Bob Tarren

For more than 30 years Bob has been upending convention while transforming brands, growing sales, and expanding share.
His reputation for thinking both big and strategically has been recognized with more than 20 national and regional advertising and communications awards.
His strategies helped Circuit City overtake Best Buy, Amazon and Walmart in share and sales in the $4 billion TV category.
His data-drive ideation on Circuit City’s Innovation team led to a new store concept.
In Bob’s first startup, he led the sales force and the marketing department to become Virginia’s Small Business of the Year and was featured on the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies list three years in a row.
Tactically, Bob is responsible for many ‘firsts’- the first use by a national retailer of on-campus SMS messaging to market to college students, first use of an app to give mobile users to opportunity to create their own Chihuly glass art, the first partnership with best-selling author Patricia Cornwell for a custom mystery to sell beer, the first appearance of the Virginia Wine Industry in Wine Spectator, the first use of Augmented Reality in partnership with Starbucks.
Most recently, Bob’s marketing strategies resulted in more than 7 billion media impressions in 12 months with stories in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone Magazine, USA Today and more… for a tiny start up in the middle of nowhere.
Bob has taught two senior level university courses: ACUMEN (the business of advertising), and EMPATHY (the art & science of account management).
Bob holds a B.A from the University of Miami and a Masters Degree from the University of Florida.