Edward Kenney

Metuchen, New Jersey 08840 M: (908) 599-5336 / H: (732) 321- 0516

edwardpaulkenney@hotmail.com LinkedIn: Edward Kenney

P R O F I L E Consumer insights/planning and marketing research professional with extensive experience in brand strategy & communication, thought leadership and its business application

Effectively translates learnings & observations into powerful insights, stories & strategic brand recommendations for marketing & management to meet and/or exceed business growth targets

Detailed knowledge and understanding of brand positioning; brand architecture; concept & ad campaign testing; innovation development; digital communities; product naming; ethnographies; syndicated research; segmentation studies; consumer & shopper analytics; equity tracking; etc.

Extensive work across a breadth of quantitative & qualitative research in financial services,

consumer packaged goods, spirits & wines, pharmaceuticals, communications, etc.

People management dedicated to mentorship & development for personal/corporate success

Certified in Google Analytics and candidate for Digital Analytics certificate from NYU Stern

E X P E R I EN C E Ci t i N e w Y o r k , N Y

G l o b a l R e s e a r c h & I n s i g h t s D i r e c t o r C o n s u l t a n t 2 0 1 4 – P r e s e n t

Analyze results of Citi's on-going global equity tracker encompassing 15 major markets across both consumer and commercial segments. Provide executive summaries on Citi's performance relative to global and market-specific competitors by segment, with deep-dives addressing business issues.

Leveraged Citi's online community to inform global sponsorship strategy by identifying consumer interest areas to be leveraged globally/regionally in building brand, business & corporate relations.

Conducted key analysis of segmentation target, Progress Makers, to understand the markets and communications that represent best opportunities for Citi in their business development efforts.

D iageo N e w Y o r k , N Y

C o n s u m e r P l a n n i n g & R e s e a r c h D i r e c t o r 2 0 1 0 – 2 0 1 4 Brand team strategy & research lead for Tequila portfolio (Jose Cuervo and Don Julio), providing consumer insights and marketing recommendations; oversaw $800K annual budget . More recently, planning lead for whiskey portfolio (i.e., Crown Royal, Bulleit, Johnnie Walker, etc.)

Created Diageo’s first on-line consumer community of 300 Jose Cuervo brand-advocates for on-going discussions and Q&A. Generated immediate results leveraged by Marketing Team for concepts, program development, print ad / video refinement, etc. with measurable results. -- Received recognition by Executive Leadership Team & Diageo’s ‘FaceTime’ Award as a result.

Led exploration and detailed study for Jose Cuervo on challenges facing specific variants among waning core audience of ages 30+. Identified motivating elements of heritage and authenticity that would trigger brand reappraisal & advocacy which informed agency briefings.

Evolved Crown Royal’s successful “Reign On” campaign via consumer ethnographies around the ‘modern day king,’ and brand choice motivations. TV ad garnered stronger testing scores than competitive norms, and superior efficacy & efficiency in volume contribution within media mix.

Drove luxury thinking for Marketing Department by creating “Living Luxury” presentation module with agency partner. Brought Diageo on-board as member of Luxury Marketing Council.

Edward Kenney

Tapped by CMO to play an additional role as Don Julio’s Global Marketing Manager, guiding fledgling global markets in positioning Don Julio as premier ultra-premium tequila. Reviewed and approved marketing plans by global regions, and recommended distribution of funds to markets.

Authored executive report entitled “Accessible Luxury” for our Global CEO to frame size of prize in the luxury tier for Diageo ‘Reserve’ brands, with recommendations on consumer targets and future fiscal benchmarks.

Refined direction of Cuervo TV ads featuring Especial Silver via testing & guidance. Variant was the most successful spirits innovation having achieved a half-million annual cases after two years.

Wrote the advertising communication headlines for multiple print ad executions launched for both Jose Cuervo and Don Julio drawing upon consumer insights. Ads included the first-ever for luxury brand, Don Julio 1942. 1942 achieved 50% volume growth vs. prior year.

Co-created 5-year strategic plan with Don Julio brand team based on brand / competitor analysis, projected category and price tier growth, evolving demographics, as well as identification of key target markets. Delivered strategic roadmap to accelerate the brand’s category leadership.

Utilized TURF analysis to prove the value of Jose Cuervo variants in national restaurant chains based on quantified incremental revenue contribution and the retention of chain customers. Succeeded in retaining brand at six national chains and addition to Applebee cocktail menu.

