I help companies dramatically increase revenue, customers and loyalty 
through a holistic approach to building awareness and generating demand.  

Laura Higgins Resume


Management and Operations
  • Developed and managed operating/marketing budgets to $6,000,000+.  Managed cross-functional employee teams of 8 – 90. 
  • Skilled at vendor/creative agency evaluation, negotiation & management; multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts. 
  • Entrepreneurial tightwad mindset; adept at slashing budgets while maintaining quality and innovation.
  • Cross-disciplinary training, cross-disciplinary business experience, high bandwidth, fast prototyper, number-cruncher. 
  
Online, Social and Email 
  • Comprehensive online marketing strategy/tactics, since 1995. Led marketing efforts at two tech startups; Microsoft alumnus.
  • Directed development of over 50 Web sites; online branding, content and site map design, ecommerce, and database project management.  Online marketing including email newsletters and offers, search engine optimization/marketing (SEO/SEM). 
  • Early adopter of social media/online communities.  Passion for online video use; 15+ years video production experience.
  
Brand Awareness, Pipeline Development  and Revenue Generation
  • Doubled brand awareness in primary market from 41% to 82%; tenacious focus on aggressive ROI.
  • Business development with medium-to-enterprise companies; developed retail merchandising & traffic generation programs.
  • Experienced, fast-drafting copywriter/editor for internal & external publications: whitepapers, speeches, blog/Web content.
  • Demand generation via integrated marketing programs for a wide variety of products & services. Extensive direct response experience, including list targeting, creative testing, matrix campaigns, and metrics.
  • Event planning and execution:  from complex multi-day conferences/trade shows, to high-touch executive events.

Experience

Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing   
Pixorial Inc.    Englewood, CO                          1/12 – present
  • Provide action-oriented vision and leadership enabling the organization to achieve strategic sales, revenue, and profitability objectives.
  •  Serve as member of the senior management team who works closely with decision makers in all departments to identify, recommend, develop, implement and lead profitable marketing and sales solutions for all aspects of the business.
  •  Work with CEO to establish marketing and sales departmental goals, objectives, and performance measures. 
  • Develop, track, and control the marketing and sales annual operating budget. 
  • Work collaboratively with senior staff to create and manage cross-functional, integrated marketing strategies, messaging and themes to ensure that key strategic messages are communicated effectively to target audiences. 
  • Conduct analyses of campaigns to measure and improve campaign effectiveness; continuously track real-time metrics on campaign efficacy to modify approach as needed.
  • Direct the development and evolution of corporate brand identity, positioning strategy and communications plan for all traditional and emerging channels including PR, social media and advertising.
  • Provide leadership to ensure the achievement of sales revenue targets and profitability. Identify and coordinate efforts toward targeting new customers, technologies, and products. Monitor customer, market and competitor activity and provide feedback to executive team. Lead and reinforce the company culture and values within the marketing and sales organization.

Founder and Project Completer   
53Signal Ltd.    Parker, CO                          1/08 – present
  • Consulting services and content production (including video production, internal training packages and PowerPoint presentations) for Fortune 100 healthcare conglomerate. 
  • Plus selected other projects on occasion. 


Director of Marketing   
Bellco Credit Union     Greenwood Village, CO                          11/05 – 8/11
  • Marketing strategy and tactics for a top 50 credit union.  Responsible for all traditional and online advertising, demand generation, member communications, event production, branding, public relations, social media, community relations and sponsorships.
  • Sourced and managed marketing and public relations agencies, including contract negotiations and annual reviews.
  • Revitalized online/email marketing programs; tripled number of publications (over 30 editions per year), launched use of social media tools.  Directed collaborative Web site redesign project for four large credit unions (collectively serving nearly one million members).
  • Implemented IBM Marketing Operations on Demand and Raddon Integrator 8 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems.
  • Launched new product lines (business banking, youth accounts, new checking).  
  • Results:  since 2005, membership increased from 147,000 to 198,000, branches increased from 13 to 16, and assets from $1.57B to $1.99B.  Doubled brand awareness from 41% to 82% in primary market. Recognized as #5 of the Top Ten financial institutions using Twitter and Facebook. Selected as Finalist for Colorado Business Committee for the Arts 2011 Philanthropy Award
  
Sr. District Marketing Specialist  (contract)  
Microsoft Corporation      Denver, CO                                       8/04 –6/05                                                          
  • Drove enterprise account marketing initiatives and events to deliver pipeline growth and velocity for Microsoft’s enterprise products.  
  • Produced launch events supporting multiple Microsoft infrastructure products in Colorado and Utah.  Overall satisfaction ratings of 6 out of 7; 78% of leads converted to sales engagements of $100,000 - $1,000,000+.

