Stephen LaRoche (401) 594-6056

To whom it may concern:

I have been developing my skills in the sales, marketing, and experiential marketing

fields for over ten years. This experience extends to retail merchandising and

audits/mystery shopping. I also have experience related to these fields. For example I

have set up large and complex footprints, managed storage units, and acted a driver both

for the purpose of delivering materials and for promotions that require experience with

large vehicles that don’t require a CDL. I have worked alone on footprints, on routes and

as part of a team. I do have experience in large team management, individual training,

and general marketing manager experience (canvassing/lead generation at stores). I’m

able to step outside my comfort zone and remain comfortable and professional regardless

of the setting. While reading over my qualifications you will see that my resume is

organized so that each type of work experience begins with its own page and that many

of the dates will overlap. I have added photos to evidence my participation and to help

show the context of my past working roles. Please consider the following list of personal

characteristics, which have provided me with proven success in endeavors requiring a

similar skill set.

● Personal integrity in matters of ethical conduct as well as social etiquette.

● Truly compassionate and personable in my interactions with fellow

employees, employers, customers, friends and family.

● Naturally independent as a thinker and worker.

● Intelligent and creative in my approach to problem solving.

● Willing to follow directions and able to act as a leader.

● Internal motivation to earn the respect of my peers, superiors, and customers.

● Effective in my relationship building skills.

I appreciate your timely consideration and look forward to the opportunity to work

together for our mutual success.

Sincerely,

Stephen LaRoche

2180 Tower Hill Rd Saunderstown, Rhode Island 02874 stephen_laroche@yahoo.com

Stephen LaRoche

2180 Tower Hill Rd (401) 594-6056

Saunderstown, Rhode Island 02874 stephen_laroche@yahoo.com

March 2019

(Profile: Face)

March 2019 (Profile: Full)

Profile: Highly experienced sales and marketing professional cross-trained between

several different types of industries and a wide variety of customers of every SES status.

Possessed of a language oriented education and a natural sense of ethics and etiquette and

recognized by previous employers as possessing talent as a negotiator, naturally striving

to develop positive relationships with clients as well as employers.

Experienced in the following functions:

1. Direct sales

2. Lead generation

3. Guerrilla marketing

4. Food/Alcohol sampling (Currently have Etips and can renew ServSafe on request)

5. Audits/Mystery shops

6. Merchandising

For the reference of my interviewer, I have listed dates for two employers I spent a

significant amount of time working with recently. Due to the per project basis of most

experiential marketing jobs and mystery shops you will find a separate section for each of

these. I have also included drop box links to demo videos I made for one of my favorite

clients. Note that the dates of these activations, audits, and shops will in some cases

overlap with the dates of my employment. These sections will include highlights with

dated photos included and numerous clients but will not be an exhaustive list of every

client, shop, and activation.

Description of Relevant Experience

Logistics Coordinator/Sales Representative ( 11/18/2017-1/1/2019)

Geometry Global

Worked with the client Jim Beam on a variety of promotional

activations.

Working with Shell on the Fuel Rewards Program.

Duties included

1. Setup and breakdown of (sometimes) complex displays

2. Developing strong rapport with store management and

negotiating for footprint placement.

3. Spending time learning about each client and the products

that they offer so I can convey that understanding to the

consumer. Some of the training was simple. Some products,

such as those falling under Jim Beam’s Knob Creek, were

very complex due to customers being deeply interested in

the history of the product and the process by which it is

made.

4. Training and advising staff. This applied in the Shell

promotion to the store employees. In addition to training we

were encouraged to develop positive rapport for the purpose

of influencing store employees to continue to promote the

Fuel Rewards program in my absence.

5. Acting as a point of contact for promotional representatives

to answer questions and coordinate with them to provide the

materials they needed to succeed. Frequently the company

felt that directly delivering goods to representatives was

more cost effective than using shipping services. A

significant amount of time and skill was used to coordinate

meeting up with representatives for this reason.

6. Managing company storage units. There were up to 3 at

some point. I transformed these into clean and organized

spaces (they did not start off this way!) and worked with the

promotions company to purchase more cost effective and

necessary space as needed. I received materials occasionally

and would make sure that organization remained intact

between shipments. Everything was counted and materials

were displayed such that the casual observer could find what

they are searching for at a glance.

7. Shipping materials out to Representatives or storage units in

other spaces. This aspect of the position was very physically

demanding and often extremely time sensitive. More than a

few times I found myself at the 24-hour Fedex past midnight

figuring out the most cost effective way to ship out items

both large and difficult to physically transport even with the

correct tools.

