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We are working with Teavana in their search for a Vice President of Marketing based in Atlanta, GA. Teavana is a specialty retailer of premium loose-leaf tea and tea accessories located primarily in high-end malls in the United States and Mexico. Check out this video to learn more about the “only place in America where you can get a decent cup of tea …”
HARRY’S COMMENTS: Teavana was founded In Atlanta in 1997 to sell loose-leaf tea and tea related merchandise. In 2004, the company got backing from Parallel Investment Partners to accelerate its growth, and between 2006 and 2010 it more than tripled its stores from 47 to 146, and its sales soared from $33.8 million $124.7 million.
Currently, the company operates 161 company-owned stores in 35 states and 19 franchised stores, primarily in Mexico. According to its recent IPO filings, Teavana’s average order value is $36. Teavana believes that the opportunity exists to expand to at least 500 stores, in addition to growing its ecommerce business.
In 2010, online sales represented 7% of sales, and the company says that ecommerce will generate at least 10% of sales in the future. By my math, if each store currently generates $742,263 in sales and the company grows to 500 stores, then Teavana’s revenues will swell to $371 million. At 10% of sales, you’ve got a $37 million ecommerce business to support the stores through email marketing, store locators, a mobile app, social media, online video, and more.
For Teavana’s new VP of Marketing, that creates some interesting opportunities.
As usual, there’s a limit to what I disclose here, but the ideal candidate will need to draw on substantial specialty retail experience in developing and managing promotional calendars; developing and orchestrating promotional events; getting involved in special packaging, sampling and in-store merchandising; and more.
You’ll need to look at driving traffic to the concept … then to the mall … then to the store … then to the aisle … then to the shelf … and finally to the cash register. It’s the old AIDA model writ large: Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action. And you’ll need to do that in a way that in a way that makes the customer feel special every step of the way.
How will you do that? Well, it’s your job to figure that out. But based on my experience, the best candidates will have a track record of …
- Building retail brands with a distinctive personality, where the personality of the brand manifested itself in the entire shopping experience – from the visual strategy; to sensory stimuli; to product assortment; to customer service; to the tone of voice in the brand’s marketing messaging.
Suppose you land this job: In 18 months, if you took down Teavana’s branded signage, would you still know that you were in a Teavana store?
- Working with diverse groups of stakeholders to bring to life a retail brand across a thousand far-flung customer touch points. Can you work with Customers? Suppliers? Buyers? Merchants? Accountants? Supply chain professionals? Real estate professionals? Local government officials? The list is endless, and reconciling those disparate agendas will take a special person.
To make that happen, the right candidate will possess a strong sense of ownership and each Teavana store to make it fit seamlessly into each local community. In a sense, the right candidate must “think globally and market locally” within the company’s established brand guidelines.
- Engaging the customer’s senses in the retail environment. Humans don’t buy features, they buy feelings: McDonald’s sells consistency. Michelin sells safety (because you’ve got a lot riding on your tires). And Teavana?? What will the Teavana shopper smell when she walks into a store? What will she hear? What will she taste? In short, how will she feel? Because the essence of these emotions will become the essence of Teavana’s brand.
- Working with ecommerce teams to build a seamless cross-channel shopping experience. How can you use mobile to bring the brand to life in the store and elsewhere? What about social? What about video? The call center? Direct mail? And what about local search: How can you use that to drive in-store traffic and improve the customer experience?
And let’s not overlook CRM! How can you dialogue with each customer in a way that is consistent, relevant, anticipated, and personal so that Teavana gets smarter about each customer every time and place she touches the company – so that she never has to tell Teavana the same thing twice?
For Teavana, that would be marketing nirvana.
Please Tweet this job, and you’ll be automatically entered into our monthly drawing. Just do it and see what happens: 2010 prizes included $100 Amazon gift certs, Dean & Deluca steaks, and Keurig coffee machines …
Position Description:
The VP of Marketing provides hands-on leadership in all company marketing, public relations, philanthropy and advertising efforts. This position is responsible for driving traffic, sales, transactions & market share by:
- Leading marketing / promotions strategy, plans & calendar
- Building marketing strategy and ROI by channel, clearly communicating business case and expected results.