LVMH N e w Y o r k , N Y

C o n s u m e r I n s i g h t s D i r e c t o r a t M o e t H e n n e s s y U S A 2 0 0 5 - 2 0 1 0 Brand-assigned consumer research specialist across all MHUSA spirits & wine brands

Provided consumer insights to launch new cognac marque, "Hennessy Black". Qualitative research organized included product tasting, packaging considerations, and brand-marque name and positioning. Successful reception and consumer feedback expedited successful launch.

Conducted $750K cross-portfolio consumer segmentation and A&U that addressed key issues for portfolio of MHUSA spirits and sparkling/champagne brands. Collaborated with each brand leader in providing strategic input and recommendations for their teams and their Maisons.

Spearheaded development of brand platform for Lapostolle Wine of Chile, working directly with the team including brand-owner Alexandra Marnier-Lapostolle, descendent of Grand Marnier founder. Assisted in the creation of brand positioning, brand essence, target consumer understanding tool and tactical expressions for Lapostolle Wine.

Conducted packaging research for Belvedere macerated (flavors) that led to the successful launch of a new macerated flavor, Black Raspberry, the first in over ten years, in April 2009.

Appointed to task force with second-in-command Exec VP and the COO to explore new

acquisitions providing research on category/brand potentials as well as investigation of non-traditional opportunities.

In terpubl ic Group N e w Y o r k , N Y

As s o c i a t e R e s e a r c h D i r e c t o r a t D r a f t F C B 2 0 0 3 – 2 0 0 5

Strategic planner and researcher dedicated to $30 million Bank of America consumer business and ad hoc clients & business development

Organized Bank of America "Immersion Tour" banking center audits, highlighting strengths & weaknesses of current sales process & POS materials. Yielded actionable input for bank comms.

Edward Kenney

Conducted major attitudinal study with cluster segmentation of Bank’s Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) customers to determine mindset and motivations for use or non-use. Results utilized in creation of targeted direct mailings that significantly increased HELOC usage over control for specific segments that proved the most profitable.

Conducted trial and repeat study for J&J o.b. line extension Silk Ease for fall of 2004 DRTV and

magazine launches. Findings guided marketing efforts and allowed successful addition of product to J&J o.b. family.

WPP N e w Y o r k , N Y

B r a n d I d e n t i t y S p e c i a l i s t f o r En t e r p r i s e I G 1 9 9 8 – 2 0 0 3

Senior Program Director 2000 – 2003; Program Director 1998 -1999 Researcher and strategist for range of services including brand architecture, positioning, concept

development, brand essence/personality development, corporate/product naming, etc. Clients included Bank of America, Motorola, Pfizer, Wyeth, Northwestern Mutual, Boys Town,

Johnson & Johnson, Museum of Natural History, Merck, Ford, Qwest, DuPont, US Surgical

Conducted global research for Bank of America at the time of its merger with NationsBank to

determine name and identity for newly formed entity among customers in consumer and commercial global segments.

Headed research for Naming Practice at Enterprise IG, with specialty in pharmaceutical. Developed proprietary methodology to test proposed product names among physicians and pharmacists, increasing success of securing trademark.

Personally created business names and taglines for several companies including Motorola, US

Surgical and Boys Town, while assisting with others in creative name development process for various clients.

Nielsen N e w Y o r k , N Y

C l i e n t & An a l y t i c Se r v i c e s M a n a g e m e n t 1 9 9 3 – 1 9 9 8

Account Executive 1996-1998; Senior Associate 1994-1996; Account Associate 1993-1994 Household Panel expert & syndicated data specialist identifying/addressing client business issues

Clients included Philip Morris, Wise Snack Foods, Avon Products, and De Cecco Pasta

E D U C AT I O N MBA - Rensselaer - Troy NY Marketing/Finance Concentrations Bachelor of Science - SUNY Binghamton Concentration in Finance

Certificate of Digital Analytics & Social Media Candidate - 2015 - NYU Stern School of Business

S O F TW AR E Highly proficient in PowerPoint, Excel, Word, SPSS, SQL, Google Analytics (certified), and IRI & Nielsen platforms

I N T E R E ST S Skiing, Cinema, Portrait Artist, Creative Writing; Author of published children's story; Cover

designer of published novel; Illustrator/writer for 50th anniversary re-launch of Bazooka bubble gum comics and interviewed in televised segment of Food Network’s ‘Unwrapped’ series

Member of Luxury Marketing Council of NYC