My name is Tracy Weir, and I’ve been working in marketing for a really, really long time. I say that not because I want you to think I’m old, but because I think marketing is a constantly changing beast — and you need to have a little history to understand how the future will be affected by the enormous change in the way we communicate today.

Marketing isn’t about advertising, or identities, or web sites or Facebook promotions — it’s about all of it, rolled up into one huge package. Everything affects everything, and the most difficult piece of the puzzle is figuring out where to begin. I specialize in helping companies get started. Whether you have an established brand or a start-up, I can help you get to the heart of your brand so you can develop it effectively across mediums.

I believe that you can’t do effective marketing in a short-term blitz. If you’re going to do it right, you need to think in the long term, so that you allocate resources efficiently, form the right relationships with your customers and partners and build a brand that has some staying power and momentum.

Right now, I’m chief marketing officer at Inman News, a fantastic company that connects real estate agents and brokers with the news, technology and ideas they need to succeed. We’re just about to go through a massive rebranding effort, and I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to transform such a well-known and beloved brand in the industry.

Before I joined Inman, I was vice president of marketing at California Closets. It was a heck of a lot of fun, and a great challenge to run a brand that is so well-known. You can learn more about what I did at California Closets here.

I’m also an entrepreneur.  I ran my own business for a dozen years prior to joining California Closets. Speeding Bullet was a full-service design firm, based in San Francisco. We specialized in helping all kinds of companies (but primarily tech ventures) formulate their brands, web presence and collateral programs. And if we’re going way back into history, I’ve also worked in corporate events, public relations and advertising, as either a creative or a suit. All of this is to say that I’m a jack of all trades when it comes to marketing.