Kristen McKinstry
Brisbane,QLD
Summary
Strategic, highly motivated Marketing professional with a true passion for digital marketing, and brand development. Strong FMCG, retail and foodservice background with global and local food and beverage brands including the Vok brand portfolio (Bickford’s Group of Companies), The Coffee Club, Birch & Waite, Wild Turkey, Canadian Club, and Rosella. Skilled in leveraging consumer insights and market data to develop digital and brand strategy. Proven ability to translate strategy into initiatives to grow sales and profitability. Sound understanding of social content strategy, SEO, website maintenance and maximising customer experience. Results-driven Brand Manager develops and implements successful marketing plans and brand strategies. Utilizes customer insights to develop creative strategies that drive customer loyalty and brand recognition. Successful marketing leader with proven accomplishments in driving growth and increasing profits. Articulate and driven leader with high energy and engaging personality. Hardworking team builder motivational in maximizing personnel performance and surpassing business objectives. Successful Digital Marketing Specialist skilled at planning, executing and optimizing online marketing strategies. Promotes products successfully through multiple digital strategies. Achieves consistent successes with excellent planning skills and proactive campaign tracking.
Overview
15
15
years of professional experience
Work History
Digital Marketing Specialist
EShopping Group
06.2021 - 06.2023
- Monitored digital marketing analytics, identifying trends and making data-driven adjustments to improve performance.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop integrated marketing plans that included both traditional and digital channels.
- Maximized strategic approaches by keeping close eye on performance and making appropriate adjustments.
- Managed search engine marketing budgets and tracked campaign performance.
- Crafted and implemented strategies to increase search visibility and website traffic.
- Created content strategies for digital media.
- Completed keyword research and analyzed competitor SEO and PPC campaigns to identify gaps and opportunities.
Brand Manager- Rum Portfolio
Bickford’s Group of Companies
08.2019 - 02.2021
- Led the Rum category for Vok Beverages
- Responsible for leading the growth strategy towards a sustainable rate of return for the Vok Beverages Rum portfolio, growth of social media and digital presence, budget allocation, pricing recommendations, and the NPD pipeline
- Achievements: Planned and executed successful brand events, and significantly increased enquiries for venue functions and events
- Achieved the highest engagement levels and rate of growth amongst the company’s social media platforms
- 82% growth in Facebook following in 12 months
- Made optimisation recommendations and then managed the launch of two new company websites
- Managed a packaging project to bring key SKUs in line with brand vision
- Led an innovation project to feed into an ongoing innovation pipeline
- Developed strong working relationships amongst a key state-based team.
- Enhanced brand recognition by developing and executing targeted marketing campaigns.
- Boosted product sales with innovative promotional strategies and attractive packaging designs.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams for successful product launches and coordinated marketing efforts.
- Optimized social media presence to engage customers, resulting in higher online visibility and interaction rates.
- Analyzed competitor offerings to identify opportunities for differentiation and capitalize on unique selling points.
- Spearheaded rebranding efforts, effectively revitalizing the company''s image and increasing overall market share.
Brand Manager- Beverage Portfolio
Minor DKL Food Group: The Coffee Club
07.2017 - 03.2019
- Led the Beverage category for The Coffee Club Australia
- Responsible for increasing beverage sales, optimising the menu mix, developing brand communication, and bringing national promotions to market
- Involved at all stages of the NPD process, from market analysis, to ideation, concept development, commercialisation, market testing and nationwide roll-out
- Managed one direct report
- Achievements: Overall project management of the February 2019 Food and Beverage New Menu roll-out, across multiple store formats, to deliver profitable growth
- Brought consumer-noticeable change to the beverage category by developing the refreshment category
- Launched Handcrafted Sodas, which achieved promotional sales above target
- Developed a comprehensive consumer-focused briefing template for key food and beverage suppliers to develop products to feed into an ongoing innovation pipeline
- Led four national promotion projects, including the management of ATL messaging across nationwide campaigns
- Developed targeted marketing and training materials for the franchisee network.
- Boosted product sales with innovative promotional strategies and attractive packaging designs.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams for successful product launches and coordinated marketing efforts.
- Analyzed competitor offerings to identify opportunities for differentiation and capitalize on unique selling points.
- Presented regular updates to senior leadership, demonstrating progress towards key objectives and securing ongoing support for marketing initiatives.
Marketing Manager
Love To Dream Pty Ltd (Australian Baby Sleepwear company)
11.2013 - 07.2016
- Managed the Love To Dream brand across the domestic and international markets
- Responsible for growing brand engagement, managing agency relationships, creating social media strategy and content, product/packaging development, and increasing ecommerce sales
- Achievements: Implemented a social media strategy and content plan that took the brand from 3k Facebook followers to over 50k followers
- Developed a digital media program, using a combination of search and Google Merchant Centre presence, resulting in a 48% website sales increase
- Implemented a weekly eDM and blog communication program to increase consumer engagement and website traffic
- Relaunched the ecommerce website and managed the new build end-to-end
- Played a key role in launching the Love To Dream brand in the US market in 2014- this launch generated $4M worth of sales in the first year in the market
- Redeveloped packaging design and Brand Architecture across the range.
