Melanie Kennedy
Eugene,Oregon
Summary
Results-oriented marketing professional and team-builder with over 30 years of experience managing and mentoring brand marketing and agency media teams, developing strategy, and planning & buying digital and traditional media across a variety of client categories.
Team leader and mentor with an eye for talent and have proven success in building media teams from the ground up while directly managing and optimizing multiple marketing campaigns and media plans focused on positive ROI and sales growth.
Overview
36
36
years of professional experience
Work History
Agency Owner
Strategic Media LLC
02.1999 - Current
- Hire, train, supervise and mentor media and analytics team
- Create revenue for agency ensuring positive ROI for clients
- Engage new business clients and innovative media opportunities
- Develop, manage, optimize and drive performance for multiple clients against efficient timelines
- Evaluate and expand back-end opportunity analyses using martech software and solutions
- Media and Account management for clients in B2B and B2C technology categories
- Positioned agency for growth through improving internal structure, with a focus on innovation and developing new business opportunities
- Manage internal teams & external creative partner agencies
- Account and Media management across a variety of B2B and B2C clients
Media Director (Contract)
Media Matters Worldwide
03.2013 - 02.2021
- Media and Account Lead, spanning business to business and business to consumer client categories
- Developed, managed, and optimized multi-channel global media plans for clients against efficient timelines
- Managed internal agency teams across select clients including paid media, research, and analytics
- Utilized data and research to support holistic media recommendations using back-end opportunity analyses via a variety of data platforms
- Day to day management and optimization of paid media campaigns in multiple programmatic and social media (biddable) platforms
Media Director
Essence Digital
09.2012 - 03.2013
- Helped develop and integrate new San Francisco media team during Essence Digital corporate acquisition of Black Bag Advertising
- Managed and mentored Essence San Francisco B2B media team in strategy, planning, buying and execution of ROI driven media campaigns
- Played active role in pitching new business to grow Essence, SF B2B client roster
Media Director
Black Bag Advertising
12.2005 - 08.2012
- Managed 7 employees in media department at Black Bag Advertising
- Developed and led comprehensive media training programs for new media team hires
- Developed advertising strategies and converted ideas into concrete tasks, delegating tasks to appropriate individuals and departments
- Streamlined operational processes and workflow to increase efficiency of team performance and resource allocation
- Handled external communications with media sales teams
- Established departmental policies, yearly objectives, areas of opportunity and goals related to agency revenue management
- Negotiated rates with media sales companies
- Discussed marketing goals with clients to identify needs and articulate details to media team
- Built and maintained positive business relationships with clients while advocating for company in publisher negotiations
- Developed campaigns, led design and tracked results
Media Supervisor
Publicis Hal Riney
02.1997 - 10.1999
- Supervised and mentored media team of Planners, Buyers and Assistants
- Developed marketing and media strategies and plans for clients in technology, retail, and healthcare categories across all traditional broadcast, print and digital media channels
- Planned and negotiated media buys with newspaper, print, digital and radio for major agency clients
- Discussed marketing goals with clients to identify needs and articulate details to media team for planning and execution
- Managed strategic media partnerships and external communications with media sales teams
Senior Media Strategist & Trainer
The Clorox Company
01.1990 - 09.1997
- Supervised the company's three advertising agencies in the development of traditional media plans for Clorox's consumer packaged goods products
- Planned and bought media internally for select in-house media assignments
- Developed and co-led the Advertising Media 101 training programs for Brand Management
- Managed, evaluated and coordinated multiple media projects and brand team requests as they passed through to the agencies and back to brand teams
Media Planner
Goldberg Moser O'Neil / Chiat Day
01.1988 - 01.1990
- Planned and bought Print and Out-of-Home Media for clients in the categories of technology, healthcare and entertainment
Education
Bachelor of Science - Marketing (Minor in Advertising)
California State University
Hayward, CA06.1987
Certificate - Media Planning in Advertising
American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As)
San Francisco, CA09.1989
Skills
- Media & Account Management
- Global Media Planning/Buying
- Analytics & Campaign Optimization
- Media Training, Teaching and Mentoring
- New Business Development
- Agency Management and Revenue Optimization
Accomplishments
Over the course of 25 years, built Strategic Media LLC from a one person agency team to a 6 person team.
Co-developed and led an ongoing Marketing and Media 101 training series for Clorox Brand Management teams over a 7 year period.
Developed and led media training programs for Black Bag Advertising new media hires.
Have actively participated as a panel, interviewer and interviewee in Podcasts and Webinars on various topics in the media space, including AI Powered ABM/ABX, Optimizing Agency-Client Relationships, Growing Your Pipeline in an Economic Downturn.
Spoke at a major publisher sales conference focusing on Best Practices for Working with Agencies
Continue to write and curate industry articles on top Marketing and Media Trends, including latest edition from first half of 2024: https://strategicmediallc.net/resources/
MY PASSIONS
When not at work, my favorite pastimes include spending time outdoors, cycling, hiking, kayaking and enjoying nature.
I love to travel and meet and collaborate with fellow industry professionals.
I enjoy researching, learning and writing about my trade, and I hope to find time to do more of this in the future.
I thrive at opportunities to collaborate and share my knowledge of media and advertising by joining virtual webinar panels and interactive podcasts as well as in person industry conference speaking opportunities.
Timeline
Media Director (Contract)
Media Matters Worldwide
03.2013 - 02.2021
Media Director
Essence Digital
09.2012 - 03.2013
Media Director
Black Bag Advertising
12.2005 - 08.2012
Agency Owner
Strategic Media LLC
02.1999 - Current
Media Supervisor
Publicis Hal Riney
02.1997 - 10.1999
Senior Media Strategist & Trainer
The Clorox Company
01.1990 - 09.1997
Media Planner
Goldberg Moser O'Neil / Chiat Day
01.1988 - 01.1990
Bachelor of Science - Marketing (Minor in Advertising)
California State University
Certificate - Media Planning in Advertising
American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As)
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