Writing
As a marketer, having the opportunity to tell engaging stories is one of the most rewarding aspects of my career. People identify with people: Whether I’m marketing a product, service or a cause, humanizing the message and doing so in a way that people can connect with on a personal level is the best way to garner engagement and grow. To tell any great story – it all starts on paper!
CommuteAir Blog Series
I created the Featured Crew series to highlight the exceptional success stories of everyday folks at CommuteAir, a regional airline. In the regional aviation industry, most pilots, flight attendants and mechanics ultimately join a major carrier (United, American Airlines, JetBlue etc.) within a few years. By sharing the journeys, aspirations, and wins of the people at CommuteAir, I created a strong sense of community that emphasized their growth in a way that the reader could identify with personally – that in turn helped recruit new folks to the airline. Check out the “Featured Crew” series on CommuteAir’s website here.
Hose Master Blog Series
At Hose Master, I helped launch the creation of the company blog as a new channel for the company to be able to share expertise and connect with customers on a human level. By writing technical articles that the audience could identify with on subjects ranging from industrial market trends, application tips, to product features and benefits, we increased engagement with customers and distributors and fostered market leadership. Personalizing each article added a human element to our content. Check out some of my favorites from Hose Master’s blog here, here and here.
Marketing Collateral – Copywriting
I’ve done my share of copywriting in my career: product descriptions, magazine articles, features & benefits comparisons, advertising headlines, tradeshow booth content, brochures, sales presentations, e-blasts, PowerPoint slides, webpages, social media posts – you name it! From short paragraphs for company descriptions in tradeshow directories to industry profiles on 3rd party platforms to longform content to fill an entire website, I have had fantastic experience as a copywriter and editor in my career.
Technical Writing
Writing long-form technical articles and whitepapers is strikingly different from that of a blog, pamphlet or social media post. The goal with technical writing is to advocate by way of facts that a certain position is the best method or that a particular solution is best for a specific problem. In the commercial sense, we want to influence the decision-making processes of current and prospective customers. I’ve acted as writer and editor on a number of technical pieces during my career.
Photo
I’ve spent my share of time behind the camera during my career, even going as far as introducing myself as the “Peter Parker of our company” at company functions! Having worked on multiple lean marketing teams, it has often been required of me to wear multiple hats to cover all the responsibilities of the department and through my shared experience I’ve been able to build my photography skills from the ground up.
Product Photo Shoots
Shooting compelling photos of inanimate objects like airplanes and manufactured products can be tricky as your subjects can’t take much in the way of direction…it’s up to the photographer to bring them to life! I’ve shot hundreds of photos of different products, facilities, equipment and other widgets for the purpose of creating engaging marketing content.
People Photo Shoots
Whether it be for facility artwork, digital website content or social media – people are often the centerpiece of quality marketing content. I’ve found that it’s frequently a challenge to get people in front of the camera even at a scheduled shoot with volunteers (especially so in candid situations). Being patient, personable, quickly building trust, and communicating with subjects are the keys to a snapping a great photo and having a fantastic shoot.
Live Event Coverage
Creating and capturing a magic moment often requires the marketing team to have a presence onsite. Oftentimes, it’s simply not enough to have local volunteers snap photos and send them back for later use. Set, setting, angles, lighting, composition and getting genuine smiles take an experienced photographer. Photos often end up being the principle design element of marketing campaigns and social media content – it’s critical to get it right to bring everything together. I’ve been onsite for numerous trade shows, recruiting events and industry expos as a photographer & brand ambassador.
Video
Being behind the camera is only part of what goes into producing a high-quality video: A strong concept, storyboarding, editing, sound design and a well-timed release on the proper channel are all important elements required for a fantastic video. I’ve been an important part of the production team for various video content during my career…behind and in front of the camera! Whether the video was focused on a product, a concept or an experience, working as a team to bring the collaboration to life has always been absolutely critical to success.
Product-Focused Videos
At Hose Master, playing an active role in industry thought leadership was key to the marketing strategy and one of the ways we achieved that was through product videos focused on features, applications, handling and best practices. As the subject matter expert for two major product lines, I helped produce and starred in a series of these videos (top two rows).
People-Focused Videos
Building a brand often includes building a tight-knit community. At CommuteAir, we helped accomplish this by creating video content that highlighted members of the community, from frontline workers to executive management…to the aircraft fleet (the ERJ145 is part of the aviation family)! I played a key role in the creation and production of these videos (bottom two rows).
