Charting New Directions.

The Difference is You.™

April 2024 | Brand & Database Marketing | Background & Current Services

I am currently offering marketing and writing services including permission e-mail/database marketing and e-commence support in tandem to building out ZENECIST.

Your call/inquiry is welcome. Thanks, Tom Lanen (508) 951-0130 | Email

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OVERVIEW OF QUALIFICATIONS: THOMAS MARKETING SERVICES CORPORATION ERA (1989-2023)

(Edit: April 2024) If you’re a business owner ready to generate more revenue there’s no time better than now to kick-start your marketing to make it happen. It’s also absolutely the right moment to get out front and build revenue, momentum and brand equity–with more projectable results you can see, count and manage. Even if marketing isn’t your thing.

Why hire a fixed-cost marketing staffer or pricey agency, when I can be your go-to, get-it-done resource for a fraction of the cost? The only reason might be if you wait too long to engage my limited bandwidth, only now available after a 5-year contract as Director of Marketing for what became a 5-location retailer plus 4500+ product online store during my watch — and which netted my principal a nice endgame payday.

You see, I work especially well with business owners who don’t love marketing but get they need it to grow, regardless of the economy. Those who want do-able options to sustain and expand their revenue streams. Well, I’m all about options. Because there is always an answer to the challenge at hand. Always. Even if you sometimes feel reluctant to gain more attention for yourself, and your business. That’s just natural.

“It’s not easy to run a business.
Not everyone can do it.”

Ted Lanen (1926-2008) , Sales Engineer (Tufts EE),
Owner, Leo C. Pelkus Inc., Wellesley, MA
New England Manufacturer’s Rep, Emerson Electric/Wiegand

Just give me, Tom Lanen, a call and let’s have a confidential chat. Right now if you want. It costs you nothing — unlike inaction, which can cost you opportunity. 508 951-0130

If we’re of like mind and it makes sense to you, I can help get revenue-generating programs off your ‘to-do when I have time list’ and into the ‘done and kicking it column’ — fast. Because I’ve never been accused of lacking enthusiasm — and nothing gets me more fired up than working with good people ready to make a difference. And I’ve been told, more than once, my positive intensity is infectious — you know, in a good way.

A disciple of the P&G school of strategic brand marketing, my core strengths are in retail, consumer package goods (CPG), and technology sectors, including medical and healthcare. I also have a strong sense of the entertainment & hospitality categories having worked in customer-facing roles.

Projects have run the gamut of marketing strategies and tactics including branded content & writing, e-mail marketing, merchandising, and advertising & creative services for digital and analog channels.

I am well-versed in creating lead generation websites, and e-Comm shopping sites (Big Commerce, Shopify, Squarespace, WP, etc.) including user interface (UI/UX) strategies, design, imaging & content — even crunch-time posting and website population.

Recent documented e-mail marketing strategies and tactics have tripled the industry average Open Rate (45%+ versus the 17.1% category Open Rate average).

A Brand Is A Story & Its People, Products & Services–And Customers–Are Its Chapters.

A brand is anything but static. But if its core story–your vision–is tied to a strategic communications platform and a defined position, its tactics can be managed, measured, and executed to create revenue, momentum and equity, the sum of its parts greater than the whole.

Tom Lanen, principal, during the summer of 2022 at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA where he fully enjoyed the Season Pass his 20-something sons gave to him for his birthday – 34 shows!

My mission, in partnership with my principals, is to tell the Brand Story through process-driven and compelling content that engages and informs, while addressing the real issues of customers and constituents. And those who would be.

The story, and how it’s presented, create ‘comfort levels’ needed to make a purchase decision be it as small as clicking through to a sale or as large as a capital equipment acquisition. It also helps people believe what they know, which can be a real issue, and affirms and validates their comfort.

And it’s about helping people build the confidence needed to make your brand part of their own personal and professional brands. This creates loyalty, goodwill, and salable equity, a real valuation metric – and a significant element of any brand owner’s endgame.

Samples of Recent Work 1 | Samples of Recent Work 2

You’re the director. The Difference Is You.™

Tell Me Your Goals & I’ll Give You Options.
Affordable, Do-Able Options.

Permission-Based E-mail – Brand Communication Strategy/Platform, Copy, Email Formatting (via your Email Service Provider – MailChimp, Constant Contact, EMMA, etc.) Recent documented Open Rates averaging over 40% (industry average is 17% according to SpringBot ESP)

• Point-Of Sale – Art & Copy; also Large Format Printing

Blogs – Research & Write/Post, create imaging and/or video, SEO: WordPress, Medium, etc.

