Editor’s Note: This is the fourteenth in our We are EM (Monkeys Are People Too) series.

Your Marketing Mission’s Missing Link

Rachel Plasse has worn many marketing hats in her career, from product manager to communications specialist to marketing analytics team leader. Some people might say this makes her a true integrated marketing professional. Her clients would say it makes her truly indispensable. You never really know what the challenge will be: Whether it’s targeting strategy, demand generation, message or content development, Rachel enjoys rolling up her sleeves, figuring out exactly what needs to be done, and doing it.

Building Her Skill Set, Finding Her Way West

Rachel grew up in Maryland and attended Ithaca College in Upstate New York, where she studied media management and business. After moving back to the DC Area, she studied for her Masters while working in Consumer Marketing for Bell Atlantic (Verizon). Following a two-year stint abroad to help develop MCI Worldcom’s Asia-Pacific business, she returned to the East Coast and joined Harte-Hanks to assist automotive, pharmaceutical and high-tech clients in leveraging and learning from their marketing data. She came to the San Francisco area eight years ago, where she put on her consulting hat. Rachel’s passion for marketing grew out of her twin interests in design and analytics. Compelling, strategically smart ideas specifically targeted to generate results: That’s what drives Rachel.

A Full-Spectrum Marketer Passionate About Getting Results

Rachel is very exacting about what it takes to achieve a client’s marketing objectives. She begins with two questions: What are the client’s goals? What marketing components will enable these goals to be achieved? Defining answers to these two critical queries is the best way to ensure the client maximizes their marketing investment. Rachel prides herself on being able to work with people, collaborating with designers, developers, and the client’s sales force. Above all, she strongly believes in taking the time to find the right target audience, getting to know that audience’s needs, and reaching it in a meaningful, memorable way. Accomplish that, and everything else falls into place. Rachel will see to it that it does.

Off Time: Getting Outdoors Is Always In Season

Rachel and her husband fell in love with the Bay Area’s active lifestyle, and they try to take full advantage of it when they’re not working. Hiking. Camping. Skiing. Scuba Diving. Bungee Jumping. (Okay, she only went bungee jumping once and swears she’ll never do that again.) The mother of two girls, ages 10 and 8, who she insists are “quickly becoming tougher than their mom,” Rachel is no stranger to the outdoors. From lengthy treks to hidden swimming holes to black diamond skiing at Lake Tahoe, Rachel and her family like to take full advantage of everything the region has to offer. Rachel and her family have recently moved to Portland, OR, where they’re looking forward to tackling a whole new set of adventures.