We all remember the college daze: football games, house parties, final exam cram sessions, and those sleepless nights worrying about landing a summer internship or how to afford another semester’s worth of textbooks. Now Uloop, Inc., a student powered marketplace where students buy, sell, trade, and promote classified listings, offers students an online resource, organized by school, to help them save time and money when searching for their next job or roommate or what collegiate shenanigans they’re hoping to partake in the coming weekend.

Web Design & Marketing Creative

While working as a freelance marketing and web design consultant for Uloop, I was tasked with a variety of interesting challenges, from improving conversion rates of their most important splash pages to creating a brand new user interface for Uloop.com as well as creating the wireframes for the soon-to-be-released Uloop iPhone app. Along with helping to develop the organizational structure and creative branding for the new user interface, I also created the actual design specs for the entire project, translating the newly formulated strategy into detailed wireframes and then employing my design skills to create finished-product creative specs for the Uloop programming and development team. Furthermore, I developed a variety of new sales and marketing assets (ie. print flyers, splash pages, social media, email marketing, sales presentations, company wordpress blog, etc.) to support Uloop’s overall promotional efforts.

As a former songwriter and artist manager, interesting culture, fast-paced environments, and remarkable ideas get me “jazzed.” As a marketer, Web 2.0 freaks me out, but in a good way. I’m fascinated by emerging technologies, such as social media, user-generated promotions, and all things digital.

I am currently the Manager of Marketing & Business Development at FiledBy, a digital marketing agency within the publishing industry that provides social media and online marketing tools for authors. My work at FiledBy revolves around serving and growing FiledBy’s online author-reader community, and I am responsible for the creation and implementation of all marketing programs, including display advertising, Google AdWords, social media campaigns, e-newsletters, etc.  I also serve as the resident web analytics and site optimization guru, managing a variety of analytics suites (ie. Google Analytics, CrazyEgg, etc.) while providing consultation regarding site enhancements, search engine optimization, and community experience. I also serve as the company’s chief creative designer, translating many of the strategic insights discovered through web analytics and market research into actionable, programmable design and functionality, all the while honing my web and graphic design skills (ie. Proficiency with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, etc.). For a sample of my design portfolio, please feel free to contact me.

During My MBA Program at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, I was involved in a variety of strategic projects, such as developing a marketing dashboard for Ochsner Health and improving the brand identity of Fazoli’s Restaurants while working as a freelance Brand Consultant at Bohan Advertising & Marketing. I also worked as a Digital Marketing Consultant at ECHO Music, helping maximize the ROI of their client’s email marketing campaigns by improving click-through and conversion rates. I also developed the SEO Strategy and Protocol used by the development team when designing and programming the artists’ websites. My affinity for college basketball led me to manage an independent study project developing marketing strategy for the University of Tennessee’s men’s basketball team, where I created the idea, strategy and implementation guide for the Athletic Program’s highly successful “I AM BRUCE” Video Contest, which debuted during the 2009-2010 season.  And, in my spare time, I wrote a killer Nashville-inspired rock album, soon to be available via iTunes.

Over the Summer of my MBA program, I put my leadership skills to the test as a project leader in Vanderbilt’s Accelerator program.  I led a team through a variety of consulting-based competitions, such as creating green initiative strategies for Bridgestone/Firestone, presenting new business opportunities for American Airlines, and devising a marketing campaign for a new healthcare plan provided by Humana. I also helped plan and coordinate the project for the William Morris Agency, which included organizing an off-site visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as a private concert for over three hundred fans for Capitol Records’ Recording Artist Eric Church.

If you or your company would like to hire me as a freelance web consultant or are interested in learning more about my qualifications or experiences, feel free to shoot me an email, download my resume, follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, find me on Foursquare, or even download my album from iTunes!

Not since the “Printing Revolution,” when goldsmith by day, inventor by night Johannes Gutenberg inevitably cured the sore and weary fingers of the Scribe community with the advent of the printing press has the publishing industry seen such radical change within just a few short years. As an online, author-centric platform, directory, and community, FiledBy continues to break down the once-solid barriers to communication between creatives and consumers, bringing book enthusiasts beyond the page and into their favorite author’s inner circle.

