Steve Thomas Email & Phone Number

Cheshire, Ct, Us

Brand strategy consulting firm specializing in creating effective, differentiated marketing programs for consumer brands from small businesses to national leaders. Sample client work: Founder and Corporate parent of d/b/a New Haven Direct Connect, an e-commerce food delivery service bringing beloved New England food brands to consumers who have relocated and can no longer find them.  Client- HYVE Brand Concierge (formerly UMI Marketing Solutions), Richardson, TX: Franchise System CMO Consultant, introducing growth-oriented retail and franchise brands to UMI's unique value proposition; providing outsourced services on lower return tasks to increase productivity of client marketing teams and lower production costs. Client- Apex Partners, GLG, Guidepoint Consulting: Functional Expert Network Consultant. Speak on behalf of industries I have worked in with due diligence teams. Client- Green Home Solutions, Plainville, CT: 150 unit home services company. Interim CMO, 8 month assignment. Drove 3 fold increase in brand awareness with creation of new marketing campaign promoting all natural and non toxic insect and mold control products in regulated environment. Launched e-commerce business to increase sales by 13%, new units by 15%. Client- Lenses Only Optical, Bloomfield, CT: Brand identity and launch for bricks & clicks optical retailer. Positioning, advertising, web and e-commerce launch, including using cutting edge technology like virtual mirror and pupilary distance measurer. 1 unit start up, now 6 units, e-commerce, with YOY sales +20%. Client- American History Media, LLC, Hamden, CT: Brand positioning, interim CEO for digital educational tourism company and its "Where History Lives Today" brand. Created differentiated consumer marketing using strategic insights and problem/solution format, led investor effort for $53M VC funding raise.

Richardson, Texas, Us

Peer to Peer Business Development for Richardson, TX based marketing services company (formerly UMI Marketing Solutions) with value proposition focused on saving clients time and cost by managing tactical marketing elements. Client roster includes franchise and retail companies. We make life easier for our clients by immersing in their business, owning their goals and handling tactical details so they can focus on higher return work.

Food distribution e-commerce business www.NewHavenDirectConnect.com, designed to bring beloved foods from the Northeastern US to consumers who have relocated and miss them.

Bristol, Connecticut, Us

Marketing leader for Solar Energy provider based in CT, servicing New England and Florida. We are a SunPower Elite dealer, installing high quality solar systems made in North America and backed by an industry leading warranty. I am responsible for brand development and customer acquisition.Leading brand evolution to build awareness based on differentiated strategy in crowded and undifferentiated category. Building first ever marketing programs to help consumers understand how SAVKAT makes the Solar Energy evaluation, purchase and installation process simple. This strategy is designed to drive organic leads into our pipeline and in turn, reduce our overall acquisition cost. Part of this process is optimizing the technology platforms we utilize to ensure that we are getting maximum value from these tools.Results: - SAVKAT is now a Top 10 SunPower Dealer out of over 600 Dealers nationally.- Developed, planned and executed multi channel, differentiated marketing strategy.- Increased Lead Flow 35%, reduced Acquisition Cost by 12.1%.- Drove Sales (+54%), Brand Awareness (+58%), Advertising Awareness (+46%) and Net Promoter Score (+20%) gains that surpassed our annual goals.- Reduced SAVKAT's reliance on Paid Lead sources.- Implemented NetSuite ERP/CRM system.- Launched B to B and B to C ancillary business model focusing on Electric Vehicle charger installations.- Placed SAVKAT #6 on CT's Best Places to Work Awards.

North Attleborough, Massachusetts, Us

Mosquito Shield® is a leading residential mosquito and tick control service with 58 franchise locations across the United States. Each of Mosquito Shield’s franchises are owned and operated by independent local business men and women.I ran the marketing function at Mosquito Shield. Because of how our business cycle operates (a short, intense season), we actively managed a digital first, hyper local marketing strategy, executed on behalf of our local franchisees. We invested in technology that made an extraordinary leap in marketing analytics and real time optimization to maximize impact of our plans. My team implemented industry leading technology platforms such as Improvado, MS Azure and Tableau. My team has also sourced and installed an enhanced CRM using Salesforce and its Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud products, together with Ad Studio and Salesforce Community that allowed us to process sales more quickly and utilize the data collected more effectively. These investments positioned Mosquito Shield well for years to come and were necessitated due to our rapid growth. We doubled in size from 2021 to 2021, and this positive positioning led to the 2022 sale of Mosquito Shield to Five Star Franchising. I managed a 6 person team, with 3 direct and 3 indirect reports, consisting of talented, dedicated marketing professionals who care deeply about growing the businesses of all of our franchisees.

