Oakland, California, Us

Build greater affinity and love for the Blue Shield brand among employees to help make Blue Shield a great place to work. Drive the strategic planning, development and implication of enterprise-wide roll-out of Blue Shield’s new company values: Human, Honest and Courageous; educate and ensure that the values are understood so their meanings are reflected in employee behaviors.Develop videos, tools, trainings and roadshows for employees to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the Blue Shield brand and its value to help elevate the company brand.Plan, negotiate and oversee the activation of corporate sponsorships supported by our Employee Resource Groups (ERG's). Ensure maximum impressions, senior-level executive exposure and strong event attendee engagement. Drive the planning, development and implementation of bringing the Blue Shield brand to life across all Blue Shield offices, internally and externally, to connect and engage employees with the brand. Brand Consultant and Thought Leader for all lines of business. Provided the chosen name (BlueSky) for the company’s new marquee program supporting mental health for middle- and high school students in California: Blue Shield of California BlueSky initiative.Re-designing our ERG logos into a cohesive identity system that builds our brand and each ERG's unique identity.Collaborated with L.A. Care Health Plan’s marketing & brand team to launch the first of its type co-branded L.A. Care/Blue Shield Promise Community Resource Center. Included brand identity development, naming, internal and external facility branding, launch event planning and communications, and more. The Resource Center is part of a $146 million commitment to jointly operate 14 such locations across Los Angeles County.Mentor in the new 2020 employee mentor/mentee pilot program; Shield Pride LGBTQ Employee Resource Group advisory board member.Two-time spot-bonus recipient for outstanding achievements and contributions.

Oakland, California, Us

Manage the internal Blue Shield of California brand employee experience to increase affinity for the Blue Shield brand, the company and its values among employees. Responsibilities include the following: Oversight of the brand sensory experience for BSC employees in partnership with other Brand, Creative, Marketing and Internal Communications team members.Developing and implementing the Internal Brand Strategy Roadmap aligning with BSC’s overall Brand Strategy including managing all components of Brand “Roadshows” and other Brand related events across the organization in partnership with the Internal Communications team.Serving as ambassador of the BSC Brand ensuring all aspects of the company understand the brand and its goals and how the Brand encompasses BSC, its Mission and Values.Influencer and thought partner with key stakeholders on unified internal messaging touch points.Supporting the broader Brand team with activation of its strategic objectives, including sponsorships and partnerships.Building and sustaining strong working relationships with all key internal stakeholders including Internal Communications, BSC Employee Resource Groups, and Markets.Managing the intranet “Brand Blog."Creating a Brand Ambassador Team – Internal BSC employees across the organization that champion the BSC Brand at their respective offices and/or BSC volunteer, or sponsored events as determined. Oversee Ambassador Team meetings across the organization and prepare reports and communications on activities, event or project status to key stakeholders.Tracking budgets and project deliverables/milestones and managing vendors.Co-leader of the Shield Pride LGBTQ employee resource group; member of the Black Employee Network employee resource group.

Oakland, California, Us

Support the Core Accounts sales team with marketing tools, resources and consultation to help achieve retention and acquisition goals. Lead the planning, development and execution of marketing communications and collateral material.Led the end-to-end development and on-time launch of the company’s 2017 interactive Broker Pulse Guide. The guide, used as a yearlong reference tool for Sales and Brokers, includes a comprehensive overview of Blue Shield’s product portfolio and services available for Large Groups (employers with 101+ employees). The project included leading and collaborating with more than 50 cross-functional stakeholders. 2017 marked the first year the guide was developed in an interactive ePDF versus printed format resulting in a better user experience and cost savings.Created and managed a booth experience at the 2016 HR West Conference to support the sales team in building awareness and interest in Blue Shield products. Generated leads among HR prospects, and helped foster continued strong relationships with brokers in attendance.Collaborated with the Premier and Small Group marketing teams in developing a more streamlined, cost-effective cross line of business pre-enrollment kit user experience. Identified opportunity to generate significant cost-savings which received Legal approval. Collaborate with the Premier, Small Group and Individual and Family Plans marketing teams in the planning and development of marketing programs supporting the company’s Trio ACO HMO product. Actively participate in Blue Shield’s employee resource groups. Chosen as an ambassador for the company’s Black Employee Network, and planned, coordinated and implemented the company’s first ever Shield Pride educational lunch and learn. The well-attended company-wide event focused on the topic of gender identity and was very well received.Sr. Manager quote: "Core Accounts is lucky to have Robert on the team."

