Camilla Tafe

I am currently a top performer working on an experiential marketing program designed to increase brand visibility of Diageo North America’s Core 4 Portfolio Brands. I am responsible for driving sales and building bartender advocacy by maintaining relationships with key decision makers in 40 high visibility on-premise accounts in New York City. My role is designed to help accounts market our brands, increase sales through menu placements & featured cocktails and foster brand love among consumers and gatekeepers through on-premise sampling and comprehensive staff trainings. In just 1 year, I have been able to build and leverage my relationships with sales reps and key gatekeepers to secure seasonal and permanent cocktail menus, host and plan numerous events (+4 each month) and secure first time brand placements. My background lays in PR, marketing & retail sales which gives me unique insight into the wants and needs of my accounts and the consumers that I interact with on a daily basis.

Working at Mack Weldon was an excellent learning experience and I maintain strong relationships with the team. As Office Manager, I coordinated and executed Mack Weldon’s move from Midtown to Flatiron during my first month of employment. I designed the storage system for all garments, office supplies and equipment held in the office. I managed daily office operations, all vendor accounts and paid all corporate bills. As Executive Assistant, I coordinated all investor and board meetings and served as the front of office to oversee arrival of all guests. I assisted our founders (CEO & Head of Product) with various admin tasks such as schedule management & coordination, claims processing, VIP gifting, fit model booking, product development and social strategy. On the marketing and PR side, I curated and managed the Mack Weldon Pinterest account and saw 37% growth which drove 8% of site traffic for the month of August according to Google Analytics. I served as Mack Weldon’s event coordinator for all internal and external events and assisted in the planning and management of Mack Weldon x Tumblr present Janie Bryant, New York Tech Day & NewCo 2015. I assisted in the development of the Corporate Ambassador program. I also assisted with the styling and coordination of product photoshoots. Since leaving Mack Weldon as a full-time employee, I occasionally help with projects on an ad-hoc basis.

As office manager and the face of the executive suite, I ensured that all guests were tended to upon arrival and that all needs were met in a friendly and professional manner. I was responsible for the management of executive conference rooms & calendars for inner-office meetings; maintaining inventory of all office, kitchen & conference room supplies; and the management of accounts and monthly spending for all food & beverage and shipping & receiving accounts. Aside from my office management duties, I also assisted the acquisitions team, the CFO & accounting department and the legal department with various administrative tasks on an ad-hoc basis. Some projects that I was able to work on were: Directing the creative development and written content for publicly traded Sapir holding company website while following all direct executive guidelines; Assisting the Director of Finance & Operations and Associate Project Manager with renovation purchasing & account management for departmental renovation and relocation; Planning and management of The Sapir Organization/ASRR’s holiday event held for all 260-261 Madison Avenue tenants (appx. 3,500 tenants per building); Coordinating delivery & shipment of all holiday gifts sent to Sapir clients, contacts & business partners

My main duties consisted of assisting the Chief Creative Strategist and Creative Director in a variety of areas including, but not limited to, schedule management, time logging, meeting coordination, processing of expenses and other administrative tasks. It was essential that I maintain a high level of expertise in travel booking, management and scheduling, as well as proactively anticipate the needs of my supervisors and the strategy department. I also assisted in the management of the creative strategy team in the absence of the Chief Creative Strategist. I helped out with the strategic planning of ATL and BTL campaigns for R.J. Reynolds and various Campari America brands when needed, such as planning the 2014 Espolón Tequila Tribe Summit for 2015 planning and strategy development. In addition to my administrative tasks, I took on many event planning and employee engagement initiatives. I lead the development of an internal employee engagement program designed to unify all BFG offices, which includes 4 HQ offices and satellite offices, located throughout the country to improve project communication organizationally and increase overall employee satisfaction. I also coordinated all in-office events to celebrate agency accomplishments, holidays and birthdays, and foster employee engagement.

I worked as a Sales Associate at A&F in Manchester and Salem, NH from October 2008-May 2013 before accepting a management role and transferring to the 5th Avenue Flagship in New York City. My responsibilities included: resolving all in-store issues pertaining to merchandise, POS systems, payroll & scheduling and all visual presentations; ensuring that all associates attended to customer needs and were providing excellent customer service throughout the sales process; ensuring all visual changes were made to the floor set and that all marketing signage was set to standard; training and onboarding all new associates and making sure all new & existing staff were up to date on visual presentation standards; recruiting and developing new associates. I developed essential skills necessary to run and manage a major retail store including sales, operations, HR & recruitment, visual merchandising, in-store experience, brand senses, and diversity. I also gained crucial insight into the importance of hiring & training employees that further business goals & uphold standards.

After choosing my major of Strategic Communication (PR and Advertising), I decided that pursuing a minor in marketing would be the best way to apply previous course work in a meaningful way. I had the opportunity to work alongside faculty advisor Dr. Joanna Altman to plan High Point University’s 1st Annual Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium where students submitted original presentations relevant to their discipline outside of course curriculum. I thoroughly enjoy learning about, and working with, various media; after receiving an A in the course Media and Popular Culture Studies in the Spring of 2012, Dr. Judy Isaksen asked me to serve as a Teacher's Assistant for the course for the 2012-2013 school year. I made Dean's List 4 out of 8 semesters. I was a member of the HPU cheerleading team in 2009-2010 as well as for a portion of 2011, but had to resign from the team early due to prolonged injury.