Equilla McClain

Creative Brand Strategist

Allison Inspires: The Serial Entrepreneur | Jun. 2021 - Current

• Optimize brand presence and marketing and communications programs across education, beauty, book, and food industries.
• Cultivate forward-thinking, inclusive, and performance-oriented business culture to expand innovation and push business development.
• Maximize entire media mix, including traditional and digital display advertising, retargeting, email, and web-based marketing to drive brand awareness, consumer engagement, and leads.
• Develop and execute strategic plans to drive organizational change, sustain operational effectiveness, and drive financial improvement.
• Procure vendors and other applicable service providers, develop proposal requests, and analyze competitive estimates.
• Develop key operational initiatives to drive and maintain substantial business growth.
• Develop DOOH, social media, and other multichannel advertising materials to support lead generation and staff growth strategies.
• Coordinate and schedule content, designs, and current redesign of company websites.
• Work with organization CEO, leadership team, and external resources to gather and define requirements, establish scopes, and manage project milestones.

Creative Marketing Operations Consultant

Shelton Solutions, LLC | Mar. 2023 - Sep. 2023

• Contracted to ComEd Industrial Services creative marketing operations portfolio.
• Automated project management and improved collaboration by utilizing Asana, rhythm of business methodology, and cross-functional go-to-market strategies.
• Consulted executive management, marketing, operations, and sales on promotion and marketing programs.
• Provided creative design strategy and execution, brand expansion initiatives, and delivery automation best practices.
• Assisted in marketing and trade-show event planning, project management, research, and lead capture follow-up.

Design Operations Consultant

16x9 Design, LLC | Aug. 2022 - Feb. 2023

• Led redevelopment of project intake, client onboarding, and product delivery processes, resulting in 30% increase in business development.
• Proficiently communicated actionable insights to technical and non-technical stakeholders and internal and external clients.
• Observed and risk-assessed workload and product of 15 global presentation designers.
• Worked with Finance, Product Development, and Senior Management to meet clients' expectations, budgets, and go-to-market strategies.
• Managed partnerships and negotiated contract terms.
• Provided hands-on design execution, creative direction, and brand approvals.
• Developed scope, change, and risk management plans, reducing scope creep by 20%.

Senior Director Operations

The Channel Company, Inc. | Jun. 2021 - Nov. 2021

• Cultivated performance-oriented, inclusive, and forward-thinking business culture within Shared Services in-house agency.
• Constructed lean product management programs for clients, which included AWS, Google, and Microsoft. These programs optimized post-M&A operational systems and processes, improving efficiency and productivity.
• Reviewed individual department performances and worked with leadership to improve processes, procedures, and practices.
• Drove strategic improvements to enhance operational and organizational efficiencies.
• Fostered work culture of collaboration and inclusion to increase morale and reduce turnover.
• Revamped operational plans to refocus staff and align processes with business objectives, leading to 40% increase in productivity across client services, sales, marketing, creative studio, and business learning and development lines.
• Directed design and execution of business transformation initiatives to drive performance, profit optimization, and growth opportunities.
• Partnered with Marketing and Client Services to automate utilization analysis and capacity-planning models, decreasing budget and service delivery risks by 30%
• Scaled and restructured Creative Studio, resulting in 53% increase in workload capacity, maximizing product offerings, optimizing subject-matter expertise, and increasing employee engagement.

• Led award-winning team of creatives across 24 portfolios, managing content, production, project management, and digital design functions.
• Overhauled supplier relationship management processes, resulting in 30% decrease in spending YoY.
• Formalized vendor auditing process, increasing R.O.I. by 17% in one quarter.
• Reduced budgetary expenditures by effectively negotiating contracts for more advantageous terms.
• Managed $275K budget launching digital P.R. marketing channel, resulting in 20 thought leadership articles picked up by Tier 1 publications and 12.9M average reach increase within three months.
• Implemented Monday, Bynder, and Cision project management, digital asset management, and public relations management tools, realizing 35% reduction in projected overall financial investment.
• Built strategic partnerships with agencies, increasing subject matter expertise and elevating full-service marketing dexterity and resource access by 50%.
• Identified and implemented strategies for increasing corporate brand awareness and resonance.
• Supervised creative team in brand, image and daily topical promotion.
• Managed branding campaigns and event marketing initiatives in print, video, web and social media.
• Promoted use of multichannel communication strategies, automated chat, and social messaging.
• Utilized detailed market research, specific population demographics, and lifestyle data to identify product target markets.
• Conducted and evaluated market research to adjust marketing strategy to meet changing market and competitive conditions.

• Managed 45 creative team members across North America and EMEA operations.
• Oversaw branded e-commerce creative, localization, strategy, digital and content marketing, merchandising, and social media.
• Carried out and developed social media, e-blast, and public relations campaigns.
• Implemented and developed operational standards, policies, and procedures.
• Executed appropriate staffing and budgetary plans to align with business forecasts.
• Launched career-focused professional development program to reduce voluntary attrition and enhance knowledge succession and staff engagement.
• Conducted performance evaluations, compensations, and hiring to maintain appropriate staffing requirements.
• Revamped Creative, Merchandising, and Marketing partnership workflow systems into one-team scalable process.
• Engineered off-shore production operations system in Poland, reducing costs by 22% and re-balancing workload capacity.
• Oversaw workforce management planning, volume predictions, and capacity planning.
• Mitigated business risks by working closely with staff members and assessing performance.

• Supervised creative operations in Chicago, New York, and Toronto.
• Reallocated resources and re-aligned procurement practices to reduce spending by more than $50K in costs and resource waste YoY.
• Centralized and scaled business operations, identifying current and future needs to socialize clear documentation of work processes.
• Boosted productivity by 30% by creating role-specific teams to collaborate and identify efficient workflow solutions.
• Successfully managed budgets and allocated resources to maximize productivity and profitability.
• Controlled resources and assets to comply with industry standards and government regulations.
• Improved staffing during busy periods by creating employee schedules and monitoring call-outs.
• Cultivated positive rapport with fellow employees to boost company morale and promote employee retention.

• Founded Valparaiso University Digital Media Accredited Internship Program, which realized 98% post-graduate employment rate within six months of graduation.
• Appointed as Valpo Magazine Creative Director, managing editorial aesthetic direction, external vendor resources, and final press and content approvals.
• Leveraged as Promotions Creative Director for Valparaiso University Center for Arts and increased community engagement by more than 40%.
• Executed on-point television and digital promotions.
• Produced aesthetically pleasing, easily producible and fresh creative content.
• Inspected layouts and advertising copy and edited scripts, audio and videotapes and other promotional material to adhere to specifications.