Much has changed in terms of tools and tactics over my marketing career. What has not changed is the strategic goal of marketing: Profitably growing revenue by delivering value from your customer’s perspective, and equally importantly, capturing some of that value for your company.
The role of marketing is to make your brand stand out and be noticed. Positioning starts with defining what makes your brand unique and special and comparing it to an existing frame of reference, thereby demonstrating your superiority. Choosing a category you can own, and positioning yourself to be the most preferred in that category is what gives you a sustainable competitive advantage.
All great marketing begins with differentiation and the ability to tell your story. It's not enough to have great products. Your marketing must speak a verbally and visually sophisticated language that connects with consumers emotionally and communicates why your products are different and better.
Tashjian Marketing will help you to create sustainable benefits and cost-effectively communicate that message with clarity, brevity, consistency and passion in traditional media, social media and at the point of sale.
When margins are thin, an effective marketing strategy must out-think,
out-plan and out-execute, rather than outspend the competition.
Business Development Services
- Outsourced Senior Marketing Leadership
- Business Analytics
- Industry Gap Analysis
- Customer Acquisition & Retention
- Differentiation and value proposition strategy
- Segmentation, targeting and positioning
- Licensing
Tashjian's business building process has generated more than 50 successful new brand introductions and existing brand relaunches.
The mission of Tashjian Marketing is to provide results oriented marketing strategy and tactical execution on an outsourced basis. Ed has extensive marketing experience at senior levels—in premier packaged goods companies, high growth retail and B2B businesses on major brands, licensed products, warehouse clubs and new ventures. His deep base of industry knowledge, channels and resources for realizing opportunities and solving problems provide quick results for most clients.
Recent clients include:
- Vanguard Furniture: Business analytics and the planning, forecasting and launch of a custom casegoods brand.
- A.R.T. Furniture: Business analytics, gap analysis and the development of a 5 year strategic plan. Project included interviewing sales representatives and FT 100 customers to understand brand positioning from the market's POV.
- Resource Decor: where he led an exploration of the renaming the company and public relations for the brand
- Truliant Federal Credit Union: where he strategized the the press coverage of the expansion in the Charlotte market Truliant Case Study
- Calico Corners: where he executed a segmentation, targeting and positioning analysis Calico Case Study
- Stanley Furniture: where he guided the repositioning of the company to the "Gateway to the upper end" opening a new channel of distribution. Stanley Case Study.
As CMO for $200M Home Meridian International, he was responsible for managing the marketing activities for its 5 Divisions:Pulaski, Samuel Lawrence, Samuel Lawrence Hospitality, Prime Resources International and Creations Baby. He developed and launched social media for the Tangerine and Sammy Youth brands, implemented QR codes that linked to online videos for Sugar Bear and a Sams Club Lift Chair. He developed brand standards for each of the 5 divisions and parent company that had a consistent look, messaging and navigation.
As Vice President of Marketing for Century Furniture, Ed directed strategic planning, brand management, media and public relations, advertising and promotion, for the retail and design channels worldwide. He managed licensed brands including Oscar de la Renta, Kelly Hoppen, Richard Frinier, The National Trust, The British Open, and Monarch Fine Furniture. During his tenure, Century was elevated to a highly visible fashion and thought leader. By leveraging fresh ideas, innovative marketing techniques and strong personal relationships Century received more than 1,500 feature articles in top shelter magazines and major newspapers including USA Today, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the The Wall Street Journal.
Tashjian is a classically trained marketer, advancing through the ranks of brand management at Sara Lee culminating in the position of Director of Planning and Development for the $5B consumer personal products division. He is currently an adjunct Professor of Marketing at Lenoir Rhyne University teaching Graduate and Undergraduate classes in Marketing Principles, Marketing Management and Sports Marketing. He served as an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Business at the University of Southern California where he taught marketing and consumer behavior classes in both the graduate and undergraduate schools of business.
He is active in the home furnishings industry. He is on the board of the Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library and is responsible for raising its visibility as the largest and most comprehensive furniture specialty collection in the world. He served on the American Home Furniture Association Public Relations Committee. He testified before congress in 2003 on Chinese currency manipulation and its impact on the home furnishings industry.
Tashjian is a team builder and developer of talent. In 2008 he was selected for the Home Furnishings Industry’s Mentoring Award, for a career of fostering advocacy, development and promotion of women.
He earned an MBA from the University of Minnesota in 1977, and a B.A. in Psychology with Distinction from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. His family resides in Hickory, NC.
Case Studies
Licensing
