All posts by Robert Payne

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.

IEDC Award for New Media

2014 IEDC Awards Ribbon goldGrowing the life science industry in Georgia has been one of the economic development endeavors I have been working on in recent time. After extensive research and planning, a multi-channel marketing campaign was launched that targets very specific sectors within the life science industry:

  • Cold Chain
  • Fill Finish
  • Hematology and Immunology
  • HIT
  • Medical Devices

The usual suspects of digital marketing, print advertising, events and tradeshows and public relations were employed to generate new leads.

I also utilized social media in the form of a Health IQ quiz that was designed to be fun, informative and interactive. It generated some great results and figured it was worth submitting for the International Economic Development Awards. I am pleased to say that the campaign was awarded Gold in the category of New Media in a population greater than 500,000.

You can learn more about the life science campaign by visiting Georgia.org/LifeSciences.

Thanksgiving in Charleston

Fall light in the woods

Camouflaged patience

Leaves crackle in anticipation

Rain on the coast

Wetsuit feels like armor

Grey waves carry ageless friends to shore

Wood smoke on my sweater

Oyster shells lay empty on the table

Blue crabs whistle in the boil

Food and family laugh in story

Thankful to be together

Charleston stretches out the front door

Photography

Despite being a father and a working professional, I still enjoy playing around with photography when I can.

I took a recent course at Piedmont Park focused on lighting. Plenty of factors to consider, much of it requiring more gear than I care to sport around. But if you want to expand your knowledge and live in and around Atlanta, check out Mike Moreland. He brings the models and the gear, and you’ll certainly learn a few tricks. The true art though – in my humble opinion – is directing the model in the context of the scene.

Yes, I got these:

But I actually like this one – no light and off the cuff.

Rock

I can’t pretend to know for sure, but for me it encapsulates what I think many black men, especially in Ferguson, feel about the world around them. Want to get a greater appreciation? Hit the new Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta. We’ve come a long way, but there is still work to be done.

Web Dev

Recently launched two new web projects in recent weeks.

Newsroom   Georgia Department of Economic Development
Newsroom
When I came into economic development for the state of Georgia, one of the first projects I worked on was in conjunction with Harris Interactive. We surveyed a number of companies and site consultants to determine what the primary factors were for relocating or expanding a company. A number of outputs helped inform some crucial changes to our web initiatives, but it also allowed me to take a step back and look at how we publish news. It became clear that it was disparate.

Commerce was in one web property while Tourism or Film were siloed in their own web properties. It did not provide a holistic view of all that was happening in the state whether from a manufacturing or say a lifestyle perspective. In addition, I have also always been a fan of the saying, no single mode of communication is 100% effective.

Therefore, I sought about creating a new newsroom that integrated all departments and content types under one roof. I hope to build in further business logic, but for now the tag based architecture of the site along with utilization of xml bring a better experience to all that is happening.

国际化业务   中国   Georgia Department of Economic Development
International Lead Generation
It is one thing to translate web copy into different international languages, but it is another to recognize the IP address a of website visitor and then customize the on-site experience. That is exactly was Get Smart Content allows for when an international visitor, for example, comes to our site. You may ask, well, what if a Japanese person enters the website while they are in the United States? Good question. That is what the language flags are for on the homepage.

I hope to keep building out this solution, but for now I have 11 international pages that use Get Smart and integrate with Salesforce.com.

Cool stuff coming that uses ESRI and ArcGIS. Just have to keep drinking my Google juice.