Oakland, California, Us

Enterprise Sales & Services (ESS)Led, managed and executed projects for Senior Managers, Directors and Senior Directors including the development and launch of a new digital marketing tool for sales to use at client open enrollment events, and the piloting of a new mobile communications channel to use across lines of business. Responsibilities included managing vendor relationships, negotiating vendor contract fees, developing project plans, leading weekly team meetings, ensuring the timely completing of tasks, and keeping both the projects and team members on track. Consulted with project owners on how to achieve project objects. Collaborated with the internal creative team in the development of product and creative deliverables.Negotiated vendor fees saving the company over $20,000. Integrated Marketing and Client Experience Division (IMCE)Led, managed and executed a multi-phased, internal department “Vision Initiative” project in partnership with the Senior Director of Online & Mobile and three additional functional department senior directors.Proactively consulted on how to achieve project objectives, and provided recommendations, roadmaps and tools to help execute project tasks; recommendations were approved and implemented.Led weekly cross-functional core team task force meetings. Successfully moderated individual and group work sessions with senior directors and vice presidents for positive outcomes.Developed decks socialized with cross-functional stakeholders at all levels as well as executive management.

Oakland, California, Us

Provided project management services for three departments -- Individual and Family Plans, Marketing Engagement & Delivery and Enterprise Sales & Service.INDIVIDUAL & FAMILY PLANS (IFP)Planned and managed complicated budgets for two cost centers (for 2014, the IFP budget was the only one to come in at forecast within its division).Led cross-functional project review meetings, crafted and distributed meeting notes, helped coordinate the completion of project tasks, tracked project status using Microsoft Project.Wrote content for project dashboards and PowerPoint decks on behalf of managers and directors for distribution to senior and executive management; crafted weekly project summary emails distributed to company stakeholders.Crafted and submitted Change Requests, collaborated with other PM's in updating RAID logs, created and updated program journey maps in Visio.Planned and managed the on-time execution of sensitive member mailings. Keen letter proofing helped save the company thousands of dollars. MARKETING ENGAGEMENT & DELIVERYCollaborated with the department director on the company-wide "Focus on the Customer" (FOTC) initiative.Assisted in the planning, management and execution of the 2015 FOTC kickoff event. The event, reaching over 7,000 employees across 13 office locations, achieved widespread employee participation and was deemed a success by senior management.Played a key role in developing the strategic framework for the event; developed the event creative brief and briefed the advertising agency for creative development. Led internal cross-functional teams in the development and execution of messaging and creative supporting the event.Provided strategic guidance in development of the sustaining FOTC plan for the remainder of 2015.Led cross-functional team task force meetings, set agendas, crafted and distributed meeting notes; managed program timelines and budgets.

Well-rounded professional skilled in the areas of marketing, advertising, branding, naming, new product development, market research, business development, client services, project/program management and marketing communications.Blue Shield of California: Sr. Marketing Project Manager for IFP, Marketing Engagement & Delivery, Enterprise Sales & Service, and Integrated Marketing & Client Experience.Ameredia (advertising agency): Consulting on new business and agency marketing, including the development of strategic solutions for brand challenges and pitch presentations. Developed the strategy and pitch proposal that won the American Lamb Board as a new client. Chromium (branding firm): Freelance associate collaborating with the owner on client brand strategy, naming and identity projects. Kaiser Permanente: (see description below)Richmond Convention & Visitors Bureau and the City of Richmond: Provided strategic consultation, including messaging, design and copy, for the City’s October 2013 San Francisco Business Times insert promoting Richmond as a business and travel destination. zSharp: Led the organization's strategic naming development process, and provided strategic and creative direction for its new logo and brand identity.

