vertical traction - internet marketing strategy

ROB VAN SLYKE
rob at verticaltraction.com
Houston, Tx
Hm: (713) 681-7771
Cell: (713) 202-6258

Entrepreneurial-minded consultant with an executive perspective

Successful marketing consultant that produces results

Developed and implemented successful, large-scale online sponsorship, banner and email campaigns for myjobsearch.com and Dell Computer Corp. that met and exceeded goals.
Consulted numerous B2B and B2C dot coms and public companies on their marketing strategies and tactics.

Articulate, innovative and creative "idea person"

Developed innovative, original plans and campaigns that built brands and produced results.
Passionate and driven to explore every idea to maximize the project's potency.

Skilled negotiator with a track record of forging strategic relationships

Developed strategic relationship with top-tier business intelligence research organization that resulted in increased brand awareness for client.
Negotiated exclusive Internet broadcasting rights for syndicated radio show that resulted in 200 percent increase in site traffic and newsletter subscriptions.

In excellent health. Enjoy water skiing, golf and new experiences.

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

Partner / Marketing Director
SkiMaps - Ski industry portal, Houston, Texas, May, 2001 - May, 2003

Marketing Consultant
SkiMarketing Corporation - Internet travel company, Houston, Texas, May, 2001 - May, 2003

Conceived, developed and implemented online marketing programs to drive sales leads that exceeded the goals.
Email marketing campaigns, inbound link campaigns and partner marketing.
Setup and maintained a profitable online affiliate program.
Most notable achievement: Created a marketing campaign, TourTheAlps, to drive sales leads and increase awareness that was so successful it is becoming a profit center for company.

Marketing Consultant
Idea Integration - e-business solutions provider, Houston, Texas, April, 2000 - February, 2001

Developed an integrated marketing strategy and marketing plan to drive sales for Allied Riser Corporation (ARC), a public In-Building Service Provider.
Developed and implemented an online media strategy and plan to build awareness for one of Dell Computer Corp.'s B2B divisions.
Conceived and managed implementation of corporate capabilities CD for Idea Integration to position agency as top-tier e-business solutions company.
Conceived campaign strategies, ideas and concepts, and drafted campaign ads, copy and tag lines.
Created workflow processes, implementation methodologies and company literature for marketing services.
Participated in and lead kick-off and brainstorming sessions for proposals and campaigns.
Worked closely with Account Services to pitch prospects.

Marketing Consultant
The Tenagra Corporation - interactive agency, Houston, Texas, August, 1997 - April, 2000

Promoted numerous times from New Business Developer to VP over three years.
Managed and directed strategy and implementation for all agency and publishing division projects.
Played a key role in the development of the agency as a whole, including repositioning the agency, developing the business and marketing plans, seeking out and negotiating with venture capitalists, and identifying, developing and creating new business ventures and refining service offerings.
Consulted dot com start-up career client on definition of company business model, including long-term Internet marketing, advertising and PR strategies, brand, revenue models and online services and products.
Managed online publishing division, which consisted of four online publications.
Conceived and managed implementation of a new online advertising industry publication.
Developed and implemented Sponsorship Program and developed a News Bureau "division" for career client.
Developed and implemented strategies for an Internet telephony client.
Sold $1.2 million in banner and email advertising for Year2000.com - previous annual revenue of $300K.

Vice President, Marketing / Partner
Presence, Inc. - interactive agency, Dallas, Texas, February, 1996 - August, 1997

Managed and directed Internet marketing, campaign planning and implementation for all agency and internal projects.
Played a key role in the development of the agency, including determining service offerings, developing the business plan, cultivating new business and developing internal projects.
Developed strategic alliances with larger, traditional ad agencies to share complementary customers and promote complementary services.
Created the agency's Web site and Web site copy, collateral and sales program.
Conceived, developed, implemented and sold one of the first e-commerce systems called Interact Direct (ID), which interfaced computer retailers with their distributors and customers.
Developed and implemented a cutting-edge Web site and online advertising campaign for Dr Pepper in 1996, which included a Flash game and contest, Real Audio sound bytes and a Mad Libs game based in Java.
Secured business from and developed Web site sections and components for PepsiCo, Inc. (www.pepsiworld.com) and Seagate Software.

Owner, Publisher
Lyrical Line - online songwriting publication, Houston, Texas, August, 1997 - Present

Created, publish and maintain all aspects of my own publishing concern, http://www.lyricalline.com, including design, layout, architecture, content, Web applications, marketing, advertising and PR since 1997.
Secured exclusive online broadcasting rights for a syndicated songwriter radio show in exchange for exposure to a weekly listening audience of 10 million.
Built a subscriber base of 10,000+ songwriters for the email newsletter. This surpassed the subscriber base of a 15-year old traditional songwriter magazine.
Created partnerships with many industry experts and published songwriters to share their industry secrets with the subscribers.

EDUCATION

Texas State Technical College
Waco, Texas
AAS - Computer Programming

University of North Texas
Denton, Texas
BAAS - Economics