PETER J. FREY

***** ****** *** ********, ** ***** ac60is@r.postjobfree.com 352-***-****

Visionary and overall business steward with over 25 years of experience defining brand strategy and leading high performing teams.

ROLES

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

SKILLS

Business Unit General Manager

Sr. Marketing Officer / National

VP Marketing & Sales / 3 parks

Brand Management Director

Theme Parks, Foodservice and Agency

Reversed Declining Business

Led Brand Restage

Profitable Product Launches

Developed Leaders

Strengthened Operational Efficiencies

Creative Maven

Culture and Process Catalyst

Talent Amplifier

Financial Steward

Omni Channel Maestro

SEAWORLD PARKS AND ENTERTAINMENT (Orlando, FL), leading theme park and entertainment company; SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Sesame Place, Aquatica and Discovery Cove

2017-Present

(~2 Yrs.)

General Manager, Vice President Discovery Cove

Responsible for driving top/bottom line performance and managing all park functions including Zoological, Park Operations, Culinary, Merchandise, General Services and Security.

Developed long-range goals and objectives, including capital planning and new attractions.

Conducted Revenue Generation Ideation Sessions to create a pipeline of innovation programs to fuel growth.

Launched 6 new interaction and upgrade programs, generating robust media coverage and growing in-park revenue by 45%.

Introduced new labor model that provided flexibility and cross utilization between departments, which delivered lower annualized turnover, maximized our talent and better met today’s business demands.

Delivered industry leading guest satisfaction, achieving 90% overall excellence and 92 Net Promoter Score.

Recognized by TripAdvisor as the #2 Top Rated Theme Park in the World.

2011-2016

(~5 Yrs.)

Senior Marketing Officer, Corporate SVP

Head of domestic and international marketing and sales responsible for seven distinct brands and 12 U.S. theme parks.

Co-authored company’s new vision and CEO’s strategic growth plan, providing a rallying cry for the organization and setting the course for business recovery and attendance growth.

Created highest consumer rated campaign in SeaWorld’s 50-year history, “Real.Amazing”, spotlighting the park’s benefit of not just providing thrills and memories, but delivering meaningful experiences that inspire lives.

Reversed negative perceptions through omni channel brand equity campaigns amplified with social activation and user generated content.

Directed $110M marketing budget and developed marketing investment allocation model based on destination growth potential & CapEx investment.

Evolved marketing plan to address media changes and gaps in consumer journey, by leveraging new technology/DMP to deploy & target engaging messaging.

Led brand strategy development for all new attractions, shows and events, including naming, positioning, key visual, and logo development.

Developed new Sales Incentive and Client Hurdle program, which improved team morale, created individual accountability and increased sales performance. Top 10 domestic resellers +12%, +$8M in first year.

Instituted new labor model and enhanced training at Call Center to improve answer rates and revenue. Total revenue $63M, +$9.8M and a 71% answer rate vs. 63% PY, +1.4M calls answered.

Established strategic pricing framework to drive volume and maximize profitability while providing park flexibility.

Developed consumer-centric strategic framework to provide a reliable, accessible view of an individual guest’s behavior over time, allowing for personalized messaging and offers.

Pioneered e-commerce strategy, which posted significant channel growth from 2011 to 2015 (+$91M, +35%), driven by improved search, email, flash sales, path-to-purchase, cart abandonment, A/B testing and mobile app.

Established internal Creative Services department to service corporate and parks; Over 400 projects completed with an estimated annual savings of over $1M.

2010-2011

(~1 Yrs.)

Vice President of Marketing & Sales, SeaWorld Orlando

Oversaw regional marketing & sales efforts for SeaWorld Orlando, Aquatica and Discovery Cove.

Developed new approach to enhance, create and validate consumer events. Led to a significant improvement in SeaWorld Orlando’s Bands, Brew & BBQ performance: +10% revenue, +5% in attendance.

Revamped consumer direct channel and reseller distribution strategies to growth in-market sales.

Introduced process and criteria for the creation and analysis of admissions products.

DARDEN RESTAURANTS (Orlando, FL), brand management and operations leader within the full-service category.

2007-2010

(~3 Yrs.)

Advertising Marketing Director, Red Lobster

Led multi-functional team (MFT) and agency partners in the planning and execution of marketing plans and communication touch-points in the United States and Canada. Responsible for overall marketing budget ($100MM+).

Redefined Red Lobster’s brand positioning through extensive research including ethnographies and co-creation exercises with target audience, as well as brainstorming sessions with partner agencies.

Developed new Red Lobster logo and validated objectives of strengthening freshness, quality and expertise perceptions.

Led team to develop top scoring TV advertising campaign by moving away from food-centric communication to focus on consumer experiential benefits.

