Chip Apthorp Email & Phone Number

Greater Denver Area

Greater Ohio Area

Led all aspects of the regional marketing and advertising efforts for McDonald’s owner/ operators in Central and NW Ohio. Develop and deliver integrated advertising programs for 193 owner/operated and corporate-owned stores.Managed strategic efforts of client service, media connections and communication engagement teams to Identify and execute marketing platforms that support the key objective of increasing market share leading to an increase in topline sales and bottom line profitability.Identified digital, social, mobile, broadcast, print, OOH, direct mail and collateral tactics that emphasized the attributes of each of the McDonald’s three primary use occasions resulting in a 4.5% increase in overall YOY sales and a 2.2% increase in guests.Ensured all creative materials aligned with brand strategy.Supported the Ronald McDonald House of NW Ohio advertising and fund raising efforts as a board member and a leader of the newly formed marketing committee. Tracked and analyzed clients’ budgets to ensure appropriate contribution rates.

Minneapolis, Mn

Directed marketing and advertising efforts for Perkins Restaurant & Bakery to develop and deliver integrated advertising programs for 183 franchised and corporate-owned stores in 34 DMAs in the U.S. and Canada. Orchestrated and led strategic efforts of Creative, Media, Social, Email and Digital teams as well as directly managed and mentored support teams.Successfully persuaded the Perkins executive team to transition an increasing percentage of advertising spend to online marketing.Drove development and test of a mobile coupon application designed to instantly boost store traffic as needed.Increased brand recognition and event marketing through a joint sponsorship between Perkins, Fox Sports North, and the Minnesota Twins.Diligently reviewed competitive activity and pricing to recommend adjustments on a yearly and quarterly basis.Instrumental in driving 5-15% YOY comp sales increases over a 49-week period after 8 years of decline.Analyzed spend for TV, radio/DJ spokespeople, and cable, as well as charitable and sports sponsorships making adjustments as necessary.Tracked and analyzed sales trends to forecast yearly budgets.Successfully guided demanding franchisees in developing winning advertising programs.

Phoenix, Arizona Area

Led consultative design and sales of in-ground swimming pools and backyard hardscapes.Exceeded sales quota of $1.62MM in 2008 and $1.30MM in 2009 in an extreme down economy.Earned a 5-star client satisfaction rating with 100+ customers per year in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Greater Nashville Area, Tn

Recruited by The Designory, Nissan Corporation’s Collateral Agency, to lead National and Regional collateral efforts for 850+ dealerships and 17 individual model lines in North America and Canada after the relocation of the Nissan Corporation to Nashville, TN.Provided strategic direction for Brochures, POP, Fleet and Accessories teams.Drove collaboration with Nissan and 3 agencies in successful market launch of the Rogue and the GT-R as team lead.Partnered with corporate and Dealer Advisory Board sourcing new print supplier, reducing annual costs by $700K while maintaining client and end-customer satisfaction.Orchestrated design, production, and distribution of turnkey event marketing kits for the Nissan “Bottom Line Event” (annual consumer sales event) held at all dealerships.Account Lead for all cross-functional agency efforts to unify all product launches.

Greater Atlanta Area

Recruited to lead the advertising, marketing and promotional strategies activities for the Mazda North America Tier II automotive account for 126 Dealers in the Southeast Region.Co-authored with Region and “Like-Minded Dealer Board” maturing yearly and quarterly comprehensive business plans accounting for seasonality indexes, new vehicle introductions, new/closing stores, current and anticipated model mix, market spend and BDM/CDM data to achieve corporate sales expectations.Led agency teams to restructure marketing mix and messaging of traditional and interactive media in down markets contributing to a +10% swing in sales toward objective in SER while continuing to leverage the national strategy ‘Zoom Zoom’.Led development of industry first Tier II marketing program with Autotrader.com

Greater Atlanta Area

Hired to implement Saturn Corporation’s Tier II Regionalized marketing, advertising and promotional programs for 40 facilities in 26 DMAs as well as consulted with retailers and their Tier III advertising efforts to ensure compliance with national brand objectives and strategies.Developed key markets spot TV strategy, increased per car assessment coupled with factory match which increased average television spending by 33% and a 44% increase in product familiarity.Conducted focus group research in Texas to more effectively reach a very diversified Hispanic market. Adjusted spending mix accordingly to meet/exceed newly recommended messaging needs of individual markets resulting in a 7% spike in new car sales to Hispanic surnames during 7 week media window.  Jointly conducted quarterly meetings with region as well as all written communications to the regional field staff as well as dealers.

Greater Atlanta Area

Developed and implemented regionalized DMA Marketing plans for 24 Church’s Chicken Co-ops (350 company and franchise restaurants) integrating media, forecasted budgets, product mix, pricing, competitive advertising and promotional efforts and ROI with input from operations, menu teams, agency and franchise partners.

Greater Chicago Area

Advised local McDonald’s markets in identifying relevant strategic marketing opportunities to build short term sales and transactions AND build the Brand that included gaming, SLPs and loyalty programs.

Cleveland/Akron, Ohio Area

Field Account role responsible for 30 Ponderosa Marketing Co-ops.

Greater Los Angeles Area

Field Account role responsible for 73 Chevrolet Dealerships for the Southern California Chevrolet Dealer Association.