Gaspard
Brand leadership, product launches, and ecommerce across a portfolio of apparel brands.
Gaspard is a Winnipeg graduation gown company with a wider portfolio of academic, legal, and religious apparel brands across Canada, the U.S., and Puerto Rico. As Director of Marketing and Ecommerce, I was responsible for brand strategy, art direction, marketing, product launches, websites, and ecommerce across the portfolio. I continued developing the Gaspard brand and worked on Artneedle, Academus, and De Lavoy.
- Role
- Director of Marketing & Ecommerce
- Year
- 2010 to 2013
- Industry
- Academic, Legal & Religious Apparel
Highlights
- 01Member of the senior leadership team, reporting to the CEO
- 02Online revenue up 35% and sales from existing customers up 10%
- 03Brand management and art direction across the portfolio
- 04De Lavoy rebranded as premium custom legal regalia
- 05Academus named and built by me, then launched in the U.S.
- 06Build-A-Grad brought in-house, with regalia ordering moved online
Brand Leadership
Different audiences, distinct brand stories.
The portfolio served academic, legal, and religious customers across several markets. I managed brand strategy, marketing projects, and art direction, working with internal teams and external suppliers on websites, print materials, and trade show presentations.
I continued developing the Gaspard brand, worked on Artneedle, rebranded De Lavoy around premium custom legal regalia, and built out Academus for the U.S. disposable graduation regalia market. Each offering needed a distinct identity and a presentation suited to its buyers.
Digital Commerce
Supporting customers from planning to ordering.
I led website development across the portfolio, including a catalogue site at Academus.com to support U.S. sales. My work also included Gaspard.ca and Artneedle.com, along with Build-A-Grad, a graduation planning application integrated with the company's legacy AS400 systems, which I brought in-house after a stalled vendor project. Moving the order process online grew online revenue 35% over the prior platform and increased sales from existing customers 10%.
That work combined business analysis, user experience design, and project management with the practical needs of graduation coordinators and the teams supporting them.