POSITION/TITLE:  Vice President - Marketing
REPORTS TO:  CEO & Leadership Team
LOCATION:  Chicago Area
SEARCH NUMBER:  XHX768

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THE COMPANY

 

Recognized as one of America’s premier toy companies, this 89 year-old, privately held business is known for producing top quality, beautifully designed products.  Located in Chicago, the company has dramatically expanded the product line the past several years.  Each new product reflects the company’s longstanding commitment to quality, safety, and innovative design.  Having achieved record growth and increased visibility in the market place, the aggressive leadership team is investing resources and strengthening the company for an exciting and prosperous future.

THE POSITION

The VP of Marketing will play a key role in the continued growth and success of the company.  Working closely with the CEO and the Leadership Team, he/she will contribute to building a world-class company.  Specific responsibilities include:

• Build upon the company’s famous name by developing and implementing a comprehensive brand and marketing strategy.  Define “Global” Brand and Marketing Strategy.  The Strategy must answer – Where can we take the brand?  What categories should we enter and how?  How does the Brand translate into girls items?
• Work closely with the VP of Product Development to leverage consumer and retail customer market research into “breakthrough” new products.
• Direct and coordinate all visual communications with the goal of increasing sales, reducing costs, and improving process with the outside design firm.  Evaluate advertising spending and make recommendations.
• Create and develop new business opportunities through category expansion, partnerships, and promotions.
• Develop a licensing strategy to transform licensing into the profitable, brand-building program reaching $1 million in annual royalties by 2008.  Lead and manage the licensing program by working with the company licensing agent.
• Work closely with the VP of Sales to develop a knowledge and understanding of customers, develop a trade show strategy, and develop additional sales channels in order to achieve significant sales increases.  Work with Sales to develop specialty market and international sales growth strategy that will result in incremental sales of $10 million in 3 years.  Work closely with the VP of Sales to manage presentations at key trade shows and make key account presentations.
• Develop a market research strategy.  Achieve world-class consumer market research by becoming “embedded” with users.  The company seeks world-class retail customer, product category, and competitor market research.
• Develop and implement a public relations strategy, achieving 1 major (min consumer reach of 10 million people) public relations event per year (Potential 90^th Anniversary Campaign).

THE INDIVIDUAL

The ideal candidate will possess executive marketing experience in the toy, sporting goods, or consumer products industry.  Candidates must be excellent at the following:

• Strategy & Research – Highly skilled at developing comprehensive, effective brand strategies that result in profitable sales.   Ability to conduct insightful consumer market research and be the “voice of the consumer.”  Able to organize market research into clear, concise recommendations that result in increased sales.
• Sales – Highly effective at working with sales to develop strategies and presentations to drive significant sales increases.
• Product Development – Outstanding at working with product development to generate many great ideas that translates into highly profitable new products.
• Licensing – Able to creatively bring innovative new products in new categories to market with licenses.
• Visual Communication Management – Able to direct the development of outstanding visual communication.
• P.R. – Outstanding at generating P.R. that promotes and builds the brand.

Above all, the individual must be an effective problem solver who is committed to excellence and integrity.  Energy and enthusiasm are essential.  This position is ideally suited to an individual who is able to balance creativity with good analytical skills and stay focused on results – someone who enjoys problem solving, loves challenge, and is committed to continuous improvement.  Warmth, honesty, integrity, and humor are important characteristics.  Candidates must reflect the following company-wide traits:

• Committed to the company vision and family “experience” our products provide.
• Integrity and honesty.
• Highly productive, loves to work at a rapid pace.
• Dedicated to quality products, processes and relationships.  Passion for products.
• Efficient; excellent time management skills.
• In it for the long haul; a builder.
• Creativity, openness, enthusiasm, humor, lots of great ideas (creator).
• Independent problem solver (entrepreneur).
• Organized, articulate (producer).
• Calm, steady, long range thinker (stabilizer).
• Warm, kind, honest (team builder).
• Loves challenges, continues improvement (competitor).

 

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