More about our Founder

About Mike Stout aka Lake Rider
President and Founder, i3 Marketing, Llc.
A strategic marketing and creative services firm.

When Stout is not on the water chasing grand adventure or shattering records, he is a marketing consultant. He is expert in managing change. Whether it be to launch a new business, refresh a tired brand, turn around a struggling business, or improve your communications, he can help.

A FORTUNE 100 BRAND AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE
Visionary leader delivering exceptional drive, focus, and value.
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.

To see a few career highlights, scroll below.

SPECIALTIES
Advertising
Annual and Long-term Planning
Brand Management
Brand Revitalization
Budgetary Oversight
Business Turnarounds
Channels Management
Innovation
Marketing Communications
Personal/Professional Coach
Promotion
Start-Ups
Strategic Marketing
Team Development
Website Creation

Mike is an ongoing advisor to local businesses, non-profits, and special causes. For recreation, his passion is long distance kayaking. Over the past six seasons he has paddled over 5,500 miles and solo paddled across Lake Michigan (5), Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Straits of Mackinac, and raced in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Washington.

To view stories and photography of his paddling adventures, click here.

CAREER STOPS & SUCCESSES
• Taken regional brands nationwide, achieved record revenue and profit growth.
• Transformed a private label company into a national brand powerhouse.
• Championed new products development & industry wide innovation.
• Turned a long-time declining business into a star financial performer.
• Led a number of successful start-ups.

i3 Marketing, LLC
Improving business through Insights and Innovation.
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 the 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.