Oakland, California, Us

Contractor in Kaiser Permanente's Member Marketing Communications department (MMC). Led the strategic initiative to expand readership and engagement in the company’s monthly eNewsletter delivered to 3.6 million members (Partners in Health). Strategic guidance on monthly newsletter content helped lead to record achievements in eNewsletter open rates, and improved article click rates. Recommendations on how to improve the content development and approval process were implemented by the Managing Editor. Led the strategic and creative development of a new member onboarding video and “welcome book,” plus developed marketing communications creative assets supporting other MMC and local Business Partner programs. Provided write-ups on various department projects, as well as collaborated with cross-functional teams in writing decks for senior management and physicians.

Sausalito, Ca, Us

Led, managed and consulted on naming and brand architecture projects for B2B and B2C clients including HP, Experian, Snapfish, Johnson & Johnson and others. Created project objectives, and collaborated with cross-functional teams in the development of creative, legal clearance, linguistic evaluations, research and brand identity development.Helped significantly grow HP account revenue, and secure the status of “preferred vendor” with the client; the HP Envy Spectre, an ultrabook named by Lexicon, was a 2012 Best of CES award winner.

Oakland, California, Us

Led and managed new business projects and processes, including strategically crafting RFP/RFI proposals and pitch presentations, in collaboration with cross-functional teams; created and managed project schedules; partnered in developing marketing programs and creative concepts (TV, radio, print, digital, etc.); managed prospect relationships.Participated on the team winning AARP, HP, Marriott, MLB, Kraft, Pfizer, Clorox and others as new clients.Created case study stories that highlighted the agency’s strategic strength and creative excellence in successfully overcoming client marketplace challenges and achieving their goals.Led and managed strategic consulting, digital, social media and marketing communications projects for HP; collaborated with other client agencies in the creation of thought leadership webinars.Planned and managed a complex digital marketing project with third party vendors resulting in over 1.5MM social media impressions, and engagement with HP branded content.

Oakland, California, Us

Led strategic planning for Albertsons/Sav-on, Cingular, WaMu, St. Joseph Aspirin, Lactaid Milk and FX Networks.Planned, led and managed consumer research projects, and interpreted results to uncover learnings, insights and opportunities for the development of marketing strategies and compelling creative briefs; moderated focus groups.Collaborated with creative teams as the “Brand Ambassador”, to ensure that all creative (TV, radio, print, newspaper, out-of-home, digital, collateral, etc.) was executed on strategy and in alignment with brand guidelines.Strategic efforts on Lactaid helped the brand’s African American TV spot achieve the second-highest ranking ever tested online by ASI; post ad brand growth increased +120% in test versus non-test markets.

Oakland, California, Us

Led, managed and collaborated with cross-functional teams in the development and execution of integrated strategic marketing and communications programs (TV, radio, print, events, promotions, etc.) for WaMu, Albertsons/Sav-on, Cingular, Procter & Gamble, Oakland International Airport, the UC Davis Health System and others.Managed client relationships; developed SOW’s and budgets; led project status meetings and oversaw schedules.Transitioned accounts from project to retainer; grew agency revenue by +$2.0 million.Led and managed marketing communications pro bono projects including development of conference videos, logos, event invitations, collateral, websites and more.

Opened and managed the San Francisco satellite office for Portland-based eyescream interactive. Secured office space and furnishings plus hired staff during the peak of the dot. com boom. Won new business and oversaw digital campaign development.

Led the new product development, advertising and media strategy, plus execution, for a line of health and beauty aids sold in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Brands included VO5 (hair care), Hemanent (home perms) and Date Cologne Deo (deodorant and body wash). Successfully launched new products and restaged existing ones achieving record sales and brand revitalizations.Created the most successful line extensions in the Date brand's history with the addition of a special edition fragrance featuring the Swedish pop sensation Robyn.

Ma, Advertising

Ba, Advertising