career objective

results-focused marketing and customer insights strategist eager to contribute strong project management skills toward supporting the employer in maximizing business performance

profile

ø  offer four years of progressive marketing research and new business development experience across diversified industries, with strong academic background in pharmaceutical sciences and biochemical pharmacology

ø  brand management expertise, including product planning, web and print content development, creation of collateral, product launch management, merchandising, and marketing and advertising

ø  strong record of successfully positioning products for increased distribution and sales by conducting extensive quantitative and qualitative research and analysis to effectively identify and capitalize on opportunities to penetrate and develop markets

ø  demonstrated ability to map out successful business development plans that make full use of digital marketing, sales support materials, print advertisements and catalogs, and trade show exhibitions

ø  strategically plan and administer budgets; proactively monitor product and campaign performance, industry trends and developments, and competitive services and marketing activities

ø  dynamic communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship management skills

ø  technical proficiencies include but are not limited to microsoft office (word, excel, powerpoint), spss, and quantvert

ø  international work experience, us citizenship, and multilingual with proficiency in urdu, punjabi, and spoken hindi

 

~ key achievements ~

• played an integral role in re-branding a popular cigarette brand based on detailed market research
• increased return on investment by 110% through strategic acquisition and management of 10 new client accounts responsible for generating pakistani rupees 30 million for aftab associates
• pioneered needscope research techniques for innovative, unified system for strategic brand management linking explicit brand identity with the implicit personality of a brand
• awarded four key fieldwork projects and served as a liaison for aftab associates and tns global
• achieved 50% increase in return on investment and pakistani rupees 5 million increase in revenues for acnielsen pakistan by winning and executing projects across the agriculture, electronics, real estate, and telecom sectors
• recognized by british american tobacco (pakistan) for groundbreaking work as the second person in pakistan to steer a stakeholder mapping project

professional experience

freelance qualitative researcher, lahore, pakistan                                                                      1/08 c 11/09

• prepared and conducted successful presentations for top-tier clients across the fast moving consumer goods (fmcg) and tobacco industries
• conducted extensive marketing research through design and implementation of questionnaires, moderation of focus groups, and consumer interviews across various settings
• compiled and analyzed data to develop recommendations for improving overall brand health, positioning, and marketing strategies

 

researcher, aftab associates (pvt) ltd., lahore, pakistan                                                                         7/07 c 1/08

• cost-effectively administered pakistani rupees 65.5 million budget, oversaw eight-member team, and managed a wide range of functions for this leading marketing research company affiliated with tns global
• performed in-depth marketing research, developed advertising campaigns, participated in trade shows, designed  collateral, and coordinated public relations efforts
• successfully drove new product launches and brand awareness / management initiatives

 

research executive c client services & sales, acnielsen pakistan (pvt) ltd., lahore, pakistan      4/06 c 6/07

• performed customized research and developed marketing programs for a diverse portfolio of b2b clients at the regional headquarters of the world s largest media and marketing solutions company
• promoted integrated brand / business growth strategies including consumer product tests, usage and awareness studies, brand health trackers, communications effectiveness studies, concept tests, mystery shopping, employee/customer satisfaction surveys, stakeholder mapping, and pricing studies

 

~ additional experience ~

research associate, pharmaceutical sciences department, state university of new york at buffalo              9/02 c 5/03

• study of the use of gearray techniques to isolate and analyze rna from rat skeletal muscle to determine the effects of alcohol consumption

 

research associate, molecular biology department, state university of new york at buffalo                         9/01 c 5/02

• study of the isolation and analysis of dna from  aquatic plants

education & academic achievements

mba in marketing, lahore school of economics                                                                                                   2005

• recipient of silver medal in recognition of outstanding academic achievement; named to dean s list

                       

b.s. in pharmaceutical sciences and biochemical pharmacology, state university of new york at buffalo           2003

• successfully completed responsible care and use of laboratory animals program
• recipient of two commendations from the dean of the school of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences; named to dean s list

 

~ professional development ~

customized research c level i ~ client services fast track training

• successful completion of acnielsen s basic training module on most ad hoc qualitative and quantitative research methodologies