Web & Business Analytics

With a directory and community of over 3 million author listings and 8 million book pages, the FiledBy platform generates a wealth of knowledge ripe and ready to be mined and analyzed. As VP of Marketing & Business Development, I was responsible for understanding the intricacies of consumer behavior through a variety of analytics platforms, including Google Analytics and CrazyEgg, as well as for using this data to expand community involvement, improve conversion rates, and drive on-site sales.

Marketing Strategy & Web Design

As a technology startup with a rapidly growing community, the need for quick and effective marketing strategy and web design was vital to keep pace.  My experience with high-level strategic thinking, market research, and graphic design, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Acrobat, afforded me the opportunity to take a new idea or concept from Ideation to Implementation.  At FiledBy, I was responsible for creating and delivering all marketing advertising pieces, from display ads, print literature, e-newsletters, PPC vis Google AdWords, and all on-site educational and instructional pieces.  Furthermore, I quickly became the company’s chief graphic designer as well, creating both the strategy and  physical design throughout the website, including the homepage, a variety of marketing-focused landing pages, the author and reader profile pages, marketing products and services pages, and all peripheral other on-site design (buttons, pop-outs, fly-overs, etc.)

The Digital Revolution is often a song of heartbreak, sung in minor keys without harmony or encore on the farewell tour of the retiring music business model.  But as quickly as Heavy Metal was exchanged for Grunge, music industry innovators like ECHO Music are rocking and rolling the industry with a fresh new melody.  Although the arrangement is influenced by each individual artist, Search Engine Optimization and Email Marketing are always two important foundational tracks.

Search Engine Optimization Protocol

As search engines such as Google still remain the primary way consumers surf the internet, optimizing one’s web presence to correctly “speak Google’s language” is becoming a vital aspect of every successful online marketing strategy.  As a digital marketing consultant at ECHO, I investigated Search Engine Optimization best practices and industry case examples, audited a variety of client websites for compliance, and created a SEO Protocol and Checklist that was adopted into the client site creation process.  The SEO Protocol was accompanied by a SEO Guide created to educate those without prior knowledge or experience in the field to the strategy behind SEO, the terminology, and the tools to measure its effectiveness.

Email Frequency Analysis

As the designers and administrators of artist and client email marketing campaigns, Echomusic reaches hundreds of thousands of fans each day with messages supporting an upcoming tour, album launch, or a variety of other promotions.  Thinking strategically, I designed a frequency analysis measuring the effectiveness of different email distribution schedules and identified an “email threshold,” the point where the costs associated with sending an additional email outweighs the benefits.  To influence clients to adopt Echomusic’s improved email strategy, I created a presentation for artist managers that documented the benefits of the new strategy, industry best practices, quotes and statistics from credible sources, an analysis of the data, and strategic recommendations for the future.

Chase Pattison  I  MBA Candidate 2009  I  Owen Graduate School of Management  I  Vanderbilt University  I  Nashville, TN

Even as consumer culture and behavior becomes ever more unique and diversified, one truth remains. College kids love sports. But as the growth of new leisure options continue to vie for attention in a student’s consideration set, even UT Basketball needs to find new ways of bouncing the ball.

In accordance with the Sales and Marketing Staff for the University of Tennessee Athletics Department, my work included gauging the behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes of the student body of the University of Tennessee toward the home basketball game experience and offering consultation regarding the vision and strategy for future marketing initiatives.

In the Fall of 2008, I conducted qualitative and quantitative research methods, including personal interviews, focus groups, ZMET techniques, and an online survey, aimed to better understand student perceptions toward the basketball team, program, and experience.  Utilizing insights from the research, I helped devise a variety of innovative marketing solutions that would resonate with this young millenial segment.  The overall vision consisted of opening channels of communication familiar to students and speaking to them in a language that they understand.  Some of the examples of the marketing solutions are as follows:

Web 2.0 Marketing Solutions

• “I Am Bruce Pearl” User-Generated Video Contest
• Interactive “New Recruit” Microsite
• “The Vols Anthem” Contest

Chase Pattison  I  MBA Candidate 2009  I  Owen Graduate School of Management  I Vanderbilt University  I  Nashville, TN

With the internet, “The Sky is the Limit!” But while creating an online presence is one thing, cultivating and creating value from it is definitely another. During a web consultant project for Nashville Jet Charters, I developed the necessary tools and strategies to equip NJC with a web presence that was jet-packed and turbulence free.

