DISCIPLINE        Result-producing creative strategies conceived and written for digital, social, broadcast, print, promotion and merchandising.

EXPERIENCE       OCTOBER ’12 . Sr COPYWRITER . ZIMMERMAN ADVERTISING

Brainstorming, writing and producing broadcast for Tire Kingdom, N.T.B. and Merchants Tire.

                         JANUARY ’12-OCTOBER ’12. Sr COPYWRITER/ ASSOC. CREATIVE DIRECTOR . CLARKE ADVERTISING & PR

Copy, concept and strategy for digital, CR and brand advertising diverse clients in home improvement, financial and arts categories.

OCTOBER ’08- JUNE ‘11. Sr COPYWRITER/ ASSOC. CREATIVE DIRECTOR . SCHIFINO LEE

Senior creative strategist for branding and rebranding with responsibilities for naming, positioning, and then telling the brand story in all media. Also responsible for concepts, architecture and messaging for websites and internet campaigns. With our account executives I build trusting and respectful, long-term relationships for our diverse client roster including: Wellcare, AT&T (digital B2B and sales support), USAmeriBank, PREO Real Estate Marketplace, ProVest (legal support services), Plasma-Therm (nanotechnology), Genesis Power (solar energy), America’s Battery Recyclers, and Tampa’s Lowery Park Zoo.

Management – I also have the honor of hiring, mentoring and directing junior staff (3 direct reports plus seasonal interns).

MAY‘05-JULY ‘08 . FREELANCE . VERBO*CITY COMMUNICATIONS

Contracts with Home Shopping Network as web, print and direct mail writer and with Saatchi & Saatchi X, on a virtual team creating retail POS programs for Proctor & Gamble, Pillsbury, Hanes and General Mills.

JANUARY ‘99-APRIL‘05 . CREATIVE SUPERVISOR . WOLF GROUP NEW YORK

Responsibilities – Creative lead for HSBC Bank (U.S. subsidiary of the world's second largest financial services organization) directly responsible for crafting the promise, strategy and messaging for specific high-end bank products. As "keeper of the brand" I was responsible for ensuring all messages were on strategy and furthered HSBC's identity. My team also did print, broadcast, promotion and web for Dutch Boy Paint and National Fuel, a regional gas utility.

Management – Supervised project teams. Managed junior copywriters and proofreader.

MARCH‘96-DEC.‘99 . SENIOR COPYWRITER . ROBERT’S COMMUNICATIONS

Responsibilities – Developed direct mail campaigns for leading financial institutions – including Citibank, Bank Boston, and First USA – to successfully encourage adoption of electronic banking, and home equity lines of credit. Consumer and B2B print, direct mail, broadcast and collateral for Blue Cross & Blue Shield. For United Way Rochester, I had personal responsibility for writing and producing multiple TV and radio spots for three successive record-breaking fundraising campaigns.

Management – Supervised junior copywriters and proofreader.

OCT.’94-FEB ‘96 . TEAM COPYWRITER . BASE BROWN & PARTNERS

Responsibilities – At Base Brown, a highly respected Toronto boutique, I co-captained a team charged with adapting the strategic platforms of major international brands to the Canadian market. AOR clients included Seiko, Sunoco, Sunbeam, Swissair, Melitta, and Motorola.

AWARDS            Multiple Addy, Telly, Silver Microphone, CA citations and other regional, national and international awards for excellence in all media.

EDUCATION      EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC . Theory, Harmony, Keyboard

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, S.I. Newhouse School . BA Cum Laude Eng. & Adv.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY . Undergraduate study

HONORS           Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Delta Sigma, Sigma Tau Delta; Who's Who Among College Students; Student Government President, Executive Vice President, Speaker of Student Assembly; ACACIA Fraternity Secretary, Junior Steward (kitchen manager), Outstanding Senior

        DIGITAL              Linkedin Profile

          @VerbocityEric Twitter

           How can you like that? . There’s no accounting for taste. Wanna bet?

          Bright Lights, Not-so-Big City . Great marketing from small town firms

CHALLENGES     PREO Real Estate Marketplace

Problem – Introduce PREO to lenders, homeowners, buyers and Realtors and get them to adopt the web-based, transparent solution for liquidating distressed property.

Solution – “The Way Houses Are Bought and Sold Today.” Under this umbrella position we developed brand promises for each of PREO’s targets:

•Lenders: PREO is a turnkey solution that liquidates distressed property at fair market value.

•Homeowners: PREO provides real mortgage relief through a timely short sale.

•Buyers: PREO makes it easy to buy a short sale with approval within 15 days.

•Realtors: PREO makes short sales work for with closings as fast as 30 days.

PREO was introduced this year with a dynamic, easy-to-use website, web videos and trade ads to bankers and realtors. PREO has made deals with 4 of America’s largest mortgage banks and turned thousands of distressed properties back into family homes.

PRILOSEC OTC (Proctor & Gamble)

Problem – Build brand loyalty for Prilosec OTC among women with frequent heartburn to prevent switching to generics .

Solution – "Block the Burn Before it Begins." Using lifestyle marketing in retail channels, our Saatchi & Saatchi X team taught the target that Prilosec is the only over-the-counter remedy that stops heartburn before it can begin. Promotional tie-ins with NFL, NASCAR and Bunco World Championship got attention and turned product trials into relationships. Before the end of 2007, Prilosec OTC was a “Billion Dollar Brand” for P&G.

HSBC BANK USA

Problem – Increase applications for credit cards, enrollment in Internet banking, and activation of debit cards in a single summer event campaign.

Solution –”Good to Go Sweepstakes“. In ads, billboards and in-branch materials, we show how each product leads to increased summer fun and freedom. Use of each product was also tied to entry in a sweepstakes. Sales of all products exceeded projections. Sales goals were surpassed by 15%.

UNITED WAY OF PITTSBURGH

Problem – Introduce www.UnitedWayPittsburgh as the resource for information and help with personal, family and community problems.

Solution – ”Your Online Helping Hand.“ We created ads, billboards, and radio commercials that demonstrated how using a personal computer could solve a family crisis. The memorable and highly impactful messages led to a five-fold increase in traffic on the site. Online donations and registrations also rose.

The director of the Pittsburgh United Way presents the success of the Web site introduction as a case study at United Way regional meetings. He says the radio spots always blow them away.

MELITTA LEGENDS COFFEES

Problem – Introduce a new line of super premium coffees on a very limited budget.

Solution – ”Introducing Melitta Legends.“ The initial concept was to describe the coffee using the language of the oenophile. Instead, I wrote copy that captured the entire sensation of enjoying each coffee and evoked the places – Italy, Jamaica, Hawaii, Vienna  ,etc. – that they were inspired by. The copy went in a glossy brochure in 2.8 million home-delivered newspapers. The brochure included a coupon and an offer for a personal coffee maker. With just this brochure we captured a 2% market share and distributed two and half container loads of coffee makers—150% above projection.