Marketing Manager
Birch & Waite Foods Pty Ltd
10.2010 - 11.2013
- Managed the Birch & Waite brand across six different channels, including Retail, Airlines and Foodservice
- Involved in all facets of the product innovation process, from concept development, to bench recipes, sample approvals, commercials, packaging development and launch
- Worked closely with Woolworths to create products to add value to their Fresh Produce Category
- Managed two direct reports
- Achievements: Substantial year-on-year growth for the Birch & Waite Master Brand
- The successful development and launch of the Birch & Waite Retail range for Woolworths
- Worked closely with Woolworths in planning an innovation pipeline to meet their needs as a customer
- Developed and led the Birch & Waite internal NPD process
- Won ’Product of the Year’ 2013 for the Birch & Waite fresh-chilled Stir-fries
- Led the development of Brand Architecture for the Birch & Waite retail line.
- Boosted sales performance through the creation of engaging promotional materials and targeted advertising strategies.
- Analyzed market trends to identify new opportunities, adjusting marketing plans accordingly for maximum effectiveness.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to ensure consistent branding across all company touchpoints and communications channels.
- Developed creative briefs for internal designers, ensuring alignment with overall marketing objectives and brand guidelines.
Market Insights Manager
Pernod Ricard Australia Pty Ltd
02.2008 - 04.2009
- Provided actionable consumer and market insights to assist marketers across the Wine and the Spirit brand teams in developing their strategic plans
- Responsible for managing the continuous brand equity measurement process with research suppliers
- Ensured clear and accurate quarterly BEM reporting with focused insights recommendations
- Managed the Nielsen agency relationship
- Achievements: Supported the Marketing planning process across twelve focus brands
- Developed a key relationship with the Category Management team to ensure that insights were leveraged to achieve business and consumer objectives
- Monitored and reported quarterly on macro trends and new product innovation in the Wine & Spirits industries.
- Developed actionable insights for business growth through in-depth competitor benchmarking and trend identification.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to ensure the integration of relevant insights into marketing strategies and campaigns.
- Enhanced data-driven decision making by conducting comprehensive market research and analysis.
Brand Manager- Wild Turkey
Pernod Ricard Australia Pty Ltd
- Brand and channel planning, achievement of volume targets, management of agency relationships, budgetary management and forecasting
- Achievements: Assisted with Brand platform development for the Australian market
- Managed a partnership between Wild Turkey and key magazine titles
- Led communication/approvals with the US Brand Team and played a role in developing qualitative research into the design concepts for the RTD range.
Brand Manager- Canadian Club and Courvoisier
Swift + Moore Pty Ltd
- Brand and channel planning, achievement of volume targets, management of agency relationships, budgetary management and forecasting
- Achievements: Directed qualitative research into a brand refresh for the Canadian Club Ready-to-Drink range, and worked closely with designers to translate the results into the new pack graphics
- Launched Canadian Club Classic 12 Year Old, along with extensions to the Canadian Club Ready-to-Drink range
- Developed account-specific activity, including exclusive special packs, to maximise sales and visibility for the brand in key retailers
- Developed a NSW snowfields promotional and PR program to raise brand awareness amongst 18-25 year olds.
- Enhanced brand recognition by developing and executing targeted marketing campaigns.
- Boosted product sales with innovative promotional strategies and attractive packaging designs.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams for successful product launches and coordinated marketing efforts.
- Analyzed competitor offerings to identify opportunities for differentiation and capitalize on unique selling points.
Brand Manager- Rosella
Stuart Alexander Co. Pty Ltd
- Management of the Rosella portfolio
- Involvement in strategic direction for the brand, development of brand plans and achievement of volume targets.
Assistant Category Manager- Skincare/Skin Cleansing
Unilever Australasia
- Provided category insights on the Skin and Skin Cleansing categories to the Customer development team
- Assisted in identifying gaps in the market, and opportunities to drive category growth
- Key projects included the NZ launches of Dove Hair and Dove Hand & Body.
Education
Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS, Hons) - Marketing & International Management
University of Waikato
Hamilton, New ZealandSkills
- Brand-Building Strategies
- Category Growth
- Market Analysis
- Brand Strategy
- Social Media Campaigns
- Website Management
- Content Creation
- Digital Marketing
- Customer Segmentation
- Market Research and Analysis
Websites
References
Available on request
Timeline
Digital Marketing Specialist
EShopping Group
06.2021 - 06.2023
Brand Manager- Rum Portfolio
Bickford’s Group of Companies
08.2019 - 02.2021
Brand Manager- Beverage Portfolio
Minor DKL Food Group: The Coffee Club
07.2017 - 03.2019
Marketing Manager
Love To Dream Pty Ltd (Australian Baby Sleepwear company)
11.2013 - 07.2016
Marketing Manager
Birch & Waite Foods Pty Ltd
10.2010 - 11.2013
Market Insights Manager
Pernod Ricard Australia Pty Ltd
02.2008 - 04.2009
Brand Manager- Wild Turkey
Pernod Ricard Australia Pty Ltd
Brand Manager- Canadian Club and Courvoisier
Swift + Moore Pty Ltd
Brand Manager- Rosella
Stuart Alexander Co. Pty Ltd
Assistant Category Manager- Skincare/Skin Cleansing
Unilever Australasia
Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS, Hons) - Marketing & International Management
University of Waikato
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