Multichannel marketing and communications professional with a proven ability to deliver award-winning campaigns that inspire action from difficult to reach and discerning audiences.
• I’ve exceeded benchmarks time and again across programmatic and social media buys.
• Empowered sales teams with tightly integrated lead funnels and lifecycle management solutions leveraging Salesforce.com.
• Know how to craft a compelling narrative and have won over a dozen video production awards in the past 5 years.
• Served on both the interactive agency and client side, and I am a highly capable sparring partner for any marketing professional whether B2B or B2C.
Most recently, I helped the Georgia Department of Economic Development attract new business both domestically and in 12 strategic markets around the globe. In the 7 years I ran Georgia’s global marketing efforts, we were selected as the #1 State for Business by Site Selection magazine, and its database of site consultants, for an unprecedented 7 years in a row. Jobs and investment grew steadily YOY due to a healthy pipeline of prospects. In addition, the Department’s commitment to marketing over that same period of time grew more than 300% because the ROI was clear and measurable. I also managed a team of 5 and 4 agency relationships for interactive, pr, traditional and video production.
My online marketing career started with the direction of email marketing and web campaigns for Mandalay Resort Group, resulting in several awards for creative execution and exceptional return on investment. This caught the attention of the interactive marketing company, Twelve Horses where I directed their corporate marketing, advertising, and public relations efforts, as well as provided strategic consulting for travel/tourism clients such as Park City, Heavenly Mountain Resort, and America’s Adventure Place.
Leveraging my experience with media and multi-channel marketing technology, I went on to lead the marketing and branding initiatives for SAXOTECH (now NEWSCYCLE), a global provider of content management platforms, circulation systems and advertising solutions for the media industry.
I’ve worked in sales, marketing, advertising and public relations for a variety of other companies, including Switchback PR & Marketing, Stoel Rives LLP, Preferred Capital Corporation and Patagonia. I have an MBA with a specialization in Marketing and a BA from Clemson University.
Side hustle: My photography has appeared in countless ads, brochures, and marketing campaigns.
I can be a creature of habit. I like certain routines. Comfort zones are my friend. With that being said, I’ve lived in 5 different states in the past 15 years. And in that same time I’ve worked for 4 different companies each with their own challenges, rewards and experiences. Most recently, I left a comfortable job of 7+ years to follow my wife to Seattle. I didn’t predict any of it.
I recently took my two boys to the gravesite of Bruce Lee and his son. I am not a cemetery seeker, but it was a sunny day in mid-winter, and the adjacent Volunteer Park designed by the Olmsted Company is a great place to visit. So we headed over. Standing in front of Lee’s grave reminded me of childhood and the awe of watching his movies. And not just his physicality, but the discipline and balance of his movements. He once delivered a now famous quote: “Be water, my friend.” I’m sure this quote represents different things for different people, but for me it is about being adaptable. It is about constantly improving based on whatever situations you face. And having the courage to break free from a pattern. So I am taking that and giving it to you as well for what it is worth.
Speaking of water, there has been a lot of it here in Washington recently, and I have had fun capturing it in its many forms. Side note: if you don’t know about eastern Washington geology then fire up Google and take a look. Imagine a skyscraper high wall of water moving at 80mph. You’d “be the water” whether you like it or not.
Seems like good timing when you move to Seattle, and then not long after the U.S. News & World Report releases their “Best States Ranking” with the state of Washington at the top of the list.
Education, fiscal stability and infrastructure are just a few of the categories they used to assess the strength of a particular region. After working in economic development for more than 7 years, and servicing EDs from the interactive agency side for more than 5 years, I can attest to how important these factors are to site consultants and companies. People often assume that discretionary and statutory incentives play the largest role in a company’s decision to relocate. And they wouldn’t be wrong. Job tax credits, R&D tax credits, investment tax credits, energy savings, and many other mechanisms to save companies money – that they can reinvest – are all very important.
But without the available workforce, and solid workforce training programs in place, any region is going to suffer over the long haul. Washington has that figured out, hence the reason they ranked #4 in that particular category. But what about “Natural Environment”? We all love it. We all need it. But here there is a Governor who has made it a cornerstone of his policies.
It has certainly been an awesome experience getting my little future workers out in the beauty that surrounds Seattle. Here are some recent outings.
A boy takes a leap from Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park.
A woman looks out over Puget Sound from Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park.
Mount Baker looms large over a lighthouse in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
A tanker passes by Dungeness Spit.
A sailboat makes its way across Puget Sound outside of Seattle in the afternoon light.
But certainly looking forward to seeing/learning/experiencing more.
I’m off to a new chapter in life. After 7+ years of working with the state of Georgia, my family and I have moved to Seattle. Julia (my wife) took a job offer with HBO that, as the saying goes, we could not refuse. That places me in the hardly ever enviable category of what HR types call the “trailing spouse.” Fear not, lad, I say, this is not the first time, and you will figure it out.
