Recommendations
Your brand isn’t what you say about yourself
–
There’s plenty of info in this site about the demand generation, content strategy, digital marketing, and creative direction I’ve done. But your brand isn’t what you say about yourself.
Your brand is the sum of the experiences people have with you. So for you to truly get a picture what it’s like to work with me, I think it’s important to share with you recommendations from the people I’ve worked with. Here’s what they have to say:
—Ashley Mora, VP, People Operations & Analytic Solutions
“I’ve enjoyed working with Hal for several years now. He can make you think hard and laugh all in a few sentences.
While he doesn’t know every obscure detail about every system and data source (that’s why companies use analytics agencies like ours), he has an intuitive nose for noticing data points worth digging into that reveal big insights. When he finds loose threads and asks us to pull on it, it can be dramatic what we uncover.
As an analytics agency, I really appreciate how clear and direct he is in what he’s looking for from us. He’s fair and respectful and treats us as part of the team, but he doesn’t leave any ambiguity. The team really appreciates that he’s good about giving us background about his purpose and thinking for his asks.
It’s also nice how quickly he can absorb and work with new concepts. Analytics is so deep and technical and ever-changing, that’s a critical trait to keep up when you’re generating digital demand (and reporting on it, of course).”
“Hal is very skilled at implementing campaigns across different teams in a matrix structure with all of the leadership and people skills that are required to do that well.”
—Colin Mann, Demand Generation Leader
“
Hal is highly knowledgeable about digital strategies and tactics and a very effective leader of digital campaigns. That includes analysing detailed analytics and presenting outcomes to stakeholder teams in order to drive great performance.
Hal is also very skilled at implementing campaigns across different teams in a matrix structure with all of the leadership and people skills that are required to do that well.
I highly recommend Hal as a colleague and also as a digital expert and leader.”
—Jennifer Prause, Senior Account Lead
“
“
—Larry Jenkins, Chief Operating Officer
“
—Dylan Brown, Senior Paid Media Specialist
“
—Angela Wood, Campaign Marketing Manager
“
He thinks strategically and brings a lot of great ideas to the table – leveraging his experience, creativity and technical abilities to every project/team he works with. He is always looking for the best ways to implement and is not afraid to try something new, which makes him a great fit for a project that needs someone who can move forward with little input.
Hal gets stuff done, is fun to work with, and cares a lot about the end result – a valuable asset for any venture!”
“.”
—Adam Aldred, Senior Digital Marketing Account Lead
“
“
—Travis Muller, Product Marketing Manager
“
“He is an undeniable leader with a proven track record of managing the complexities of an ever-changing digital landscape while making the ambiguous clear to keep his team and agencies focused on internal and external goals.”
—Davis Baker, Digital Marketing Services Director
“
He is an undeniable leader with a proven track record of managing the complexities of an ever-changing digital landscape while making the ambiguous clear to keep his team and agencies focused on Mitel’s internal and external goals. This would be a challenge for most, but not Hal.
His extensive knowledge of and passion for digital, packaged with his blend of teamwork and collaboration has made working together both enjoyable and effective. He has created an environment where anyone on the team can feel empowered to bring ideas to the table, celebrate wins and root/cause challenges together.
I cannot say enough good things and Hal. It’s been an absolute pleasure have partnered and collaborated with him for the last three years and wouldn’t hesitate for a second to recommend working with him.”
“His direct and thorough communication style made it easy for the entire team to work quickly and efficiently to get campaigns launched at lightning speed.”
—Jennie Purser, Paid Media Supervisor
“I
—Melanie Miller, Digital Marketing Intern
“
—Caresse Bucchan, Senior Manager, Global Demand Generation
“
Hal has a talent for keeping people focused and heading toward a common goal all the while ensuring a very tight alignment with demand generation every step of the way. As his teammate, I could not have successfully executed my global campaigns without him and his expertise to ensure breadth, depth, relevance and reach to our target audiences.
There is no doubt in my mind that Hal is a top tier marketer and has all the qualities and skills of a fantastic marketing leader.”
“Hal helped me develop my skills and ensured that I was always growing and being challenged in my role.”
—Holly Burleson, UX | UI Designer
“As my manager during my time at Mitel, Hal helped me develop my skills and ensured that I was always growing and being challenged in my role.
