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Meghan Curran
Chief Marketing & Experience Officer at Shedd Aquarium
Professional Background
Meghan Curran is a seasoned marketing professional with a wealth of experience in the field, particularly within the non-profit and museum sector. Currently, she serves as the Chief Marketing & Experience Officer at the prestigious Shedd Aquarium, where she plays a pivotal role in shaping the aquarium's brand identity and guest engagement strategies. Under her leadership, Shedd Aquarium has not only enhanced its marketing initiatives but has also elevated the overall visitor experience, making it a must-visit destination in Chicago.
Before her current role, Meghan held several key positions at Shedd Aquarium, including Senior Vice President of Marketing, Sales & Guest Relations. In these roles, she was instrumental in developing strategies that significantly increased guest attendance and engagement. Meghan's extensive journey at Shedd began as the Director of Marketing, where her innovative approach to marketing led to major campaigns that boosted the aquarium's visibility.
Beyond her impressive tenure at Shedd Aquarium, Meghan has made significant contributions to the broader museum community. She served as the President of the Marketing and Public Relations International Committee (MPR) at the International Council of Museums (ICOM), where she provided leadership and guidance on best practices in museum marketing worldwide. Furthermore, she has held a position on the Board of the PR and Marketing Professional Network at the American Alliance of Museums, showcasing her commitment to advancing the marketing and public relations profession in the museum sector.
Education and Achievements
Meghan's academic foundation is grounded in a Bachelor of Science in Communications, with a focus on Advertising, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This educational background equipped her with the essential skills in communication and marketing that have been integral to her career success.
Throughout her career, Meghan has been recognized for her strategic vision and innovative marketing approaches. Her work has not only driven growth for the organizations she's served but has also contributed to the overall advancement of marketing practices within the cultural sector. Meghan's leadership and expertise have made her a sought-after speaker and thought leader at various industry events, where she shares her insights on marketing and audience engagement strategies.
Achievements
- Chief Marketing & Experience Officer: Currently leading marketing and guest experience initiatives at Shedd Aquarium, redefining how they connect with the public and enhance visitor experiences.
- Senior Vice President of Marketing, Sales & Guest Relations: Oversaw strategic marketing initiatives that significantly increased engagement and visitor attendance at Shedd Aquarium.
- Leadership Roles at ICOM: As President of the Marketing and Public Relations Committee, Meghan contributed to the development of global marketing practices for museums, influencing how cultural institutions promote themselves worldwide.
- Board Member at American Alliance of Museums: Played a key role in shaping marketing and public relations strategies for museum professionals.
- Career Progression at Shedd Aquarium: Demonstrated versatility and commitment through various roles from Director of Marketing to Vice President, showcasing her ability to adapt and excel in the fast-paced world of marketing.
- Innovative Campaigns: Known for initiating successful marketing campaigns that effectively resonate with diverse audience segments, enhancing the aquarium's visibility and outreach.
Meghan Curran's impressive journey exemplifies how strategic marketing and experiential design can be harnessed to enrich cultural institutions and engage communities effectively.
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Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
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Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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