Calgary-based Venture Communications Hires Microsoft Marketer; Key Appointment To Bolster Venture's Focus On Accountability

Business Wire, Oct 13, 2004

CALGARY, Alberta -- Venture Communications, a marketing communications agency that has developed a proprietary methodology for companies to quantify return-on-investment (ROI) for their marketing and branding activities, has appointed Jennifer Cioffi, an experienced Microsoft marketing professional, as community director, strategic planning.

"Jennifer Cioffi's expertise in developing marketing campaigns and strategies based on well-researched market data and statistics for Microsoft, one of the most successful global companies, makes her an ideal choice for Venture Communications," said Arlene Dickinson, Venture's president and CEO. "Cioffi will be an integral part of our management team as we continue to develop marketing consulting services that enable advertisers to gauge what works and, more importantly, what doesn't work, with their marketing and advertising campaigns.

Cioffi has more than 13 years of experience in marketing, product management and consulting. At Microsoft, she most recently served as a director in the Windows Business Unit, where she developed a research-based tracking system and "dashboard" to bring key metrics to the executive team. Prior to that, she served as a director in the Product Support and Customer Service organization, where she managed the deployment of Microsoft's global complaint management system. In her role as director of marketing in the Content Development and Delivery Group, she was responsible for marketing Microsoft's portfolio of content and training products, and initiated the group's first cross-divisional product planning effort. Jennifer also had previous responsibility for driving the marketing strategies of Microsoft Project, Microsoft Small Business Server, and Microsoft Office, Small Business Edition. Prior to her work with Microsoft, she was a senior consultant for Accenture.

"Venture Communications is working with companies in many different industries to develop marketing plans that directly support business objectives, and that are tracked with rigorous measurement systems to demonstrate the value being delivered to the bottom line," said Cioffi. "With the depth of experience that I developed at Microsoft in planning, executing, and measuring the results of marketing campaigns in a variety of product categories, I feel well-prepared to assist Venture's current and future clients with their marketing and business challenges."

Cioffi holds an M.B.A. from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and a B.A. in Economics from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota.

About Venture Communications

Venture is an independent marketing communications firm providing marketing strategy, creative execution and accountability to its clients. It has redefined the traditional marketing communications model by developing an ROI methodology, software tool and creative process that quantifies the client's return on marketing investment. Venture is headquartered in Calgary and operates wholly owned branch offices in Edmonton and Ottawa. Venture's client list includes: Unilever (Sunlight,Lipton and Vim), ENMAX Corporation, FDJ French Dressing, Subway Sandwiches, Toyota Dealers Association (Prairie Zone), American Management Systems (U.S.) Unisys Corp. (U.S.) and Cisco Systems

Venture Communications Ltd. website: http://www.openminds.ca