Retail Merchandising Representative -Client: Google

Premium Retail Services (Sept 2014-Sept 2016) ● Learned to develop positive long term relationships with store managers of

Walmart, Best Buy, and Staples throughout CT, MA, and RI

● Gained skills in not only persuading customers but also teaching them new

skills that would allow them to understand, use, and ultimately purchase

Google products

● Learned to Co-ordinate with a large retail merchandising team spanning

the entire country during the execution of the Google program.

● I worked with each location to ensure Google product would be familiar

with the staff, stocked in all locations, and placed on display in accordance

with contractual standards between the client and the retail locations I

served.

● Accurately performed all paperwork and reporting in a timely manner.

● Worked independently to execute program goals for 2 years in all target

locations.

Independent Contractor-Experiential Marketing (June 2013-Present)

Note: For those unfamiliar with the Brand Ambassador job role, these positions are

worked on a per project basis. Please ask for details on my most recent events. Because

there are so many companies to

● Gained experience in the setup, breakdown, and how to properly conduct a

promotion as well as distribute premiums

● I have worked in a management/supervisory capacity as a Marketing

Manager, Lead BA, and Logistics Coordinator.

Devon (experienced fellow BA)

609 369 0469

Eli (Friend-character reference)-

5094498753

Following are some snapshots of promotional/experiential marketing projects dated for

your convenience.

Sub Categories: Direct Sales, Sampling. These promotions required an E-Tips

certification which I currently have. Duties also included memorizing tasting notes and

providing product information. I provided my own table, table cloth, bucket, Ice bucket,

Ice, bottle opener, and cups. These are items I tend to have for such occasions.

Dark Horse Display 3-21-19.

Sub Categories: Lead Generation.

This was a straightforward promotion to generate leads for a referral program. Work was

completed from an in-store footprint.

Sprint Team Pic 2-8-2019.

Sub Categories: Direct Sales, Sampling, Logistics, Specialized training.

Jim Beam Suntory required a special course to be completed due to the potential danger

of working with Hot Wax. We dipped glasses, bottles, and (on one occasion) baseballs

for consumers to promote the brand. PPE was required. This was a sampling event that

required ETips certification and memorizing/relaying product notes. I was responsible for

keeping track of, maintaining, and transporting materials from location to location. I also

coordinated with store management the placement and setup to optimize for traffic,

safety, and efficiency. This 1st photo contains a plain and unbranded table though

sometimes we worked with a custom designed and built footprint requiring assembly and

special accommodation for transportation weighing (in pieces) about 200lbs. The 2nd

photo is a display for Jim Beam Suntory’s brand Sipsmith. In addition to aspects the

promotions had in common Sipsmith required the correct measurement and serving of

mixed drinks, use of knives to hand cut fruit, and extra measures to successfully complete

each shift including trips to the local florist before each event to purchase real white

roses for the display. The display weighed over 100lbs with the carrying case though it

was relatively simple to set up.

Makers Mark Dipping 12-16-2018.

SipSmith checkin 12-8-2018.

SipSmith Selfie 11-3-2018.

Sub Categories: Sampling, Direct Sales.

Execution of these was about the same as other wine demos.

William Hill 11-2-2018.

SubCategories: Large event, logistics

This was another event for Jim Beam Suntory where I transported materials and

performed setup and breakdown. The client requested that the sampling staff be female so

I did not work during the execution.

Knob Creek Face 11-1-2018

SubCategories: Sampling, Direct Sales

As you can see from the dates often two or more programs run concurrently. In this case I

was sampling flavors of JD but not the core product.

JD Honey and Fire 10-20-2018

SubCategories: Sampling, Direct Sales.

Execution of these was similar to other premixed products.

Betini 9-21-2018.

Sub Categories: Sampling, Direct Sales

Execution of these events was similar to other alcohol sampling events. The red tag

indicates that Slane is actually a product of Ireland.

Slane check in 9-13-2018.

SubCategories: Sampling, Direct Sales.

Execution of these events was similar to other alcohol sampling events. The interesting

aspect of this event for me was the relaxed attire requested and the promotion involving

donating a percent of proceeds to hurricane Maria victims.

Cruzan 9-1-2018.

SubCategories: Sampling, Direct Sales.

Execution of these events was similar to other alcohol sampling events.

Dark Horse checkin 9-1-2018

SubCategories: Sampling, Direct Sales.

Jack Daniels regularly promotes various flavored varieties in my area as well as the core

product.

JD Honey 8-4-2018.

SubCategories: Sampling, Direct Sales.

I was mixing Kir Royale for customers which associates the champagne with France

despite this being Californian. I think the idea was to make the product look fancier.

Champagne Chambord Customers 8-3-2018.

Champagne Chambord 8-3-2018

SubCategories: Sampling, Direct Sales.

