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, ECHO 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 ECHO’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 Graduate 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 Graduate 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 Graduate 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 Graduate 2009 I Owen Graduate School of Management I Vanderbilt University I Nashville, TN