Sales and Marketing Communications
(Click on any image for a full size version)

Journalist - Sligo Champion newspaper:

I started my career as a journalist with the Sligo Champion newspaper. I covered a wide variety of stories including, local news, entertainment, local government and some sports. A member of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), I learned shorthand, typing, interviewing skills, and editing procedures. Most importantly, I learned the basics of written communications: the discipline of telling "who, what, when, where, why, and how" is one I have used throughout my career. Here are a couple of samples of articles I wrote, please click on the thumbnail for a full size image.

I probably would have made journalism a career until I was faced with the grim reality of reporting the news. I was sent out on afternoon to cover a fire, which had occurred in a neighboring town. I arrived minutes after the fire department and ambulance has departed, taking with them the remains of an eighteen month old girl and her 83 year old grandfather. As I made my way through the crowds of local townspeople attempting to get information for my article, I was met with anger and resentment. I realize then, that this was not the way I wanted to make a living and and within a few weeks, I resigned from the paper.

Newsletters:

I started my first newsletter as the Regional Sales and Marketing Manager with the Gillotte Company. I found it was an effective way to back up the company marketing messages I usually delivered face-to-face during sales meetings. It also enabled my to spread the word simultaneously, without waiting for the 8 to 10 week travel cycle it took to visit the entire 13 state region.

After being promoted to Director of Marketing at AECO, I continued this practice and introduced a newsletter for our sales force called The AECO Edge. The newsletter was a monthly publication aimed at communicating any and all company and product information that could affect the success of our sales reps in the field. This included product info, marketing updates, operational changes, and strategic directions, along with updates from all of our 13 operating divisions in 22 states.

I also created a newsletter at Codified Media Corporation (CMC) called Oblique Angles, which was our secondary direct communication vehicle with dealers and their salespeople, the first being our three Regional Sales Managers.

Articles:

While at AECO, I became very involved with a series of industry related issues including postal regulations, recycling technologies, and direct mail design and implementation. Beside creating training modules and customer presentations around these issues, I also became a regular contributor and "industry expert" on the issues which faced the envelope industry in a national publication, The Mailer's Review (sadly no longer published).

At the same time, I made presentations to a variety of groups on the topics mentioned above including The National Postal Forum (NPF), Postal Customer Councils (PCCs), and our own customers at our annual customer conference, another program I developed while at AECO.

Corporate Communications/PR:

As Director of Marketing at AECO, I reported directly to the President, Randy Zook. I was responsible for most corporate communications to our 1000 employees in that capacity. During my tenure, I produced corporate manuals on World Class Manufacturing, our employee incentive program, S.H.A.R.E., AECO's segment of the National Service Industries (NSI) annual report, and all public relations announcements. The greatest PR challenge was our 100th Anniversary in 1993, for which I designed an extensive program that included plant open houses, customer appreciation events, a redesign of our corporate image, and produced a corporate history video.

Website Development:

I carried on the communications function as President of CMC where I handled all customer and dealer communications and public relations. However, by 1996 I had expanded this program to include the Internet. I created my first website for our company at www.obliquefilingsystems.com. The website include both a public site and a password protected, private site, designed for sales people. Despite the fact that I sold the company some time ago, the website remains virtually unchanged. Since them I have also been creating websites for others as part of my consulting business. Other examples are sites at:

www.gmsproductions.com
www.elecompack.com
www.irish-showbands.com
www.kimnewport.com
www.russellbartolotta.com
www.alan-james.com
www.brendanoloughlin.com

I also currently have several website under development for other customers.