BREANN DECESERE

strategist

breann.decesere@gmail.com724-989-2451

Linkedin.com/in/breanndecesere@bdecesere

bdecesere.wordpress.com

i’ve never been one to chase the market leader, i root for the smaller challenger capable of being better than them.

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give me passion over power.

GREAT THINGS COME FROM SMALL PACKAGES

If you aren’t the market leader, you have to work for respect; you mold your worth based on your output. And while the market leaders sleep, the small & scrappy get sh*t done. When push comes to shove and small comes out on top, it’s surprising to the boasters of big, which makes the win so much more fulfilling.

Those that believe big as best see the obvious strengths when, in fact, there is so much that makes the unassuming underdog more successful. Being big doesn’t mean much when they can’t handle small.

why am i a champion of the small & scrappy?glad you asked:

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Gaining full-time experience from two small businesses allowed me to write rather than sort files, be the client go-to, not just the note taker. I adapted to handle a variety of challenges outside of a job description or department.

Coming from the small city of Pittsburgh, PA allows me to have a pulse on the heart of America and have the curiosity to explore the world different from my own.

Working as a woman for two women CEOs I have learned that being unexpectedly strong creates an advantage by pushing you to work harder and achieve more than you normally would to prove your worth, therefore making you more accomplished in the long term.

Getting an undergraduate education from a smaller private institution, I’ve been exposed to and taken advantage of more leadership and small group opportunities than as a number in a large public school.

And being a smiling 5’3” petite woman doesn’t exactly make people scared of me – but they should be.

now that we’re on the same page with what i fight for, let me show you what i can do.

ding, ding – our small challengers face their fight: 1 tgi friday’s: challenger of pop satire

2 mini: challenger of wired living

3 small business: challenger of the ever-changing economy

more on me

BreAnn Decesere, Account Planner; Nicole Cestaro, Account Planner; Chris Nash, Art Director; Hector Bauza, Copywriter

challenging casual dining and pop satire to regain the hopping bar scene it was founded on

challengeTGI Friday’s started over 45 years ago as a swinging singles bar, shaking up the Manhattan bar scene. Over time TGI Friday’s evolved into a family restaurant chain with obnoxious memorabilia-clad décor, becoming the butt of jokes and pop culture satire.

TGI Friday’s basically had to strip down their walls and reverse consumers’ current perception of their restaurants as a mag-net of swarms of screaming babies, cheesy chotchkies and senior specials in order to return to their trendy bar roots.

targeting opportunityWe examined different types of social butterflies to see not only who would most likely be the ones to consistently come to the bar, but also who TGI Friday’s current brand ambition would resonate with. Turns out, young-at-heart boomers with an insatiable social appetite have the same fun-loving self-perception and combat an outdated society-perception as 50-somethings.

With kids no longer at home, Boomers really embrace a second-wind social-life with good friends, good drinks and good times like they did in their youth but now with a more consistent income.

ammunitionBecause society dictates that our best, fun-filled years are behind us by 30, Young-at-heart Boomers find themselves in a bar-scene limbo when they want to go out. TGI Friday’s solves this by being both age and emotionally appropriate for them as they’ve graduated from the nightclub scene but are such a long way off from Bingo. TGI Friday’s bar scene fits just right.

So a toast, to being who you’re not too old to be.

stay true to you

print and outdoor advertisements

We wanted to invite Young-at-heart Boomers to feel at home at TGI Friday’s by telling them “stay true to you”.

fountain of youth facebook app

We wanted to entice Boomers to the bar and encourage conver-sations bar-side and online.

The app would take them through a series of personal prefer-ences based on retro pop culture (ex. Beatles vs. Rolling Stones) in order to find out their perfect Fountain of Youth drink match.

Quiz takers will share their drink on Facebook with their friends and ultimately come into the bar with the printout and receive the drink for free.

at the bar

In addition to the Fountain of Youth free drink promotion, we proposed implementing a few others:

Turn booster seats into beer bucket holders Adult-oriented trivia nights with retro pop cultureContinuous “red Solo cup” drink specials throughout the week

challenging wired living of adventurous youngsters with even more connectibility

BreAnn Decesere, Account Planner; Luciano Barone, Account Planner; Chris Nash, Art Director; José Hernandez, Copywriter

challengeStarting a mini revolution in 2002, the MINI Cooper was released as the only subcompact car on the US market and conse-quently fostered a core group of devotees as a result. But in order to breed new MINI owners, we needed to raise engagement amongst a younger crowd of future buyers.

We found out this challenge was two-fold. First MINI is no longer THE small car, but rather one of many in today’s increasingly competitive subcompact market. But more importantly, future Millennial car buyers have different priorities than more mature buyers. smartphones and evolving technologies take a higher priority in terms of future purchases.

targeting opportunityWhere we could really connect with these wired adventurers is through the MINI connected feature, which connects their iPhone to their MINI dashboard, allowing them to take their treasured social life truly on-the-go. MINI Connected really one-ups the competition in the connectivity department and we’re convinced that once Millennials experience this, the fun go-kart han-dling (what MINI has really built their brand on) will attract their need for adventure and unbridled excitement.

ammunitionIt used to be that a young person’s car was their only social connector – you had to drive to see friends and have adventures. We learned from looking at this past that regardless of time, wired adventurers will want something as long as it involves a connection with their friends.

