Bill Patterson
President
Nation Ranch Marketing

Drawing upon his experience in advertising, direct marketing and public relations, Kansas City native Bill Patterson formed Nation Ranch Marketing, Inc. in March 2002 to help his clients establish “conversations over coffee” with their customers.

A graduate of Shawnee Mission North High School and Boston University (B.S. Communication, 1990), Bill began his career in New York as a copywriter with D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, before taking an account service position with direct response agency Kobs & Draft (now Draft Worldwide).

While with Draft, his press writing skills came to the attention of company brass and he was offered his first job in public relations, working from the firm’s world headquarters in Chicago.

After a brief stint with a Chicago-based public relations firm, Bill returned to his native Kansas City in 1994 to join the staff of Hickerson-Phelps subsidiary Henderson/HP Public Relations.

At H/HP, Bill helped launch Kansas City’s riverboat gaming industry, representing Argosy Casino. He also represented clients including Kansas City Power & Light, Preferred Health Professionals and Bombardier Aerospace.

His work for Bombardier led him to a position with Anderson Communications Group in Hilton Head, S.C., where he represented Gulfstream Aerospace and promoted its world record-setting Gulfstream V ultra long range business jet.

Returning to Kansas City in 1998, Bill served as director and later vice president of public relations for MMG Worldwide, growing the company’s PR department from one to five people in less than three years. His clients included the Missouri Division of Tourism, John Q. Hammons Hotels, Inc., and the Kansas City Aviation Department.

As part of his work for the Missouri Division of Tourism, Bill hit upon the idea of using a Web-based interface to help his staff work more effectively with travel writers. Working with Overland Park, Kan.-based Digital Evolution Group, he helped create the Impressario Intelligent Newsroom, a technology that is now used by public relations firms throughout the region.

Based on this success, Bill identified the four components that make up all Nation Ranch marketing communications programs: strategy, content, technology and service.

These four pillars help clients define and articulate their brand identities, convert prospects into customers, engage customers in ongoing dialogues and maximize the value of individual customer relationships over time.


Aryn Whitehead
Associate

Aryn joined Nation Ranch in January 2005. She graduated with honors from Boston University with a Master’s Degree in Public Relations with an emphasis in Corporate Relations. Her interest in international study took her to London as part of Boston University’s Mass Communication Graduate Program.

While in London, Aryn worked for public relations firm PR21, a Daniel J. Edelman company. Aryn’s work at PR21 focused largely on corporate branding for Conduit Directory Enquiries following deregulation of Great Britain’s telecommunications industry. She also promoted Ecco Shoes and assisted with communication research efforts for the London Institute.

In the United States, she has worked with the marketing department for George Lay Signs, Inc. of Wichita, Kan., and has developed public relations campaigns for a nonprofit organization and a financial institution.

Aryn graduated magna cum laude from Southwest Baptist University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and in Spanish. As an undergraduate student, she spent a semester abroad as a student at the University of Salamanca in Spain.


Barb Hannon
Associate

Barb joined Nation Ranch in March 2006. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the agency including office management, client relations and quality control.

Prior to joining Nation Ranch, Barb worked for nine years within the Human Resources group at Hallmark Cards, Inc. presenting programs for their employees on a variety of topics including personal development, parenting and elder care issues. She facilitated new employee orientation sessions and parenting classes, and worked with the Corporate Diversity Group assisting with training and the development of the minority and women supplier development program.

Barb left Hallmark to continue her education and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas in 2001. She spent a semester abroad at the University of Malaga in Ronda, Spain, and funded her undergraduate degree by establishing and maintaining her own successful residential cleaning business.

After graduation, Barb joined Northwestern Mutual Financial Network as a recruiter. While there she established relationships with various campus and community groups, promoting the career opportunities at Northwestern Mutual, attending campus career fairs and participating in monthly community clubs and organizations.