Vice President Marketing & Operations     
Pitch Hut Communications,     San Rafael, CA                          6/01 – 10/05                                                                             
  • As 50 percent owner, profitably operated marketing, video and event production firm. Built diverse client base, increased revenues, and maintained a growth trend in each year of operation.
  • Services included marketing project management, event and video production, copywriting/collateral production, and PR consulting.
  • Clients included Kaiser Permanente; Napa Valley Weddings; LeapFrog Toys; online publishers SpaTrade, MarketingSherpa, and Guerrilla Marketing International; Bimmer Bros. (BMW dealership); Video Free America; Digeo Moxi (digital video recorder); and Elmic Systems (embedded Internet protocol software).

 Director of Marketing Communications   
SealedMedia  San Francisco, CA & Buckinghamshire, UK     6/00 – 6/01
  • Directed marketing strategy/tactics for international information security/Digital Rights Management software company: public relations; events, seminars and tradeshows; Web site; print collateral; pipeline development and demand generation. 
  • Conducted corporate rebranding to position company for eventual acquisition by Oracle Corporation.   
  • Planned and executed trade show program and demand generation events across North America and Europe.
  • Developed integrated PR campaign featuring a well-known New York Times bestselling author and PBS television series host.

Lead Program Manager, Windows and TechNet Marketing      
Microsoft Corporation      Redmond, WA                                    3/98 – 7/00
  • Managed global channel reseller and global customer reference programs. Featured presenter at key reseller events in US/Asia. 
  • Created portfolio of Microsoft’s internal best practices and deployment experiences for Microsoft TechNet.  Supported Windows 2000 launch through production of 40+ enterprise customer case studies.  Designed/produced 6 sales demo CDs; Microsoft intranet resource site; and informational kiosks that were deployed in worldwide sales offices.   
  • Selected as contributing editor to Microsoft’s 25th anniversary book, Inside Out:  Microsoft – In Our Own Words.

Director, Retail Sales & Marketing      
ConnectSoft Inc.             Bellevue, WA                                           4/95 – 12/97
  • Launched three consumer software products (email and Internet filtering) through retail software and consumer electronics channel and partners, plus aggressive online/print marketing and advertising campaigns.
  • Created retail staff training materials and point of purchase merchandising displays to drive sales of Internet Connection (winner of Best in Show at Comdex ’94), Email Connection and KidWeb.
  • Served on mergers and acquisition transition team through multiple projects, reporting to Chief Operating Officer.

Manager, Sales Administration
Carme Inc. (Allercreme, Mill Creek, Silver Fox and  other hair/skin care brands)   Novato, CA  6/94 - 3/95
  • Reporting to Senior Vice President of Sales, responsibilities included sales tracking and reporting to support five regional managers.
  • Key accounts included all leading health food store chains (including Whole Foods, Wild Oats, etc.) and top supermarket and grocery chains, including Safeway, Albertson's, Fred Meyer, Piggly Wiggly, King Sooper, etc.)
  • Responsible for all aspects of planning and execution for multiple health and beauty industry and medical/dermatology trade shows per year. 
  • Worked with Creative Director to develop sell sheets, packaging content, and promotional materials.

Partner and Vice President, Operations
FlightLine Films/Higgins Synthetic Realities, Inc.         San Francisco and San Rafael,  CA     1/85 - 5/94
  • Co-owner of San Francisco-based film, video and theatrical production company. The company was formed primarily to support a wide range of corporate entertainment projects, primarily for Oracle Corporation and other leading Silicon Valley technology firms.  The essence of the company's offering was the ability to creatively and cost-effectively meet virtually any sort of promotional need these burgeoning companies required, from live theatrical presentations for product launch events, to recruiting videos and much more.  We transformed the ballroom of a 150-year-old Swiss hotel into the interior of a fictional jumbo jet... we "pranked" a top executive of a leading coffee company... we created a rap song (titled "The Record-Breaking Oracle") to celebrate a sales milestone... the stories are amazing.

Education and Professional Training

Colorado State University, Organizational Leadership

Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA:   Advertising/Commercial Interior Design concentration

Microsoft Corporation Management Training, Redmond WA: presentation skills, leadership, project management, budgeting  

Certified Guerrilla Marketing™ Business Coach: personally trained by Jay Conrad Levinson, the father of Guerrilla Marketing

Credit Union Business Development Certification:  Credit Union National Association

Professional Spa Management Director's Intensive Certification:  Wynne Business Systems (the leading educator in the spa industry)

Community Involvement

Denver Botanic Gardens: member of Board of Trustees, 2010 - present

South Metro Chamber of Commerce: member 2006 - present

The Leadership Experience (global live-by-satellite event featuring world-renowned keynote speakers):  PR Strategist for Colorado event sites, 2005 - 2007

AD:Tech (interactive advertising and technology conference and exhibition): member of Board of Directors, 2003

Microsoft Corporation Women in Technology (10,000+ Microsoft employee members worldwide): Chairperson, 1999 - 2000 

Rebuilding Together Marin County:  found member of Board of Directors, 1993

Rebuilding Together Seattle:  member of the Board of Directors, 1995

Women in Technology Mentoring Program:  founding member