Cindy L'Esperance
Cindy has been in the advertising/marketing industry since 1992, when she joined a startup ad agency in New England called RCI Next Generation. As one of only two employees in addition to the agency’s principals, she was able to get involved with all aspects of the business – account management, rudimentary graphic design, operating a mammoth piece of equipment called a "stat camera" – everything it took to run an ad agency in those days. She stayed with RCI Next Generation for five years. By the time she left, it had grown to a mid-sized agency with 40+ employees.
Cindy then took a position as a technical writer with Des Lauriers & Associates. The firm had recently developed a software application to help municipalities get computerized. Cindy’s task was to create user manuals and training materials. However, she discovered that while Des Lauriers had a great product, it had a marketing apparatus consisting of a lone salesman. She told the salesman to go do his thing, and she got busy creating ads, brochures, direct mail, press releases, and a website. She was promoted to Marketing Communications Manager, and in eight months time, Des Lauriers’ client roster grew by 400%.
Cindy moved to New York City in 1998 and took a position as a senior copywriter with Doubleday Direct (now Bookspan). As part of the New Product Development team, she worked with Doubleday’s editorial and marketing staff to create special interest book clubs. Starting only with an idea for a club, the team developed a name, tagline and overall brand positioning. It used focus groups to refine the branding, and from there, developed launch packages. Cindy then supported the new clubs by developing catalogs, ad campaigns and web content. Once a club reached commercial viability, she would train another writer to take it over, and move on to the next. When the millennium came around, she was selected from Doubleday's pool of staff writers to work on its cross-genre millennium campaign, which sold huge quantities of books, music, movies and gifts.
Cindy left Doubleday to join Len Dugow & Associates, a boutique Manhattan ad agency, in late 2000. Len Dugow specialized in luxury brands, in particular luxury real estate. Cindy worked on brochures, ads, direct mail and web for high-end condominium properties, as well as commercial developments, such as Trump’s golf courses. Her primary account was Millennium Partners, a developer of large-scale mixed-use properties in partnership with the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons hotels. She worked closely with the Millennium Partners team, developing a relationship that outlasted Len Dugow & Associates, which disbanded in 2001.
Having gained solid experience in the real estate category, Cindy joined Posner Advertising, a mid-sized ad agency specializing in real estate. As the agency’s senior copywriter, she worked closely with the creative team and clients to develop print and online campaigns for a number of real estate developers as well as clients in healthcare, energy and other industries. She also worked on business development, assisting senior management in responding to RFPs with detailed proposals and sales presentations.
In 2004 Cindy joined the marketing team at Time Warner Cable. The company was launching its new phone service at the time, which gave her the opportunity to participate in a large-scale promotional initiative. Within one year, the service had one million subscribers. On an ongoing basis, Cindy worked on print and online campaigns for the company’s cable, Internet and phone services, and was promoted to copy supervisor. The team won awards from CTAM (Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing), and a number of its campaigns were adopted by Time Warner Cable’s corporate office and launched nationally.
Cindy struck out on her own in 2006 and established Seven Stones, Inc. in Charlotte, NC. The talent and professionalism she demonstrated in New York City have earned her a solid network of clients and colleagues, with whom she continues to work on a regular basis while developing her local client base.
Contact
cindy@sevenstoneswriting.com
Phone: 704-969-3996
Seven Stones, Inc.
14824 Rothwell Drive
Charlotte, NC 28227
"Cindy L'Esperance is a remarkably versatile, thorough and professional copywriter and collaborator. An absolute joy to work with. I always know I'm in very capable hands when working with Cindy, and that I'll get much more than I can possibly imagine."
—Bill Sloan
Vice President/Creative Director,
Posner Advertising
“Cindy is a sharp writer who is able to quickly grasp complex technology, how it works and how best to market it. As Director of Marketing and Analysis for Time Warner Cable, I worked with Cindy on numerous campaigns where Cindy tackled all the demographic nuances involved in the composition of the market segment selected. Additionally, TWC has hired Cindy as a consultant in her current capacity as a business owner. I give Cindy my highest recommendation.”
—Drew Utman, Director, Marketing and Analysis, Time Warner Cable
“Cindy is great! She was able to maximize the copy on our website to efficiently communicate each action item or marketing message. Our site and product is much better thanks to her contributions. I'd highly recommend Cindy.”
—John Dillon, Founder, WeddingBook.com