More about our Founder

About Mike Stout
President and Founder, i3 Marketing, Llc.
Visionary leader delivering exceptional drive, focus, and value.

A FORTUNE 100 BRAND AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE
Driven to create winning strategy to enact change and organization improvement.

Highly-experienced marketing professional with over 30 years of transformational marketing and innovation success, consistently exceeding corporate expectations, industry benchmarks, and client expectations.

Possesses broad-based management skills and deep knowledge of current trends, methodologies, and approaches to improve organizational performance, maintain exceptional level of quality, and facilitate growth and change in response to complex business challenges and realities.

A consensus builder, autonomous producer, and exceptional leader who gains the trust of his clients and major stakeholders.

SPECIALTIES
Advertising
Annual and Long-term Planning
Brand Management
Brand Revitalization
Budgetary Oversight
Business Turnarounds
Channels Management
Innovation
Marketing Communications
Promotion
Public Relations
Strategic Marketing
Team Development

To see a few career highlights, scroll below in the section titled Career Stops & Successes.

STOUT IS AN ELITE LONG DISTANCE KAYAKER

For fitness and recreation, his passion is long distance kayaking. Over six seasons he paddled over 5,500 miles on many of our country's most scenic rivers and lakes. He has solo paddled across our Great Lakes seven times: Lake Michigan (5), Lake Superior, and Lake Huron. Additionally, he has raced in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Washington.

To read stories and view photography of his paddling adventures, visit: www.TheNorthlandAdventurer.com

CAREER STOPS & SUCCESSES
• Taken regional brands nationwide, achieving record revenue and profit growth.
• Transformed a private label company into a national branded powerhouse.
• Championed company and industry wide innovation.
• Turned around a longtime declining business into the fastest growing division and star financial performer.

i3 MARKETING, LLC aka TAMARACK CONSULTING GROUP, LLC
Masterful Marketing
A Strategic Marketing & Creative Services Firm
- Est. 2009 -

President and Founder
Minneapolis, MN | Serving total U.S.

i3 Marketing, Llc. is a strategic marketing and creative services firm specializing in brand and business development. Provides insightful leadership and vision to maximize results for small to large for-profit and non-profit organizations. Collaborates closely with client decision makers to formulate appropriate strategies and practices focused on optimizing marketing strategy, organizational design and development, and brand performance.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
2013-2015

General Member & Business Advocate
Prior Lake, MN
Provided strategic marketing for individual downtown businesses and the Prior Lake Downtown Business Association to empower the downtown district for their and the city's mutual benefit.

Services provided include marketing communications, special event concepts, and working across the city to improve relations for mutual benefit.

COMMUNITY CARE
Humanitarian Organization
2009, 2010

Founding Chairman & CMO
Lakeville, MN
Worked with local government, community leaders and volunteers to create strategic partnerships for the collection and redistribution of perishable food, clothing, and personal care products to families from Twin Cities seven county area.

Led general board activities, including recruitment, training, development of community leaders and influencers for the purpose of fundraising and advanced our mission.

SCHWAN'S CONSUMER BRANDS DIVISION NORTH AMERICA
Business Development & Channels Management
2007- 2009

Director of Business Development
Minneapolis, MN
Directed marketing functions supporting $220MM sales volume from channels which included club, military, dollar, drug, limited assortment, C-store, international, deli, and others. Crafted a modified stage-gate approach to market new products, and led a cross-functional team focused on new products development. Mentored and coached staff that realized consistent excellence.

Transformed the division which had been reporting years of revenue and profit declines into company's top revenue (% growth of prior years) and profit performer (NP/NS). Achieved enviable results via the following practices:

Formal (collaborative) annual planning
Exiting underperforming channels
Prioritization of high growth channels
Discontinuing underperforming SKUs
Pricing and promotion management

Brand revitalziaiton
Rapid innovation
Quarterly team training and coaching
Cross functional team building

SPECIALTY FOODS GROUP, INC
Marketing Innovation | Executive Leadership
2005 - 2007

VP Marketing Development (Innovation)
Newport News, VA

Crafted new processes that increased effectiveness and introduction of top-tier products for retail, foodservice, and c-store channels. Drove strategy creation through deep understanding of consumer and market trends, and built strong supplier relationships to close internal capacity gaps.
- Led all facets of new product development and product improvement of premium national and regional branded products.
- Served on company's Executive Committee and elected to Management Board of Directors.
- Lead contact to national account Dairy Queen.

Brands Managed
William Fischer | Scott Peterson | Kentucky Legend | Mickelberry's | Kentuckian Gold | Fischer | Field's | Comidas Caseras | Nathan's | Mosey's

Our passion is improving business performance.
Our goal is laser focused, to set you up for sustainable financial success.
Call us. We are brand and business development experts.