- Increasing brand awareness and customer acquisition in regional, national and international arenas. Build ROI for and manage each store location’s marketing plan & spend (if applicable)
- Managing brand positioning, brand touchpoints & targeted customer strategy
- Managing graphic design, copywriting, photography and romance. Develop, negotiate & purchase all marketing materials
- Developing, creating & communicating public relations strategy & philanthropic efforts
Responsibilities:
Multi-Channel Marketing & Promotions Calendar Execution
- Develop, with Buying, Ecommerce and Store Operations, a promotions campaign strategy that is consistently executed throughout the organization. Clearly communicate calendar, expected financial results, and track actual results, making recommendations for refinement.
- Develop and manage, with Ecommerce team, traffic-driving multi-channel marketing strategy, time-and-action calendar and budget, ensuring on-time and under-budget execution.
- Develop relationships with all Mall/Shopping Center marketing managers, taking advantage of strategic opportunities to participate in mall promotions, on-and-off-mall marketing efforts, and regional/national/international brand promotion opportunities. Clearly communicate both proactively and reactively as needed.
- Seek out and create strategic partner marketing program(s) to increase brand ‘reach’.
- Design and execute all discounts, coupons, surveys, contests, or sweepstakes as need ensuring compliance with all relevant state/federal laws and providing tracked sales/traffic results.
Results and ROI Analysis
- Drive traffic and sales to store locations, website and any wholesale business opportunities. Provide results analysis measuring traffic, sales transactions, average ticket, profit, market share and lifts.
- Track and analyze return on investment for each campaign, providing actionable reports and fine tuning as needed for best ROI.
Customer Acquisition & Relations Strategy
- Research customer demographics, psychographics and relevant geographic information to determine customer profile, target customers, target marketing areas and support new-store openings.
- Develop cross-channel customer relationship (CRM) program.
- Develop customer acquisition strategy for online and direct mail purposes.
- Manage customer service responses to frequently asked questions, maintaining database of approved talking points for both ecommerce and stores. Manage customer relations policies and placement of information.
- Brand positioning & awareness
- Act as brand ‘gatekeeper’ ensuring consistent and elevated use of logo, brand touchpoints, brand information and other positioning elements through all channels.
- Manage all written and spoken company communications via copy, talking points, & coaching to ensure consistent appropriate brand ‘voice’ and approach. Lead copywriting and romance of brand in all brochures, press, and brand packaging. Lead proofreading efforts and sign-off process ensuring no internal errors in printed materials.
- Manage all graphic design and print to ensure brand consistency and sub-brand development.
- Schedule project production chart and manage completion of all creative projects on time.
- Develop and purchase all marketing materials, signage, graphics, brochures and POP displays ensuring brand consistency and selling approach. Negotiate cost, delivery and distribution.
- Maintain standardized and consistent nutrition facts for tea, and develop protocol for proving and communicating results.
- Manage all internal and external photography to ensure consistent brand image and on time/on budget delivery.
- Review & redevelop all in-store graphics, signage, brochures and other marketing materials to ensure brand integrity, consistency in messaging, and support of sales & merchandising goals.
- Public Relations & philanthropy
- Develop Public Relations strategy, promoting the brand to local, national and international media outlets via look-books, samples, product demonstrations, press releases and other relevant venues. Track and report results of efforts.
- Manage company’s philanthropy efforts and partnerships, communicating with external partners, internal partners and promoting efforts outside of company.
Position Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Advertising, Business, or equivalent 5-8 years work experience.
- 5+ years of retail marketing experience required.
- In-depth hands-on knowledge of brand strategy, promotions marketing, corporate identity, public relations and philanthropy required.
- Strong business acumen, including proven ability to develop financial plans, understand and communicate complex financial data, and succinctly present actionable reports.
- Proven ability to analyze data and historic information, to determine industry trends & opportunities and to recommend and implement an action plan to address marketing trends and opportunities.
- Strong understanding of retail math including sales, gross margin, and inventory turn.
- Proven ability to successfully lead & develop collaborative teams.
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple disciplines toward common goals. Proven ability to build relationships internally and externally.
- Power user of Excel and other business software tools used to analyze and report merchandise trends and results.
- Proven fact-based decision-making and problem solving skills.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills and proven ability to work with all levels of management.
Applications for this position are being coordinated by Harry Joiner. To apply, CLICK HERE. Candidates, please be sure to ask Harry for packet #1355 of market research and company / competitive intel that will differentiate you in your candidacy. Due to the competitive nature of this search, thorough preparation for these interviews with this proprietary material is strongly recommended.
To add your resume to our confidential database, click here.
