EXPERIENCE

  • “Susannah is an innovated marketer who knows how to leverage partnerships and promotions to maximize the effectiveness of every dollar in the budget. She is skilled at using multiple advertising and communications channels to achieve the broadest reach and drive results….”

    “Susannah is a top-performing professional and would be an asset for any company.”

    John Buchanan, Executive Director,
    Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2006-2011

  • ”Ms. Stringam’s considerable talents as a manager were evident from the fact that in a very short time she was able to determine where each of her staff members’ strongest abilities and keenest interests lay. With this in mind, she assigned projects and responsibilities accordingly. The result was a motivated, productive team, as well as high morale and a sense of particular purpose and excitement within the Marketing and Communications department.”

    Barbara Traisman, Public Relations Officer,
    Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco staff, 1987-2007
    Auxiliary Chairman, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2009-2012

  • “She is a seasoned professional, with a demonstrated ability to cultivate and shape the public profile and creative vision of an organization while remaining flexible enough to recognize, take advantage of, and exploit emerging opportunities. She has in-depth expertise at full-spectrum marketing and communications: traditional and digital platform deployment, promotions, advertising, media relations, public information, revenue generation, and audience development. With an exceptional work ethic, you can count on Susannah to be on-task, on-quality, on-time, and on-budget.”

    Heath Fox, Acting Executive Director, San Diego Museum of Art, 2003-2004
    Director of Administration, San Diego Museum of Art, 2001-2006

  • “Susannah’s strengths include the ability to manage complex projects, often while meeting tight deadlines. She is driven to achieve the stated goals or deadlines and delivers under high pressure situations. Susannah is also very forward thinking.”

    Derrick R. Cartwright, The Maruja Baldwin Director
    of the San Diego Museum of Art, 2004-2009

  • “Susannah is a highly skilled public relations director. Her innovation, creativity and just-plain tenacity brought successful PR programs to all of our diverse clients. She continually improved and updated the agency's PR offerings.”

    Nancy Higgins, President, Chapman Warwick
    Advertising and Public Relations, 1997-2000
    Executive Vice President, 1987-1997

SFJAZZ

I created a strategic marketing communications plan for opening the new, 35,000 sq. ft. SFJAZZ Center which resulted in a sold out first season and significant community and media acclaim.



Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
(de Young and Legion of Honor)

Developed marketing strategies for 96 special exhibitions between 2006 and 2011. In 2010, with nearly 2.5 million visitors, the Fine Arts Museums were the fourth-most-visited museums in the United States and 14th in the world.

Developed campaign to promote the only US stop for the exhibition Vivienne Westwood: 36 Years in Fashion. Working with the Victoria & Albert Museum and Vivienne Westwood’s design house in London we tapped into her cult following among fashion aficionados and punk rock enthusiasts, nationally and internationally, successfully launching the de Young’s impressive reputation for high-fashion exhibitions.

Balenciaga and Spain exhibition with Museo del Traje, Madrid, and Hamish Bowles, European editor at large for Vogue. Both exhibitions included Emmy-nominated documentaries filmed in Paris and Madrid.

Created marketing strategy for Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs. Working closely with Zahi Hawass, Secretary General, Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt, and the ABC affiliate, KGO in San Francisco, to produce an Emmy-nominated, one- hour documentary, filmed on location in Egypt. Additional segments were also filmed in Cairo for “life-style” stories aired during the exhibition run. The show was the best-attended exhibition of antiquities in the world attracting in 2009-2010 with just under one million visitors and meeting total revenue goals within the first two months of the nine month run.

Lead campaign strategy for two wildly successful shows from the Musee d Orsay’s collection, Birth of Impressionism and Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and Beyond. I also developed marketing partnerships, tapping into their constituencies, resulting in a per visitor acquisition cost of $0.58 and drew more than 900,000 visitors to the de Young.



San Diego Museum of Art

In 2001, the San Diego Museum of Art celebrated its 75th anniversary launched with a re-branding campaign. Using input from focus groups with community leaders, Balboa Park colleagues, educators, and Museum Trustees and staff, we developed a new logo, fresh institutional business materials and re-designed the museum’s publication. The resulting brand was colorful, art-centered, and contemporary with respect for the institution’s history.



Chapman Warwick

During my decade of work with advertising and PR agencies I worked on many branding campaigns for corporate clients.

Star of the Sea, a fine dining restaurant in San Diego, was in need of renovation and a new, younger customer base. Chapman Warwick worked with the owners, their Transition Management Board and the architect/designer to create a “new” Star. Public and media reaction was wildly positive and dinner business increased 47% from the year prior to renovation.

The City and Regional Magazine Group (City Magazines) approached the agency with their problem: how to convince their target audiences that they were a viable magazine category. We first conducted extensive focus groups with New York media buyers to determine the perceived drawback to a CMRA media buy. Through creating a new brand and a mixture of direct mail, advertising, public relations, and strategic event planning, CRMA made great strides toward their goal.


Capener Matthews & Walcher

I provided communication services for EastLake, a 3,200 acre master-planned community including residential, retail/commercial, industrial/office and recreational areas, located in southern San Diego County. Launched the EastLake Education Foundation, a non-profit foundation, with the mission to raise funds to support the highest quality educational opportunities within the community’s schools.