This is one of many food demos I worked with in Whole Foods and similar organic

themed grocery locations. Generally these companies have a product that is slightly more

expensive and my primary job was to memorize all of the product information (which can

be rather in-depth). Shoppers at these locations care about how products are sourced,

made, packaged, etc so product training was of the utmost importance.

Biena Display 7-31-2018.

SubCategories: Sampling, Direct Sales.

Execution of these events was similar to other alcohol sampling events. This product was

very difficult for me because I don’t like tequila and find it hard to present the selling

points of products I myself would not purchase.

Camarena check in 7-20-2018

Sub Categories: Large Event, technology, lead generation.

As part of their marketing efforts, the U.S. Air Force attends the air shows every year in

places all around the country. This event featured a supercar, a video-game like

challenge, and a VR skydive simulation. These last two were based out of a trailer. Duties

included helping customers with registration (information capture lead generation) as

well as the technology involved in the game and VR skydive simulation. This was a large

event so typical challenges involve timing in regards to traffic, parking and

finding/staying with the team.

Airforce VR skydive 6-10-2018.

SubCategories: Sampling, Direct Sales.

Social wine is an interesting product. Made with wine from rice (kind of like sake),

Social wine was one of the first successful wine-in-a can products to overcome the

packaging stigma to join the ranks of popularized items like the various alcoholic seltzers

which have recently become popular.

Social Wine 5-25-2018.

Sub Categories: Guerrilla marketing, Sign Spinning, Executes regardless of weather.

Just like it sounds, sign spinning requires not being afraid of being a spectacle someplace

where you are not necessarily expected to be. Part of the job is constantly moving and

showing up regardless of conditions. I worked in the sleet/rain and during times when

temperatures were sometimes around freezing.

Jackson Hewitt Sign spinner 4-8-2018

Sprint sign spinner 4-7-2018

Sub Categories: Sampling, Direct Sales, Cooking.

This is an example of a promotion that required me to bring and use my own skillet,

thermometer, knife, cutting board,Table, plates, table cloth, gloves, hat, and extension

cord. I balanced cooking, serving, and direct sales for this demo. When we go to a

grocery store it is easy to take for granted the difference in difficulty between demos

requiring cooking and preparation and those that don’t!

Cooking promo 3-18-2018

Sub Categories: Large Event, Technology, Crowd management.

This is one of my favorite annual events as I myself am a hardcore gamer and Pax East is

all about the newest and most popular games as well as the associated culture. This was a

large event requiring planning to time travel, parking, and coordination with a large

team. Bethesda was promoting a few products. At the forefront of these was a new doom

game to bring the nostalgic series to the 21st century. I worked in a few capacities the

most difficult of which was managing the line that formed to play said game. Shirts were

given out to those exiting the rather large indoor footprint and keeping enthusiastic

gamers from taking them prematurely or circumventing the line by entering close to the

exit was not easy. The 1st photo below was on of those shared by the company itself

online during the event through a few social mediums.

Pax East 4-22-2016

Pax East 4-22-2016

Sub Categories: Lead Generation.

This was a very straightforward lead generation campaign. The theory behind these is

generally to ask every single person who might be a home owner. It gets tedious fast and

requires steadfast PMA and the mental fortitude to handle constant rejection.

Generac Lead Gen 9-28-2014

Sub Categories: Lead Generation, Large Events, Management.

I was not the mascot below but managing the events for Cox Communications. I worked

with event organizers to find prime locations for traffic, trained employees on tablets and

lead generation, worked setup and breakdown for large and small footprints and

otherwise represented Cox at events throughout 2014. Other duties included managing

premiums, footprint setup materials, tablets, and other event materials. That is me in the

3rd

picture, promoting season 2 of Game of Thrones.

Cox Mascot 7-20-2014

Cox Contour 7-12-2014

Cox game of thrones S2 6-14-2014

Sub Categories: Sampling, Direct Sales

Eppa was one of the first products I sampled for a distributer. The product was

inexpensive and the light flavor appealed to a large, diverse and young audience.

Eppa 6-27-2014

The history channel was promoting at an event for motorcyclists at Weirs Beach in NH

for this promotion. I managed a small Team of brand ambassadors for this event as a lead

brand ambassador.

History Channel weirs beach 6-21-2014

Categories: Mascot.

I’m Tony the Tiger in this picture. Being 6ft3in I’m too tall for most outfits but was able

to manage this.

Mascot2 4-13-2014

Mascot1 4-13-2014

Categories: Demonstration, Lead Generation.

Roxul is one of my favorite products to this day. I traveled all over RI, CT, and MA to

promote Roxul as far south as almost New York and as far north as nearly Canada (which

is where this product comes from. Instead of explaining I encourage you to check out the

videos I made for this product. The videos were not required and I made them because I

was enthusiastic to show everyone how I work in the field.

