Charmaine Du Plessis

To whom it may concern,

My name is Charmaine, and I am a marketing and brand professional with over nine years of experience with experience in the education sector. I was a Senior Account Manager for Accelerate Property Fund with a focus on the Fourways node when I worked at an agency looking after the company's reputation, brand image, and marketing initiatives with the objective of generating awareness and increasing footfall to the various shopping centres.

I hold a BA in Humanities with majors in Communications, English, Linguistics, and French. In my current role as Marketing and Business Development Manager at Top Vending, I am responsible for creating and implementing an effective strategy to generate leads and increase brand awareness in the food and beverage space. It is also required of me to ensure a positive brand image with internal and external stakeholders through communication strategies. You will notice that I haven’t been in this role for long but I am more than happy to discuss my reasons for wanting to leave in a telephone call if you feel I am a suitable fit for this position. 

Previously I worked at Avanti Coffee Company as the Brand and Business Development Manager. Here I was responsible for managing a complete rebrand from a more corporate look and feel to a brand that would resonate with the end-user. While still a Business-to-business brand, we needed to make the brand was more appealing and attractive to the consumer in corporate office parks, hotels, and restaurants. In addition, I was responsible for creating and implementing a brand strategy for the company. This included redoing the company website, introducing an online store, and developing a social media strategy, all of which contributed to the increase in brand presence and sales. I was also in charge of putting all the marketing material together needed for the sales team including brochures, the company profile, and promotional collateral. I also managed and executed all product photography, lifestyle shoots, and training video material. I did this from brief to completion. 

At Avanti, I also acted as a key account manager to the businesses’ top four accounts including Tsogo Sun, Bidvest, Tsebo, and Krispy Kreme. These relationships were a fundamental part of my role and I nurtured these at an executive level ensuring we were delivering on our commitment to understand and plug into their business requirements. 

Prior to working at Avanti, I worked at three well-established PR and Communications agencies working on some leading international and local brands including Mastercard, Lego, Unilever, Philips, Sony, By Word of Mouth, Accelerate Property Fund, and The Capital Hotels and Apartments to name a few. Here I amassed critical experience in the planning and implementation of an effective brand and communications strategy with the objective of making a positive impact on the bottom line. I also learned how to execute successful influencer campaigns and ensured a positive brand image for all my clients by developing relationships with media and pitching newsworthy content for their readers. A fundamental part of my role was to ensure a positive image for my clients by building trust and credibility with their desired target audience. 

I am passionate about formulating and executing a strong brand strategy that speaks to a business’s imperatives while ensuring a consistent brand experience. To me, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing business growth through effective and creative marketing. 

Thank you for taking the time to consider my application. 

Kind regards,

Charmaine 

I started my career in communications and public relations working at three reputable South African agencies. Here I amassed critical experience in brand strategy, reputation management, marketing practices, and BTL skills.  Wanting to get behind one brand, I joined Avanti Coffee Company as the Brand and Business Development Manager. I was tasked with elevating the brand in the B2B space which I did through a number of initiatives including digital media marketing, ATL, and BTL initiatives. After a number of years at Avanti, I was approached by Top Vending who had never done any marketing activities to assist them with increasing awareness in the food and beverage space. While I have not been in this position for long, I am more than happy to discuss my reasons for wanting to leave. In this position, I have helped the sales team by providing them with professional marketing collateral needed to sell our products and services. I have just redone the website by working together with an agency and have almost doubled the leads through this platform. 

I hold a BA in Humanities from the University of Johannesburg with majors in Linguistics, English, Communications, and French. I worked to fund my studies and although I was keen to do my honours in English, I was never in a financial position to do so. Recently, I completed a 10-week certificate in Digital Marketing through Red and Yellow and I passed with distinction. I also hold a diploma in Health and Skincare.