Repositioned signature promotion and achieved highest ever guest count growth and key brand measures.

Transformed in-restaurant materials to support brand pillars, deliver consistent look and drive check average.

Leveraged segmentation analysis, Marketing Mix Analysis and business results to optimize $80MM+ media plan and increase overall reach by 9%.

Evolved communication approach by developed Red Lobster’s first digital and social marketing plan.

Created marketing program to support restaurant remodel initiative, resulting in a 31% increase in guest traffic.

Developed holistic plans in support of media integrations focused on strengthening culinary expertise credentials. Included a 2-year integration with the Food Network’s, The Next Food Network Star.

Created agency annual scope of work and managed profitability projections and developed.

2006-2007

(~1Yrs.)

National Promotions Brand Manager, Red Lobster

Led the development and execution of promotional pipeline including ideation, development, qualification, implementation, tracking and post analysis.

Managed MFT (Ops Excellence, Culinary, Consumer Insights and Finance) in the development and execution of national food promotions and regional tests.

Developed process improvements to strengthen inputs leveraged when developing advertising. Specifically, collaborated with advertising and consumer insights teams to include emotional benefit in briefs and to identify research techniques that captured communications priorities.

Led lunch menu food development and creative redesign to improve margin and value perceptions

2003-2006

(~3 Yrs.)

National & Hispanic Advertising Brand Manager, Olive Garden

Set strategic direction and developed annual communication calendar for both general market and Hispanic advertising.

Led partner agency and direct reports in the development and execution of top scoring TV national advertising campaign resulting in 14 consecutive quarters of sales and guest count growth.

Managed development and evolution of Olive Garden’s Hispanic marketing initiative increasing brand awareness, visit intent and delivering highest ever ROI performance (+600% ROI).

Spearheaded agency compensation evaluation, contract negotiation and development of performance-based fee structure. Resulting in annual savings of $500M and increased productivity.

2001-2003

(~2 Yrs.)

Promotions and Merchandising Brand Manager, Olive Garden

Led the development and execution of promotional pipeline including ideation, development qualification, implementation, tracking and post analysis.

Introduced Stage Gate process to accelerate and guide promotional pipeline development, resulting in a top scoring promotional idea that reversed 9-month declining trend and drove a 7% increase in guest counts.

Collaborated with strategic innovation agency to create a sustainable promotion pipeline. As a result, the team developed and qualitatively validated 25+ concepts that delivered stronger emotional benefits and visit intent.

Coached direct report in developing in-restaurant merchandising strategy and promotional materials. As a result, the brand obtained unprecedented interest in new menu items, sales and operating profit.

Introduced Olive Garden’s first ever CPG salad dressing product available in restaurants, increasing sales by 80%.

1999-2001

(~2 Yrs.)

Media Brand Manager, Olive Garden

Led all phases of media management, including planning and negotiations of the media buy, contract review, launch, maintenance, reporting, and analysis and optimization.

Led strategic media partnerships, most notably creating the inaugural Food Network “Olive Garden Culinary Sweepstakes to Tuscany” supported by a media and in-restaurant marketing program.

Managed Olive Garden’s marketing budget ($100M+).

Collaborated with cost management team to drive savings of $10M, maintaining guest/operator experience.

1996-1999

(~4 Yrs.)

Local Marketing Brand Manager, Olive Garden

Worked with operations team in developing divisional marketing plans.

Launched Neighborhood Marketing initiative, which provided restaurants with commonly themed marketing programs, resulting in increased guest counts, sales and community involvement.

Developed market-specific programs in top BDI markets resulting in an estimated $2M in additional profit.

SAATCH & SAATCHI ADVERTISING (New York, NY), leading global communications and advertising agency

1993-1996

(~3 Yrs.)

Media Planning Supervisor, CPG Brands

Led media planning team in the development and execution of key client’s integrated media plans for a portfolio of 8 clients including Honey Nut Cheerios, Total Corn Flakes, Johnson & Johnson Stayfree, Dupont, Glaxo/Imitrex, Merck/Heartgard and Tyson Foods.

EDUCATION

2007

Master’s in Business Administration, STETSON UNIVERSITY

1993

Bachelor of Science in Advertising & Communication, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

RECOGNITION & CONTINUED EDUCATION

Brand USA Branding Committee member (2014 to present)

Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission Marketing advisor (2014 to present)

Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park - 2007, Napa Valley - 2009)

Essentials of Marketing at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania (2006)

Leadership Excellence (ELE) program, Rollins College (2005)

Darden Brilliance Award Recipient (2004)

Newsweek’s Top 100 Media Stars of the Future Award Recipient (1995)

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