Roxul Display 1 3-26-2014

Roxul Display 2 1-28-2014

Categories: Facepainting, sampling

As you can see I’m not a very good face painter but the girl in the photo was very happy

with the result.

Kellogs 1-24-2014

Categories: Sampling, Management, ServSafe

When Walmart first made the transition to a store that sells both groceries they hired

marketing services to assist with Grand Re-Opening events all around the country in key

locations around the country. A small team of 30 some odd people (including myself)

were flown to Dallas to train to run these events. I passed ServSafe (management level)

so I would be able to safely and effectively oversee the aspect of these promotions in the

north east involving cooking, cutting, and sampling steak to consumers outside of Wal-

Mart locations. We would also be distributing a wide variety of premiums from Proctor

and Gamble and the Wal-Mart bakery department. Additionally we set meet and greets

on Sundays to introduce the pharmacy management to new prospective customers.

Standards were extremely rigid. For every event I executed I had to use a company card

to purchase brand new propane tanks, cutting boards, Utensils, napkins, hotdogs, steak,

condiments etc. I kept many of the materials necessary to execute these events at home

and rented a van to transport them from store to store. I was also responsible for hiring,

managing, training, and overseeing a group of about 10 brand ambassadors for events

executing throughout the year.

Pampers(Proctor-Gamble)11-24-2013

Walmart giveaway table 11-24-2013

Walmart Sampling 11-2-2013

Walmart Sampling 11-2-2013

Walmart Sampling 11-2-2013

Steak AD before price Walmart 11-2-2013

Please see the following dropbox video links to get an idea of how I pitch Roxul and

handle some of the most common objections I receive:

Roxul video links (Copy and paste into your browser to view)

Roxul Walkthrough: https://db.tt/CScvkWnr

Rebuttals

Is Roxul expensive:

https://www.dropbox.com/home?preview=VID_20140317_180149+(3).mp4

What’s the binding agent?: https://db.tt/xLlzoDBu

Is Roxul always unfaced?: https://db.tt/ufIn9f5i

How long has Roxul been around: https://db.tt/UE0hyuCQ

Where can I find Roxul in the stores? https://db.tt/6sJWnQVu

The following are some images of my mystery shopping/audit experience. The

companies offering the shops are kept confidential because so I can maintain my ongoing

contractual obligations. There are a few services that are difficult to efficiently show

images of. In addition to these clients, for mystery shops I have completed assignments

for the following clients: TGIF

Pandora- I purchased a bracelet. The idea was to evaluate customer service and selling

skills

Cubesmart-This assignment involves touring the grounds of the facility and making sure

there is nothing wrong physically. There is also an evaluation of selling skills and

customer service.

Town Faire Tire-This assignment is another evaluation of selling skills and customer

service

Aroogas-This evaluation is a lot like Texas Roadhouse. The survey asks about

cleanliness, uniforms, friendliness, food quality, atmosphere, management, timing, etc.

Applebees- These assignments were primarily to judge the efficacy of the new takeout

service being offered known as ‘carside’. They were relatively simple assignments.

Etc-1. Of course there are other shops that are hard to keep track of. Mystery shopping

companies change platforms and names frequently and sometimes vanish completely

making the information hard to track down unless I do it right away. These days I try to

keep records as I go.

2. I frequently use online platforms and services to supplement my income by performing

even smaller shops and audits. Following are some of these platforms which are separate

from the work I’ve already mentioned.

A. Survey.com

B. Field Agent

C. Observa

D. Gigwalk

Freelance Merchandising

Over the years I have worked primarily with 3 companies offering

freelance merchandising work.

1. Set and Service Resources-The main drawback here is that many

of the projects take place overnight so integrating the work with a

normal schedule is difficult. I have completed both light and heavy

merchandising work. Heavy merchandising involves tools, PPE,

lifting beams and heavy objects, and a more in depth knowledge of

planograms and fixtures.

2. RMSI- Very similar to Set and Service Resources. The main

project I worked from RMSI involved replacing price tags

throughout several Shaws locations.

3. Natural Insight-I am not sure if natural insight is around

anymore. Their projects were very small and normally involved

doing things like updating gift card displays.

Focus Groups

I would say that I participate in focus groups infrequently and have

only recently discovered these opportunities. So far I have

evaluated a new product from Hood and attended two other groups

that overbooked but still paid me for my time. I’ve learned that

some studies last only a couple hours and others for multiple days.

They typically pay with a gift card. I have a profile with every

company offering them in my area. You can find out what is going

on anywhere in the country from here: https://focusgroups.org/

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