Brand Strategist
Toronto, Canada Area
- Current
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- Principal at Studio Pinpoint
- Past
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- Marketing Manager at The Gunlocke Company
- Marketing Director at Nienkamper Furniture & Accessories
- Regional Sales Manager at True Colors Direct Retail
- Marketing Manager at Sibson Canada Inc.
- Education
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- Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology
- University of Waterloo
- Recommended
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6 people have recommended Romana - Connections
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257
connections
- Industry
- Marketing and Advertising
- Websites
Romana Mirza’s Summary
Romana brings 20 years experience and a strong record of achievement in marketing and branding in durable goods and professional services. Her passion is to help organizations define and be true to their core values and personality. She has held senior marketing and brand management roles in manufacturing and design industries in both Canada and the U.S. Because of her keen understanding of the client side of the business, Romana holds the core values of an organization and the vision of the client's management team central to the project at hand.
Romana has a BA in Philosophy and Business Ethics from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario. In Toronto, she studied Internal Communications and Organizational Behavior at Ryerson University and served on the industry advisory board to the Faculty of Business at Seneca College were she also earned a business certificate. She is a former executive director of the Toronto Chapter of the American Marketing Association and founder and former president of the Professional Services Marketing Association in Canada.
Romana Mirza’s Specialties:
Brand Strategy
Positioning
Strategic Review & Counsel
Romana Mirza’s Experience
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Principal
Studio Pinpoint
(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)
January 2007 — Present (3 years )
We build brand confidence... by understanding who you are and making sure your brand reflects your organization's culture. We do competitive analysis, we do find opportunities and gaps but then what we do that is different is address those opportunities and ensure that what we say about you, how we present you and the strategy we build is a reflection of your people, of your organization. Too often organizations become what they think their clients or target audiences want, without giving a thought to their corporate culture. Those brand strategies fail, money is wasted, opportunities lost. The Studio Pinpoint brand strategy is built from within it builds a brand confidence that is rooted deeply in the organization and reflected in its success in the marketplace.
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Marketing Manager
The Gunlocke Company
(Public Company; 501-1000 employees; hni; Furniture industry)
February 2005 — December 2006 (1 year 11 months)
Marketing: developed strategy, budget and managed team, specific emphasis on media relations and sales channel support
Brand Marketing: lead brand revitalization for this 100-year old company
Strategic Planning: member of management strategic planning team
Product Launch: lead two major product launches both exceeded expectations in terms of brand awareness and sales figures -
Marketing Director
Nienkamper Furniture & Accessories
(Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Furniture industry)
August 2000 — February 2005 (4 years 7 months)
Led development and execution of marketing strategy to expand company’s strongest brand into a ‘family brand’ increasing and maintaining family brand sales at $14 million over a four-year period which included a three-year recession when overall industry sales dropped by 30%.
Designed and implemented internal communications systems resulting in 70% improvement in communications between operations and marketing.
Developed and executed advertising strategies including media buy, creative and copy development. Achieved a 50% reduction in advertising budget that resulted in only a 15% drop in lead generation from print advertising.
Overall role was to strengthen premium brand status in the industry for this $30 million furniture manufacturer and manage marketing team and budget of $2 million. -
Regional Sales Manager
True Colors Direct Retail
(Privately Held; 201-500 employees; Consumer Goods industry)
1999 — 1999 (less than a year)
Achieved top sales person ranking nationally (US) in three weeks with fastest growing retail cosmetic chain in the US in 1999. Managed sales operations on the US West Coast overseeing 70 sales staff and 30 retail locations. Recruited, trained and built teams and motivated staff daily.
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Marketing Manager
Sibson Canada Inc.
(Privately Held; 501-1000 employees; Management Consulting industry)
1994 — 1997 (3 years )
Established first marketing department for this management consulting practice. Instrumental in cross-border marketing efforts with US parent company, initiating marketing programs and activities, increasing proposal success rates in the US and Canada. Coached all senior consultants in relationship marketing and public speaking.
Romana Mirza’s Education
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Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology
Diploma , Business , 1990 — 1993
with High Honours
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University of Waterloo
BA , Philosophy , 1983 — 1987
Focus on Business Ethic and Ancient Greek Philosophy
Additional Information
Romana Mirza’s Websites:
Romana Mirza’s Groups:
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Design Thinking -
Brand & Communications Management
Romana Mirza’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- job inquiries
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
