Nicole Ertas
Founder at FREE RANGE PARTNERS- Claim this Profile
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Topline Score
Bio
Gary Kopervas
Is it possible for a classically trained brand manager to be both highly disciplined AND wildly disruptive? Nicole proves that you can and if you're working on a particularly thorny marketing project, trust me, you want Nicole on your team. Here's the thing. She's extremely strategic and no-nonsense about the work. But then she's helped direct some serious global brands and knows what has to be done. She's also open and collaborative, and knows how to bring out the best in people. The final piece? She happens to be a very funny and warm person to be around.
Mark Censoprano
Nicole is one of the most creative individuals you will ever come across. She has an unbelievable ability to surface ideas that no one has thought of before to solve their business challenges. And the great thing about Nicole's ideas...they are realistic, actionable and game-changing.
Christine "Chris" Mahoney
Nicole is incredibly passionate about building brands that are driven by consumer insight. She is intelligent and highly strategic, with an enthusiasm that is contagious. Someone I would with again in a heartbeat.
Gary Kopervas
Is it possible for a classically trained brand manager to be both highly disciplined AND wildly disruptive? Nicole proves that you can and if you're working on a particularly thorny marketing project, trust me, you want Nicole on your team. Here's the thing. She's extremely strategic and no-nonsense about the work. But then she's helped direct some serious global brands and knows what has to be done. She's also open and collaborative, and knows how to bring out the best in people. The final piece? She happens to be a very funny and warm person to be around.
Mark Censoprano
Nicole is one of the most creative individuals you will ever come across. She has an unbelievable ability to surface ideas that no one has thought of before to solve their business challenges. And the great thing about Nicole's ideas...they are realistic, actionable and game-changing.
Christine "Chris" Mahoney
Nicole is incredibly passionate about building brands that are driven by consumer insight. She is intelligent and highly strategic, with an enthusiasm that is contagious. Someone I would with again in a heartbeat.
Gary Kopervas
Is it possible for a classically trained brand manager to be both highly disciplined AND wildly disruptive? Nicole proves that you can and if you're working on a particularly thorny marketing project, trust me, you want Nicole on your team. Here's the thing. She's extremely strategic and no-nonsense about the work. But then she's helped direct some serious global brands and knows what has to be done. She's also open and collaborative, and knows how to bring out the best in people. The final piece? She happens to be a very funny and warm person to be around.
Mark Censoprano
Nicole is one of the most creative individuals you will ever come across. She has an unbelievable ability to surface ideas that no one has thought of before to solve their business challenges. And the great thing about Nicole's ideas...they are realistic, actionable and game-changing.
Christine "Chris" Mahoney
Nicole is incredibly passionate about building brands that are driven by consumer insight. She is intelligent and highly strategic, with an enthusiasm that is contagious. Someone I would with again in a heartbeat.
Gary Kopervas
Is it possible for a classically trained brand manager to be both highly disciplined AND wildly disruptive? Nicole proves that you can and if you're working on a particularly thorny marketing project, trust me, you want Nicole on your team. Here's the thing. She's extremely strategic and no-nonsense about the work. But then she's helped direct some serious global brands and knows what has to be done. She's also open and collaborative, and knows how to bring out the best in people. The final piece? She happens to be a very funny and warm person to be around.
Mark Censoprano
Nicole is one of the most creative individuals you will ever come across. She has an unbelievable ability to surface ideas that no one has thought of before to solve their business challenges. And the great thing about Nicole's ideas...they are realistic, actionable and game-changing.
Christine "Chris" Mahoney
Nicole is incredibly passionate about building brands that are driven by consumer insight. She is intelligent and highly strategic, with an enthusiasm that is contagious. Someone I would with again in a heartbeat.
Experience
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FREE RANGE PARTNERS
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United States
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Advertising Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Founder
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Jan 2006 - Present
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Founder, Chief Strategist, Author
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Jun 2013 - Present
Free Range Partners is a collective of Fortune 100 brand strategists, designers and digital experts who help B2C and B2B business leaders unlock and gain opportunities for growth.Proven. Collaborative. On-Demand.Retainer or project based; custom teams or individuals.STRATEGYDESIGNCOMMUNITIES
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The Ertas Group
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United Kingdom
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Real Estate
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1 - 100 Employee
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Chief Strategist and Founder
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Sep 2006 - Aug 2017
The Ertas group is a team of executive advisors, led by Nicole Ertas. Nicole's thinking has been embraced by companies such as Jim Beam, Wrigley, SC Johnson, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Johnson & Johnson, General Mills, Kraft, and Nestle. The Ertas group is a team of executive advisors, led by Nicole Ertas. Nicole's thinking has been embraced by companies such as Jim Beam, Wrigley, SC Johnson, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Johnson & Johnson, General Mills, Kraft, and Nestle.
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Global Director
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May 2002 - Sep 2006
As the Global Director of Canadian Club, Nicole was responsible for brand growth in 151 countries. Prior to Canadian Club, Nicole was the Director on DeKuyper Cordials, responsible for redefining the brand strategy for 340 SKUs that make up the franchise, inclusive of full line repositioning, packaging design, pricing, and rationalization. She also developed a full franchise turn-around plan, partnering with Evite, driving +12% consumption growth on priority SKUs. As the Senior Brand Manager of Super Premium Tequilas and Vodkas at Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Nicole developed an innovative repositioning strategy for El Tesoro Tequila that gained recognition in Brandweek’s 2003 "SuperBrands" and placement on Sex and the City, growing the franchise 60% year one, making El Tesoro the fastest growing tequila brand in the US. Show less
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SC Johnson
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United States
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Manufacturing
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700 & Above Employee
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Brand Manager
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1996 - 2000
Nicole began her career in brand management at SC Johnson on the Windex Brand. She then launched the first consumer marketing plan in the history of the Aveeno Brand, (TV, print, direct mail, sampling), which increased sales +82% and consumption in all 5 categories in which the brand competed. Nicole’s work on the RAID brand drove a record 52.3% share and +16% sales increase on her core franchise, while her integrated TV, Outdoor and Radio campaign delivered unprecedented persuasion scores in the 50-year history of the business, also gaining recognition in Brandweek. Beyond base business, Nicole has extensive experience in Innovation, including Windex, Aveeno, Saran Wrap and RAID New Products. Her Innovation work on ZIPLOC led to identifying and qualifying over $300MM in new products, with top concepts exceeding BASES hurdles. Show less
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Education
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1994 - 1996
Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management
MBA, Marketing, Management & Finance -
1986 - 1990
Northern Illinois University
B.S., International Marketing -
1989 - 1989
Kansai Gaidai University
International Marketing, Japanese -
1988 - 1988
The American University of Paris
French -
Wheaton Central
Community