Because of his inclusive management style, I was able to work on countless projects that many young professionals don’t get exposure to.
With his direction and advice, I feel prepared and excited to enter the digital marketing world as a full-time professional.
Thanks Hal!”
“Hal builds the kind of relationship that fosters growth while giving you the sense that you own your work.”
—Ian Campo, Digital Marketing Manager
“As a manager, Hal builds the kind of relationship that fosters growth while giving you the sense that you own your work – an invaluable thing to someone in the early stages of their career.
He doesn’t like to micromanage and expects you to be independently responsible, but he does so by having confidence in your abilities. These characteristics helped make my remote role possible while I was working in New York City and ensured that things flowed smoothly between us.
Hal’s also a great mentor. He has a deep understanding of his role and beyond – whether it’s SEM, SEO, or content marketing related – and is always willing to lend a helping hand whenever needed. During our many video calls together, I often see him offering solutions to problems or his valuable insight in a focused and understandable manner. He’s also a proactive member of the team, often on the lookout for ways to share useful information and articles that pertain to the interests of the larger digital marketing team.”
“Strategic Vision, Creative Executioner, Relentless Analyst!”
—Susan Misukanis, President, TopRank Marketing
“Strategic Vision, Creative Executioner, Relentless Analyst! This is how I would describe Hal.
He’s the best type of client because he has clear vision, allows for (and expects) creativity and understand the need to surface KPI’s in a meaningful manner to stakeholders.
Would I work with Hal again? The answer is a resounding Yes! Likely in any capacity. It is rare to find a marketing blood-brother. And when one does, we need to work hard to maintain the bond! Excellent job raising the bar for Digital Marketing Hal!”
“When you need to know the right answer the first time, you ask Hal.”
—Lisa Quattrini, Senior Content Marketer
“When you need to know the right answer the first time, you ask Hal. Deeply knowledgeable on all things content, Hal has helped the Mitel Content Marketing team create messaging that resonates with customers by educating in detail on how content can drive SEO placement and conversions, by helping build consistently customer-focused communications strategies, and by providing true customer insight, with a minimum of fluff.
Hal cares about the value of the content we create as a team, and will always lend a helping hand if it means the final product is better for the consumer.
Colorful and witty, Hal always brings a sense of humor to the workday, and keeps an eye out for grammatically fantastic quips and quirks.”
“I found him to be a natural content expert. He makes everyone around him better.”
—Jordan Nadler, Content Marketing Manager
“I worked with Hal during my time at Mitel, in a demand generation capacity and an integrated marketing communication capacity.
During my time working with Hal, I found him to be a natural content expert. He makes everyone around him better.
Hal understands content marketing and strategy inside and out – from building a blog base, landing page content, videos, whitepapers, buyers’ guides, etc. – and he knows how they all work together to produce results.
He helps other marketers understand how to approach content to create successful pieces/initiatives and is a pleasure to work with.
He strives to help team members do their best with content, and produces excellent content, framework, and guidance himself. Hal is an asset to any team or company he works for. I recommend him without reservation.”
“Hal was an amazing resource for improving the quality of the content we produced, providing creative direction and strategy, and sharing powerful insights that helped our team members grow professionally.”
—Lisa Sarazin, Senior Manager, Global Content Marketing
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Hal for about three years now, and he has been a truly invaluable teammate during my time with Mitel.
Hal is known throughout the company as a trusted advisor and wealth of knowledge in many subjects. When others seek his expertise, Hal can analyze a situation from all angles and respond intelligently, thoughtfully and respectfully.
For my team specifically, Hal was an amazing resource for improving the quality of the content we produced, providing creative direction and strategy, and sharing powerful insights that helped our team members grow professionally.
His creativity, along with his ability to thoroughly research and confidently speak to new topics, shines through in the quality of his high-caliber content. It is truly rare to find an individual like Hal that can bring to the table both extraordinary creative talent and an aptitude for mastering technical subject matter.
I have no doubt he’ll be extremely successful in his new role with Mitel and any future role he undertakes.”
“I appreciate him taking the time to mentor me at Mitel and showing me all the ins and outs of SEO, blogging, content marketing and writing.”
—Preston Miller, Digital Marketing Optimization Analyst
“Hal is a great communicator. He knows what to say, how to say it and when to speak up.
