Rachel Carafotes

Rachel Carafotes

After graduating from SCSU, New Haven, CT, right before the severe economic downturn, I was fortunate to get a fulltime opportunity. At the time I was a personal trainer and had a strong client base; however I desired to use the knowledge I attained in my degree, BS in Business Management. I accepted an entry-level position to manage various fundraising and consumer publication lists at Direct Media, Greenwich, CT. Some of the direct response lists I managed were for very prestigious clients (March of Dimes, Covenant House, American Kennel Club, and Discover Magazine). I also managed a compiled list, Touchpoint; a new type of database that had accumulated survey data from social mediums & other online survey applications.

While I gained great work experience and grew my network over the 4 years of 9-5 office work; I felt as if I was tied down to the day-to-day mundane customer service tasks. It was time to make a change, get out of the corporate scene and work for a startup, TheMap NYC. In this position I am able to fulfill full-service direct and digital marketing management. The main objective is to sell print and online ads. I enjoy personal selling and face-to-face meetings with high-end retail clients in Manhattan and SOHO, NY. I also get the independence to create online acquisition and retention campaigns. After conducting extensive market research I have persuaded the founder of the two sided market idea. I than was granted funding to launch a social media campaign, to secure a tourist fan base and have focused on direct and e-mail marketing for the merchants. The flexibility in this sales job has allotted time to go back to school and pursue an MBA with a concentration in Marketing.

I hold very high expectations and can foresee myself in a leadership position in ten years from now. Currently I am learning tricks to create a multi-channel campaign; mostly for my blog: www.HealthyorNot2020.wordpress.com. From the long-term relationships I have built in the past 6 years, I understand niche small businesses are vulnerable in the current turbulent society. With an integrated marketing communication campaign HealthyOrNot will withstand commoditization in the global market space. I am creating a unique marketing strategy; looking beyond traditional media. My strategy is to embrace the new mobile trend, send customized messages to reach customers from various channels and embark on new ways to measure the customer experience.