Beverly Hills, Ca, Us

Formerly Global Franchise Group, management company with six franchised brands and 1,500 franchised and company owned units. Responsible for brand marketing, corporate and franchise store operations and development for two brands: Pretzelmaker (200 units) and Hot Dog on a Stick (75 units). Hot Dog on a Stick:o Reversed comp sales trend of -6% to +8%, surpassing EBITDA budgets for my final 6 months running the brand, the first positive performance in 12 months from Menu Optimization (including FTC menu labeling and caloric counts) which delivered +10% in beverage sales, +8% in average ticket and turned negative customer traffic positive.o Identified and tested growth drivers for 2020 and beyond: off mall development, new product innovation and operational efficiencies, licensed merchandise to further impact EBITDA. Pretzelmaker:o Led innovation to differentiate brand in commoditized category, with partners Hershey, Coke, Frito-Lay, to ideate and fund research, build strategy on "Fresh Baked" from the oven products.o Developed menu optimization, beverage and serving size modification program to improve unit level metrics (negative for 4 years) forecasted to add +3 sales points; and off mall expansion, including new campus concept "Fresh Twist".

Atlanta, Georgia, Us

Charting the future for 1300 unit franchised gift and treats brand. Edible is the category-defining leader in fresh fruit products with locations across the country.Recruited back to lead brand transformation at 1300 unit, $500M+ franchise company, from gift brand to treat & gift brand. Strategy complements gift menu with QSR-style fruit based treats to funnel traffic to bricks & mortar channel. Conducted research, on boarded agency partners, produced new marketing strategy in 3 months; brand's first in 24 months. Grew sales from -12% trend to flat with e-commerce sales positive in 90 days. Developed new retail prototype, oversaw build in Hamden, CT; delivering 13x increase in weekly walk-in traffic. This is now the brand's new prototype for the system. Identified path to broaden the brand's offering and address structural business issue around repeat customer erosion. Modeled media mix configurations, installed practices for optimization, based on attribution. Led the organization of a technology transformation with various agencies. Project scope included new CMS, CRM, Email and Social Integration, multi website brand platform, corporate/franchise development/HR and B to B gifts.

Suffield, Ct, Us

Recruited to develop differentiated brand positioning and utilize to drive new business for $30 million in store merchandising company, specializing in bringing marketing solutions for major retail clients nationwide. Re-launched primary website and 3 brand extension websites, each with specific target audience. Successfully launched new products, now standard part of WMG portfolio. Generated significant unearned media impressions winning 2017 Green Circle Award for environmental practices. Launched first business development effort in 5 years. Added 5 new clients, and $1M in revenue.

Atlanta, Georgia, Us

Marketing leader for multi-channel gift retailer. Positioning, strategy, direction, tactics; managed $30M marketing fund. Cohesive, differentiated strategy drove shift in business model from growing units to growing same store sales, delivered 61% compound same store sales increases over 5 years, incremental $334 million in total system revenue, compound increase of 175% (from $191M in 2007 to $525M in 2013). Grew average unit volume from under $200k to $450k. Grew Brand Awareness 5x and Ad Awareness 3x over 5 years. Managed trade and franchise sales marketing, added 700 new units. Managed innovation including FDA required caloric disclosures across system. Directed digital strategy including PPC, SEO, Paid Social and Email to exceed digital KPIs in conversion rate, CPC targets, open/bounce rates, cart abandonment, ROI and UX performance.

New York, Ny, Us

Recruited to manage promotional business activities and serve as primary client contact for $20 million designer/distributor of innovative premiums for kid’s product promotions across categories including QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) and confection.▪ Cultivated relationships with industry leading clients including Yum! Brands, Subway, Hershey Foods, Post Cereals, and Mattel.▪ Generated 50% of total corporate revenue after launching new Subway kids positioning campaign, “Play Hard, Eat Fresh” which meshed with the overall Subway marketing strategy of healthy, “good for you” food; named Subway kids agency of record and negotiated deals with Burton Snow Boards, Trek Bikes, and Laser Scooters.▪ Leveraged digital marketing platform as part of the Subway kids program; developed interactive game which allowed kids to train a wrestler by making smart exercise and food choices to make their wrestler stronger and healthier.▪ Launched successful and profitable fundraising product line with Hershey’s in partnership with the Boy Scouts of America.▪ Winner of 2004 National PMA REGGIE Award Honorable Mention for the Subway kids interactive game promotion.▪ Designed innovative licensed toys, sourced US and overseas manufacturers, and ensured safety, labeling, testing, and regulatory compliance with US/EU and APAC safety standards; zero product recall issues during 7-year tenure.

Livonia, Michigan, Us

▪ Developed marketing strategies and new business for $1.3 billion QSR/Pizza; Grocery/Drug and Home Furnishings categories.▪ Created and implemented sales support materials, marketing collateral, and business development models.▪ Increased sales across categories 11.1% in 1 year, increasing revenue $56 million.

Us

▪ #2 marketing role on marketing team that conceived and executed the nutritional positioning for Subway, that the brand still employs today. Reversed negative sales trend and grew awareness exponentially.▪ Developed and launched wildly successful Kids' Meal marketing program, which contributed 40% of operator income in 1998, doubled Subway program volume over 2 years, and positioned Subway as a major player in licensed family targeted promotions.▪ Structured strategic alliances with Kraft, Nabisco, Pillsbury, Pepsi, Coke and Tyson Foods.▪ Did product placement in the film Happy Gilmore.

School Of Business, Bs, Marketing

Certificate, Graphic Production

Ppc Marketing

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Marketing