Hal is one of the few cutting-edge B2B content marketers that I have had the pleasure to work with at Mitel. He really understands planning, research and implementation on content initiatives that get results!
His creativity and enthusiasm are unmatched and he is not afraid to share new ideas and valuable insights with the team.
I appreciate him taking the time to mentor me at Mitel and showing me all the ins and outs of SEO, blogging, content marketing and writing.
We worked together on many different digital projects and his planning and project management expertise helped us stay on track time and time again. I have really enjoyed working with a true digital marketing professional!”
“Hal brings an amazing amount of creativity and fun to B2B content, but his skill set goes well beyond content marketing and strategy.”
—Dave Hancock, Senior Manager, Digital Demand Generation
“Hal brings an amazing amount of creativity and fun to B2B content, but his skill set goes well beyond content marketing and strategy.
Hal gets SEM, social, lead generation, etc, and he’s has helped devise ideas and strategies to improve our marketing initiatives across disciplines and teams. Some of those ideas were essential to our most profitable campaigns.
Hal’s way of thinking adds value across the whole digital marketing landscape. I like that I can always spitball ideas and problems with Hal and get a different perspective. He is able to both teach and learn in the same conversation.
I also greatly admire Hal’s ability to stand up for what is right for the business, even if that stance is a minority view. I’m not sure we could ever replace everything he adds to the team.”
“All of Hal’s content and tactics he would run, always out performed the average community engagement, results, and leads.”
—Jaime Wheeler, Strategic Account Director, Spiceworks
“I worked with Hal for over 2 years on the Mitel/Spiceworks relationship. Hal was so wonderful to work with on a personal level, as well as a professional level.
He truly took the time to get to know the Spiceworks audience, to make sure he was creating content that was effective and relevant. He led all of the customer insight driven content for Mitel in Spiceworks, as well as ran numerous contests and community initiatives.
All of Hal’s content and tactics he would run, always out performed the average community engagement, results, and leads.”
“Hal offers helpful direction and guidance, and encourages people to ask another “why” to get to the real purpose of what we’re doing so we can ultimately create more thoughtful and effective digital marketing.”
—Kaley Warren, Digital Designer
“It is rare that you come across a content strategist / content marketer like Hal. I have had the pleasure of working with Hal for 2 years now, collaborating on several projects together.
When working with others, Hal is always able to step back from a task and look at the bigger picture, allowing him to offer a unique and beneficial perspective for the group.
He never does something just to cross it off the list. Instead, Hal offers helpful direction and guidance, and encourages people to ask another “why” to get to the real purpose of what we’re doing so we can ultimately create more thoughtful and effective digital marketing.
Hal also encourages process in all that we do, so we make the best use of our time and don’t let things fall through the cracks.
I believe that many people in our group would say that they have been positively impacted by Hal, and have learned to be a more strategic thinker from his example.”
“His ability to make sense of complex problems and situations is a reason that team members look to him as the lighthouse when they’ve lost their way to a goal.”
—Michael Lamb, Director of Marketing Technology & Operations
“Hal is a highly skilled Content Strategist, Writer, and Digital Marketer. He keeps a constant eye on the ever-changing environment – keeping himself and his team on the leading edge of what is happening today and in the future.
His ability to make sense of complex problems and situations is a reason that team members look to him as the lighthouse when they’ve lost their way to a goal.
His commitment to process and standardization is unwavering and has directly impacted our ability to do things more efficiently in the organization.
He has a great “lead by example” mentality and is willing to step back and let his team learn and grow on a project, while also willing to jump in and do the most menial of task – whatever is needed to make the effort a success.”
“He did a great job explaining my tasks to me, making sure I understood them, and helping me along the way with any questions I had.”
—Holly Heckman, Graphic Design Intern
“I very much enjoyed working with Hal. As an intern at Mitel, I reported to him for my work / assignments.
He did a great job explaining my tasks to me, making sure I understood them, and helping me along the way with any questions I had.
I appreciate the time he dedicated to teaching me the ropes at Mitel.”
“Hal can really help keep teams focused and he is great at helping projects stay on track.”
—Jules Simon, Marketing Director
“Hal can really help keep teams focused and he is great at helping projects stay on track with process, workflow, and organization.
And at a large organization with tight deadlines, he has been a critical piece to our success for a number of key projects.