Website/Commerce Pages/SEO Copy – also populating and imaging via most CMS & Shopping Platforms: Big Commerce, Shopify, Squarespace, etc.

• Thought-Leadership Articles – Writing & editing based upon executive input

Presentations – Video, Powerpoint, Speeches, etc.

• Trade Show Booths – Semi-Custom & Custom – Strategy, Concept & Design

• Sales & Marketing Literature, Sales Decks – Copy & Art, also Printing

Technical Writing & User Manuals

Advertising – Online, Print, Broadcast, Cable; Direct Mail, E-mail

Strategic Brand (Marketing & HR) Creation and Development: Identity/Logo, Brand Standards, Positioning, Culture/Human Resources, Coaching

My rate is moderate. Our first discussion is always on me. And I work to budgets – at the speed of retail. And, I take direction well.

If you engage me beyond a single project I can offer significant volume discounts, assuming available bandwidth. The longer we work together, the more efficient it gets. Cash discounts also considered.

Art and/or imaging will be quoted in advance or you can provide your own. I’m happy to work with your existing creative and marketing relationships and resources.

Need it done well and fast? You got it. I provide real value and measurable results. And, I can demonstrate it with metrics and documentation to prove it.

It’s really easy to work with me. I’m here to give you do-able and affordable options that can help make you more successful. Simple.

I’m Tom Lanen, and I welcome your call. Let’s talk a few moments on my nickel.

All credit cards and bank transfer (ACH/EFT) are accepted.

508 951-0130 | Email

Addressing The Change Factors of 2020.

December 2021: Please click here for an update on current offerings from Thomas Marketing Services.

Thomas Marketing Services Corporation is a process-driven and agile problem-solving, branding, marketing, and business acceleration resource. Strategic & tactical, I’m helping business owners prosper in the tumultuous business and world climate.

Here’s the thing. In good times and crazy, it’s all about the brand, and the story behind it. At its core brand is a story; it’s about what makes it different, why it matters, and why we should care. How it provides certainty amidst uncertainty.

The difference is you.™ Because far more than a logo, a brand reflects the vision and values of its principals and stakeholders. Those with good instincts evolve theirs in a strategic manner, adjusting aligned tactics to meet the day at hand. And in doing so, they create sustained momentum and valuable equity.

I’m Tom Lanen, and my track record as a brand marketer, writer and integrated advertising & design agency principal is wide-ranging with mainstream brands such Velcro™ fasteners (global – 17 years), Ovation Benefits Group (15 years), Boston Whaler™, Keurig™, and several Thermo (Electron) Fisher Scientific™ business groups. I’ve also worked with many technology, services, retail, and consumer product start-ups and mid-market brands.

The brand difference: its people, The Indoor Gardening Experts™.
It starts at the top.

Currently, my lead client is New England Hydroponics, for whom I work in a marketing and creative role for its 4-MA retail stores; and also online.

Right now, I’m looking to help one or two business owners who could use a hand, especially in these extraordinary days. We should talk.

How do we work together?

I work with principals and stakeholders on revenue-building branding and re-stage strategies, which may employ tactics such database-driven permission email, social media, and online advertising; broadcast, video/streaming, and print marketing; and point-of-sale merchandising and packaging design systems. I can also help manage full-blown business and /or line expansion initiatives.

ThomasMarketing Services Corp_Brand Eco-System & Visual Design System.
A branded visual design and marketing ‘eco-system’ that expands upon the identity established by the (new) logo; with all tactics aligned with the core strategic brand communications platform (a new way of seeing™) to create a consistent and engaging brand presence. This rebranding program was created for a management buyout team with a 5-year end-game; it was sold at private sale to a major consulting business after just 2 years.

As a business owner and brand guy with 30 years to the better, I can help navigate these tricky markets of 2020, and provide you with perspective and options. While nobody has ever seen this, sound brand marketing and design principals, and genuine story-telling still get it done.

It will be surely be the foundation of a return to normalcy and prosperity. It always has. What’s more, it can be an opportune time to pick up market share while others retreat.

In short, I’m flexible and capable, and wide open to your vision and ways of doing business. I also fully believe in budgets and transparency; and a measurable return on your investment.

Marketing is about communication and trust, a strategic balance of transactional and emotional. Do it mindfully, and you engage people in meaningful ways, and create loyalty. You prosper.

Are you ready for what’s next? Please contact me in confidence and without obligation, and let’s chat a few minutes on my nickel. (508) 951-0130

Schedule a No-Cost 30-minute Telephone or Online Call with Tom