Posted by: todd on October 05, 2004 @ 2:41:51 pm
www.loudtechinc.com
LOUD Technologies Inc. is one of the world's largest dedicated pro audio and music products companies. As the corporate parent for world-recognized brands including Alvarez, Ampeg, Crate, EAW, Knilling, Mackie, St. Louis Music, and TAPCO, LOUD Technologies Inc. produces a wide range of digital recording products, loudspeakers, commercial audio systems, audio and music software, guitars, guitar and bass amplifiers, and orchestral string instruments. Additionally, LOUD Technologies is one of the largest distributors of branded pro audio and music accessories. Wherever there is music making, live performance, audio recording or playback, LOUD Technologies is there.
Process/Challenge: LOUD Technologies' brands have a wide reach in terms of markets and customer focus. Part of the challenge of this broad market is communicating cohesively with the customer on each different level. The Web Services team under my lead is responsible for communicating electronically with each market segment, through e-mail campaigns and each of the eight brand websites:
- www.mackie.com - End-user/retail customer-focused website
- www.tapcogear.com - End-user/retail customer-focused website
- www.eaw.com - Contractor/Installer customer-focused website
- www.eawcommercial.com - Contractor/Installer customer-focused website
- www.loudtechinc.com - LOUD Technologies corporate website
Overview:
Since my arrival at LOUD Technologies, through my lead, we have moved from a hit-and-miss electronic marketing approach to a clear vision and established direct Internet and e-mail marketing. In my role as Manager of Web Services & Electronic Marketing, I have pushed to accomplish graphical brand integration to further enhance and reinforce each brand (i.e. by using standards-based Flash headers we are able to carry over the brand font while maintaining plain text editability). Also, I worked with our overseas offices to begin a site wide "real-time" translation. This particular effort has resulted in increased traffic from those countries and increased sales in those markets.
Customer surveys show high levels of brand loyalty and satisfaction with online information and the ability to communicate directly with the company. Since joining LOUD Technologies, my team has increased our opt-in e-mail database from a mere few thousand to more than 80,000 unique e-mail addresses, while maintaining fresh and compelling content on the web and in our e-mail campaigns to our worldwide customers.
At the same time, we've expanded our online sales community with web-based resources, effectively bringing every facet of the company together in one location.
Along with my role as an Electronic Marketing Manager at LOUD Technologies, I've also heavily engaged in other job functions, such as:
- Performing MIS duties: Taking advantage of my vast technical skills, by specifying a new storage array that resulted in a more efficient way to share and archive materials
- Creative Direction: Using my in-depth print knowledge and experience to specify the best printing process to achieve a particular look (rather than go out of house for a consultant or trial and error on the print proofs).
Brand Accomplishments/Websites:
Since each of the five LOUD Technologies brands and websites I am responsible for has its own unique target audience, I've broken them out to help you get a better idea of my involvement and experiences with each: Alvarez, Ampeg, Crate, EAW, Knilling, Mackie, St. Louis Music, and TAPCO.