Thanks to the team for a great send off, and for this funny poster with images including the Governor – Attorney General – publisher of Fortune magazine – Porsche test track – Chinese delegation – and a video shoot for a German investment video where I convinced a CEO to shoot a mountain biking scene with me. I especially like the “We Speak Buh-bye.” 😉
In my tenure working for Georgia, USA, I’ve collaborated with executives from many global brands to elevate the business environment here. One of the greatest joys of my job has been the opportunity to peel back the layers and look inside the inner workings of companies and their leaders. But when I learned of Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods in Blue Ridge, Georgia, it especially caught my attention.
My brother and I follow our father upstream in the Chattooga river watershed.My youth was filled with fishing expeditions. Growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, my father took me out in the boat seemingly every weekend. We were also fortunate enough to share a mountain house, and a former fly fishing camp, in Cashiers, North Carolina with 9 other families from Charleston. It was here that my father taught me how to use a fly rod. When A River Runs Through It came out I thought the brothers in the movie held an uncanny resemblance to me and my brother (I’m the nicer one). But that movie, and Robert Redford’s voice, absolutely encapsulated the deep and intricate love one can have for rivers.
Speaking of famous people, rumor had it that President Jimmy Carter had one of Oyster’s fly rods. So I made my way up from Atlanta to the Georgia mountains to learn more.
Meeting Bill Oyster
Bill Oyster is the consummate entrepreneur. When he was 15 his father drove him to the local airport, so that he could then fly off in a plane with his pilot’s license in hand. He joined the Navy when he was old enough, but he ultimately decided that wasn’t his future. Bill jumped in to professional cycling instead where he dominated the sport until he was injured. Meanwhile, he majored in Art at the University of Georgia and fished whenever he could. He tried his hand at real estate, but there was a call for something different. His wife, Shannen, suggested that he make fly rods. Bill got his hands on some relatively underground books on the craft of making fly rods, and he taught himself the trade. Easier said than done, but of course now he is an expert at it. He also happens to be a master engraver.
Bill in his element on a stream near Blue Ridge, Georgia.
The Process
Bill sources bamboo from a small region of China that is renowned for producing the perfect tensile strength. He fires the bamboo with a blow torch, cuts it down to strips, and then planes it out to an exact triangle. These pieces are glued, compressed, cured and eventually fortified with resin. The eyes and handle are then attached in addition to any custom engraving. These rods are beautiful works of art and highly functional as well. Bill’s customers range from plumbers to presidents to members of the royal family. But he has taken this manufacturing business above and beyond.
Bill Oyster of Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods in his workshop in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
Bill Oyster of Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods in his workshop in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
Bill Oyster of Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods in his workshop in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
Giving it Away
Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods not only makes a product you can buy, it also teaches you how to make it. This is unusual for a company to do something like this, but instead of cannibalizing business, it has made it blossom. Bill and Shannen hold classes every month, and attendees can work alongside them – and their expert staff – to make their own fly rod. And because their shop is a stones throw away from some world-class trout streams, you’ll have every chance to whip some water. People come from all over the world to attend, so if you are interested in doing this yourself then sign up now because there is a healthy waiting list. You may also want to join them on one of their various fishing adventures around the world.
Rock Star
Bill and Shannen’s business is so unique, and has done so well, that they were recently recognized as a Small Business Rock Star. I had the opportunity to return to Blue Ridge to produce this video celebrating their win. Of course Bill is a natural on camera as well.
I was recently tasked with creating a new video for the Global Commerce team here in Georgia, USA. This is not a simple project given the diversity of industry sectors the Global Commerce division targets for recruitment and relocation. From Aerospace to FinTech to Food Processing, each industry has its own requirements for success – with one exception. They all require talent to innovate and grow. Coupled with the tried and true approach of, don’t listen to us, listen to the companies that are here, and now you have a strategic approach to keep the narrative succinct and applicable to all.
This video project took me to a myriad locations across the state of Georgia:
Stogner Hill at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at dawn to shoot footage of planes taking off and landing.
UPS’s new SMART Hub, which is 1.2M square feet, or the size of 20 football fields. And I love the fact that every morning UPS drivers do calisthenics together before departing on their rounds.
In the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains with Bill Oyster, owner of Oyster Bamboo Fly Rods.
In the brand new Telluride on a 2-mile test track at Kia Motors Manufacturing in West Point, Georgia.
In addition, the port of Savannah – headquarters for Gulfstream – King’s Hawaiian’s food processing facility in Hall County – the data center for InComm – the new Cyber Center in Augusta – Sany in Peachtree city, which is the same location “Avengers: End Game” used for their headquarters – and the list goes on.
I also spun out three separate videos from the larger finished piece:
It was a big project and a great experience, and I am thankful to the companies and individuals who opened their doors and took their time to help me tell a great story.
The intersection of business and lifestyle. Robert Payne | Seattle, Washington