During the Fall of 2008, I completed a web consulting project for Nashville Jet Charters, helping to establish their brand vision and strategy for managing their online web presence.  The goal of the project was to improve the functionality, searchability, and aesthetics of the company’s website to effectively reposition Nashville Jet Charters as a premium luxury carrier.

Over the course of the project, I redesigned the company website by improving its layout, features, and aesthetics.  I helped identify new opportunities that would help build brand credibility, while also improving the operational efficiency of the NJC sales office.  I devised a search engine optimization plan and an email marketing campaign to increase the overall online traffic visiting the site.  I also designed a new company logo and a variety of graphics and images to be used throughout their website and other online promotional channels, including the various industry publications and social media platforms.

Chase Pattison  I  MBA Candidate 2009  I  Owen Graduate School of Management  I Vanderbilt University  I  Nashville, TN

“Put the Pedal to the Metal” and “Let’s Burn Some Rubber,” aren’t the usual cliches of an environmentally responsible corporation, but as the industry leader in socially conscious initiatives, it was time for Bridgestone/Firestone to redefine the rules of the road.  Bridgestone dared to asked “Why can’t a tire company be green?”  And as an Accelerator team leader, I helped give that idea some real horsepower.

In my summer internship during the Summer of my MBA program, I led a team of 10 undergraduates enrolled in Vanderbilt’s Accelerator Program through a series of consulting and marketing based projects for companies such as American Airlines, Caterpillar, and Yum! Brands.  During a project for Bridgestone/Firestone, I helped develop a “green” positioning strategy and accompanying marketing campaign to position Bridgestone as the leader in environmental responsibility for the tire industry.

After researching the impact of corporate green initiatives on consumer purchasing decisions, I led the strategy development for positioning Bridgestone as a “lean, mean, green” company, capitalizing on the company’s social conscious without alienating the core masculinity of the performance tire brand.  I helped brainstorm and plan a cross-country promotional campaign, fully integrated with new media technologies, pitting two competing sports cars in a race across America, while chronicling the company’s new cost-cutting, earth-saving, MPG-enhancing tire line.  Updating the race’s progress through social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and an innovative Bridgestone microsite, the campaign would be the first promotion to allow Bridgestone to interact with both its brand loyalists and potential customers in real time, all while highlighting the company’s commitment to performance efficiency and environmental sustainability.

Chase Pattison  I  MBA Candidate 2009  I  Owen Graduate School of Management  I Vanderbilt University  I  Nashville, TN

Ever since the proliferation of The Long Tail, the new tools of the Digital Revolution have given artists greater control over their careers and their future.  And while many of the music industry’s traditional revenue channels are continuing to shrink, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship will be the forces behind the music industry’s comeback tour.

Brand Management

As the business and marketing manager for the indie rock and roll group The Big Tease, I was responsible for creating, designing, and implementing all marketing and promotional elements for the band.  From album artwork, tour merchandise, website design, press releases, promotional photography, print media, music video coordination and production, radio copy, and all other messaging, I was able to blend the band’s creative energy with powerful marketing strategy to grow the band’s fan base and accelerate their career.  After creating a grassroots buzz for the band, I was also able to secure placements for the band’s music on many of MTV’s and Vh1’s most popular programming.

Click Here to Visit The Big Tease on MySpace and watch the Music Video for the Hit Single “The Fever”

Public Relations

From landing features in various regional and national publications such as Southeast Performer and Smother Magazine, I was responsible for creating publicity and buzz for upcoming tours and album releases through a variety of credible third-party outlets.  Working with local newspapers, music blogs, radio stations, social media platforms, and other publications and resources, I strengthened the band’s success by creating valuable exposure within a cost-effective PR strategy.  As the sole publicist for the first three years of the band’s development, I helped give The Big Tease a “Voice,” not just a song.

Click Here to View a Sample Press Release from the Paper Symphony album launch

Social Media

The rise in popularity of social media offered The Big Tease new and interesting ways to speak directly with their fans.  As an early adopter of technologies such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, I was able to cultivate Big Tease fan communities of over 10,000 members across these platforms.  Not only was I able to leverage these relationships to increase album and ticket sales, but social media also played a big part in funding the band’s networking ventures.  In 2004, I launched a successful online fundraising campaign, securing over $5,000 in donations, to help send the band to New York City to showcase for several major labels, such as Universal Records.

Click Here to View The Big Tease’ Online Presskit at Sonicbids