We needed to show how MINI Connected integrates with their social life and offers them the unique ability to never have to leave their friends.

test drive the ultimate social enhancement

college outreach

Our best way to get these youngsters to test drive was to attack the college campuses in larger metro areas. To capture their attention, we made multimedia ads that can be distributed as a flyer to campus pin boards or in college newspapers.

MINI DriveShare program

All ads direct them to Facebook. Both actual test drives and a virtual version can both be found on this page. We wanted to make sure that no wired adventurer feels left out of the social fun.

The MINI DriveShare test drive acts like Zipcar where students sign up to get the chance to drive the car for a prede-termined amount of time. However, it works a bit more like a game because participants, who sign up by downloading an iPhone app, are never quite sure when a MINI will be available in their metro area. Their iPhone will receive a message alerting them that a MINI is available and they have two hours to confirm and start driving the MINI after the alert. The MINI will be unlocked, started and locked all with their iPhone.

When they get their chance to drive, this is where the fun begins. Their iPhone connects to the MINI and participants get to experience not only the car for a short amount of time, but also the MINI Connected.

These wired adventurers can get the social status they crave, because the MINI will take a picture of them driving and upload it to social networks, broadcasting the fun they are having to their friends through these networks but also around electronic billboards around the metro area.

Participants are also encouraged to tweet their own messages with #driveshare.

challenging an ever-changing economy with inspiration for downtrodden entrepreneurs

BreAnn Decesere, Account Planner; Luciano Barone, Account Planner; Chris Nash, Art Director; José Hernandez, Copywriter

small business

challengeThe US economy took a turn for the worst in 2008 and small business owners suffered the brunt of this decline. A large proportion closed up shop and left survivors stunned at the wreckage.

Surviving small businesses went into “safe-mode;” even experienced business owners defaulted to safe business practices in order to stay afloat in these conditions. We needed to steer small businesses down a successful path in a world no longer quite what they’re used to: one with tighter budgets, cautious consumers and quickly evolving technology.

targeting opportunityWe observed a community of stunned entrepreneurs that are fearless by nature, but now cautious and risk-averse due to the chang-ing environment. They have put aside any new ideas for fear of causing detrimental harm to the business, even though they have tasted failure before. These owners seem to be suffering from a lack of confidence in their business’s ability to take a leap forward.

ammunitionWhen the media broadcasts rich, successful businessmen that are changing the course of history with his/her genius-ness and a large, highly profitable company in what seems to be out of thin air, they feel overpowered rather than stimulated. It’s the “i’m no steve jobs” effect. Owners can only relate to those most like them in their situation right now.

In this rapidly changing, socially charged marketplace, we must reposition the measurement of success so that small business owners understand that it is more tangible than they think. We need to redefine success. there’s big opportunity in small successes, from receiving 200 more followers on Facebook after a community event to three subsequent referrals from the same happy customer.

Let’s embrace small success as more valuable among the small business community.

when the world sees big, we act small

the road to success webisodes and microsite

We wanted to show our entrepreneur that small success is everywhere and inspire them to be part of this movement, too. The Road to Success webisodes and tracking map highlight these small business successes found across the country, each with their own story to tell.

Small businesses are encouraged to upload their story to the site and inspire other owners with a recent opportunity they took advantage of. These shared videos will be featured alongside stories produced and uploaded by our organization, The (small) Opportunity Initiative.

print advertisement/collateral

We wanted to hit entrepreneurs with the message “Success starts small” where they get their news, in small business publications, both industry-related and business-specific, like Inc. and Entrepreneur. These visuals are intended to also be utilized for trade conferences as well – sponsorship signage and program advertisements.

please note: this print campaign has the opportunity to evolve as sto-ries are received by “The Road to Success.” The ads would then feature these current small business owners and encourage continuous success-sharing among the small business community.

a few more things that i challenge (just for fun) Nonbelievers in a work/life balanceSports enthusiasts who don’t think dancing is athleticPeople who believe Italian Americans are like Jersey ShoreBirds - they shouldn’t come near me“Elitists” who think ramen noodles can’t be a gourmet meal Unadventurous eaters - there IS such thing as too many cheeseburgersPessimists who don’t know how to smile and LAUGH (at themselves especially)Those who think they have nothing left to learn

EXPERIENCE

Campos Inc Pittsburgh, PA September 2010 – April 2012 Project Manager, Online Marketing Associate Clients: Visionworks, American Woodmark Corp, Knouse Foods, Duquesne University, Heinz History Center

Fitting Group Pittsburgh, PA May 2009 – August 2010Account Coordinator (promoted August 2009)Account Management Intern Clients: IKEA, College of William & Mary School of Business, Butler Health System, Riverlift Industries

INTERNSHIPS

Mullen Pittsburgh, PA January – April 2009Public Relations Intern

FSC Marketing Communications Pittsburgh, PA June – August 2008Account Associate

Forest City Enterprises Pittsburgh, PA January 2008 – August 2009 Promotions Assistant for Station Square and Mall at RobinsonMarketing Intern for Station Square (January – April 2008)

EDUCATION

Miami Ad School Miami Beach, FL March 2012Account Planning Boot Camp

Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA May 2009 Bachelor of Arts in Integrated Marketing Communication, graduated Magna Cum Laude -Studied abroad in Rome, Italy (Spring 2007) and China/Japan (May 2008) -President of public relations (PRSSA) chapter -Lead target researcher in advertising (AAF) chapter br

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BREANN DECESERE

strategist