While his main focus when we worked together was big picture content strategy and content enablement, he never had a problem jumping in where there was a gap to ensure overall success of the team.”
“Hal consistently came to the table with new ideas, strategies, and process improvement.”
—Lori Wagner, Director of Digital Marketing
“Hal is a great strategist with excellent communication and organizational skills. I was able to count on Hal to take on a multitude of projects and could count on regular updates as well as the ability to problem solve if any challenges arose.
Hal looks for new projects and ways to improve the business. Hal consistently came to the table with new ideas, strategies, and process improvement and was ready to take on those projects immediately.
Hal was a pleasure to work with, and many of his co-workers consistently bragged about what he brought to the organization.
He is definitely an asset to any team.”
“I think Hal is a tremendous personality because he not only has a wonderfully creative heart, but he thinks with a highly strategic mind.”
—Steve Dunning, Video Production Studio CEO & Co-Owner
“I would like to take a minute to recommend Hal Werner for any creative project you might be considering. I think Hal is a tremendous personality because he not only has a wonderfully creative heart, but he thinks with a highly strategic mind. Quite unusual in our world.
In fact, I would highly recommend him for any job with any company that has difficult strategic objectives that need to be implemented creatively and efficiently. This is where he really shines.
Hal thinks through ideas and is to be able follow a path that addresses the clients needs and sensitivities, still while creating a solid workflow from day-to-day.
Working with Hal overseas I found him to be a secret weapon. He understood the balance of both social and business approaches, while juggling time sensitive issues and sometime difficult situations. In addition to thinking on his feet, Hal has the ability to speak several languages a lot of help while crisscrossing Europe.
Hal is great when he welcomes new ideas, but he is also very careful to make sure that they are on target, on strategy, and staying within the budget.
His education, his background, his talents, and his creative thinking are all why I think Hal stands out among his peers and as an industry leader.
His smart, witty and charming personality has created such a wonderful relationship over this past couple of years that today I consider him my friend as much as my creative associate.
Give Hal a whirl; you’ll like where he takes you.”
“Cool, calm, collected AND creative. Those don’t always go together, but with Hal, they do.”
—Brannon Preston, Executive Producer
“I have had the good pleasure of working with Hal for the past year and it has been an absolute pleasure.
Cool, calm, collected AND creative. Those don’t always go together, but with Hal they do.
An effective communicator, a very good writer, and a natural at keeping focus on the task at hand. Easy to work with and for and witty to boot.
I should probably submit this recommendation to him for a re-write!”
“Without exaggeration, Hal is truly serving as a change agent for Mitel with his customer first approach.”
—Brandon Rowe, Director of Marketing
“Hal is a highly intelligent, adroit and skilled content strategist.
Having had the fortune to collaborate with him on a number of projects, Hal takes the time to understand the business goals and the target customers need to identify the best path to success.
One of his greatest strengths is his ability to a raw ideal and turn it into a impactful communications strategy that resonates with both internal and external stakeholders.
Without exaggeration, Hal is truly serving as a change agent for Mitel with his customer first approach.”
“His creative vision for his projects combined with his collaborative approach to working with his crew was outstanding.”
—Scott Burress, Senior Video Producer/Director
“My experience working with Hal was nothing short of great. His creative vision for his projects combined with his collaborative approach to working with his crew was outstanding.
As a director it can, at times, be difficult to read your clients, what is their vision, their goal. But with Hal, it was crystal clear. He knows what he wants, what the message needs to be and how to communicate those ideas clearly and creatively.
Great experience working with Hal, and I look forward to more opportunities to do so in the future.”
“Behind a calm, unassuming demeanor rests the mind of a creative director.”
—Cecil Cross, Creative Director / Designer
“Working with Hal has been both a treat and an eye-opener. Behind a calm, unassuming demeanor rests the mind of a creative director. Hal’s ability to clearly see an idea and work tirelessly toward its fruition is rare.
While he is absolutely one of the best writers I’ve known, his talent truly rests at the strategic and conceptual levels.
I’ve seen him plan campaigns, write killer headlines, and watched him direct high-level corporate video projects, including our corporate brand video and several case study videos with internationally known clients. I’ve also worked closely with him on many design and web projects, both giving and appreciating honest feedback.
Hal never backs down from a creative challenge. Rather, he embraces any size project with the poise of a leader and the ambition of an entrepreneur.”