Molly McDonald

Product development manager & designer for the Opry Entertainment Group division of RHP. My accounts are the two largest, Grand Ole Opry and Ole Red (4 locations).
-Product design: design, develop & source products relevant to our unique experience venues including graphics, gift items, souvenirs, drinkware, and kids items.
-Creative direction: develop creative briefs seasonally for vendors to reference for design inspiration and submits.
-Prototyping: coordinate, oversee, and maintain timelines for prototyping all potential items for the venues; present to buying team a full walk-through presentation of all potential items for selection.
-Communication: create and maintain the WIP and visual development guides for all departments reference during the development process. Update line sheets with selections and their SKUs, pricing, and vendor information upon completion.
-Analytics: evaluate sales performance as a new item and compared to existing products to determine successes, failures, and future development opportunities.
-Collaboration: work alongside buying to design and develop in to specific gaps in the lines; work with marketing to determine special items and apparel we could develop to sit in-line with an upcoming event or campaign plan.
-Training: wrote, recorded, edited & produced episodes of training videos for the store associates. These videos included a live model with call-outs on sizing, special features, selling points, and other important topics so the team was confident in their ability to answer all guest questions and deliver an exceptional experience.
ADDITIONAL PROJECTS
-Dolly Parton 50th Anniversary Graphic: created a custom, hand-painted portrait of Dolly to commemorate her 50th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member. The graphic was highlighted in press conferences and was produced on shirts, patches, and koozies for our shop.

Brand development/project management for our company's two largest clients. I currently do the following in this role:
-Develop customized methods of brand development for each client to maximize efficiency and profits.
-Work alongside marketing to create the most effective advertising strategies developed from market research and analysis.
-Arrange all production logistics for a wide range of products, as well as final delivery of goods to meet deadlines and live events.
-Source effectively to keep costs of goods in budget. Track spending and profits.

In previous role at A3, I was assigned a small startup brand in addition to the largest account. I took the reigns and created the following:
-Organization of strategic product introduction schedule.
-Art direction for creative development to define the brand and increase recognition of logo marks.
-Increased web presence through more diverse and targeted product, and as a result, drastically increasing sales numbers.
-Designed a pop-up store and implemented it in December 2016.

Lead designer and brand manager of private labels for southern-based specialty retailer.
-Conduct market research for fashion trends, color projections, and potential markets.
-For each brand, create logo, brand identity package, technical packages and specs for all cut and sew custom garments, design graphics for hang-tags and woven labels.
-Produce fine art to use on t-shirts and marketing materials. Designed graphics and layout of catalogs.
-Design and direct all studio photos as well as on-site lifestyle photography; performed final editing for use in marketing materials, website, and catalogs.
-Develop social media plans for all lines as well as post on and manage the accounts to create the voice of each brand.