Recipients from Adobe, Rent-A-Center, Johnson & Johnson, and The National Theatre for Children Honored at Masters of Marketing Annual Conference

ORLANDO, Fla. – The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) today recognized the 2014 recipients of its Rising Marketing Star Award. The four honorees, all age 32 or under, were nominated by senior executives at their companies for having met the following criteria:

• Made valuable contributions to the overall excellence/effectiveness of their marketing organization
• Demonstrated leadership, innovation, creativity, and accountability in executing their marketing responsibilities
• Exemplified skill in integrating marketing disciplines and working with other professionals
• Exhibited knowledge of current issues in advertising and familiarity with the tools marketers are using to reach their audiences

The 2014 Rising Marketing Stars are:

• Tomas Arias, Associate Brand Manager, BAND-AID® Brand, Johnson & Johnson
  Mr. Arias led the development of the product and packaging of BAND-AID Brand’s Our Veteran Heroes stock keeping unit, through which 5 percent of the sales proceeds are donated to a charity supporting veterans. He worked with all key military groups, led the negotiations with cause marketing partner Team Red, White & Blue, developed an integrated marketing campaign, and executed a media partnership with Country Music Television, which included a product integration with the CMT Music Awards. Thanks to his leadership, the product was launched in record time, and the SKU is on track to beat the original sales projection by 300 percent.

• Dave Dickson, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Adobe
  Over the past four years, Mr. Dickson grew the Adobe Digital Publishing Suite — the most significant, organically grown innovation business at the company in the past decade — from prototype to more than 220 million publication downloads. The app publishing platform is now used by all major U.S. magazine publishers for their digital editions. To drive market penetration for the nascent solution, Mr. Dickson led co-marketing initiatives with major publishers, secured industry-wide adoption of the publishing platform through key sponsorships with industry associations, and developed the go-to-market strategy to secure worldwide corporate customers.

• Eddie Eames, Manager, Marketing and Client Services, The National Theatre for Children, Inc.
  To make a difference in the lives of underserved Hispanic children in southern California, Mr. Eames created a branded, high-visibility in-school program with a bi-lingual curriculum to teach elementary students about safety. He also convinced Edison International to join the NTC in the ground-breaking safety campaign. Through live performances by professional actors, bilingual workbooks, in-class discussion, and homework assignments designed to engage parents, students were armed with information they used to better understand fire hazards and stay safe around electricity. In addition to generating positive media exposure and community relations for both the NTC and Edison, the program has benefitted nearly 28,600 children, parents, and teachers.

• Anna Scott, Marketing Manager, Rent-A-Center
  Ms. Scott played the key role in building Rent-A-Center’s internal digital marketing capabilities — without significant prior digital experience. She has been instrumental in doubling email open and conversion-to-sales rates (resulting in significant incremental sales and an 11 percent increase in ROI), and increasing mobile visits to the company website. Ms. Scott also undertook the challenge of writing a business case for providing online pricing — a first for the rental equipment industry. The resulting national launch of the initiative has led to higher quality sales leads, the conversion of website leads, and a substantial incremental sales impact.

“The judging this year was especially difficult, as there were a number of strong candidates,” said Bob Liodice, president and CEO of the ANA. “The 2014 class of Rising Marketing Stars truly showcases the extraordinary achievement of young marketers in the industry today.”

The four recipients were recognized in front of nearly 3,000 fellow marketers at the ANA Masters of Marketing Annual Conference, currently being held at the Rosen Shingle Creek resort in Orlando, Fla.

The Rising Marketing Star program, started in 2010, was enacted to celebrate the ANA’s 100thAnniversary. It has become an annual recognition program at the Masters of Marketing Conference. Nominations for the 2015 award will be solicited in early summer of 2015.