Thanks for taking the time to check out my website!
People have said some nice things about me over the years.
Or they at least they approved these ghost written quotes.
"HE'S LIKE A GOLDEN RETRIEVER THAT GOT HIS LICENSE AND ALSO HAS A BACKGROUND IN MARKETING AND BUILDING THINGS. PLUS, HE'S AGGRESSIVELY OPTIMISTIC."
Eisner-award winning cartoonist, Matthew Inman, The Oatmeal
"HEY, I'M PATRICK. I LIKE YOUR SHIRT. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT PEARL JAM?"
Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld, The Tick, Bee Movie)
"Exactly what you would expect if Robert Downey, Jr. and Jack Black had a millennial Son."
Caitlin Burt, Host, Professional Actor, Sketch Comedian
"He seems to be powered by Dioynisus and good ideas. Also, somehow he knows everybody or at least treats them like long lost friends."
Ryan Brunty, Creator of Depressed Monsters
"He's hard-pressed to get upset by failure and seems to thrive on learning from went wrong."
Derek Flores, Lead Adaptive Buyer, Zappos.com an Amazon Co.
I began my professional career at a start-up in Las Vegas, NV in 2010, right after I graduated from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Political Science. Shifting from higher education to a fast-growing start-up, I quickly learned to embody the value of 'doing more with less' and as social media shifted from requiring a .edu email to developing business accounts, I was an early adapter and proponent of creating a voice for brands on social media.
I dove headfirst into learning how to grow and expand the reach of a business through organic, paid, and social media focused brand awareness campaigns. This experience then led me to joining the inagural social media team at 6pm.com, an Amazon-owned subsidiary, and later joining and expanding the social presence of its parent company, Zappos.com. At Zappos I helped to found the Community Manager Customer Loyalty Team and worked to create award-winning social media campaigns and experiential events focused on developmeing brand aura and engagement.
After a decade in Las Vegas, I found an opportunity in my home state of Michigan to work as a marketing consultant directing brand and social strategy for four of the internet's largest webcomic artists: the Awkward Yeti, Fowl Language, Sarah's Scribbles, and Shen Comix. Here I would combine my marketing, public relations, e-commerce, and experiential knowledge to lead branding and growth strategies and event appearances at conventions worldwide.
I then moved to Chicago to take a turn at working on the agency side of branding at the firm The Designory. Here I worked as a social strategist for the client the Intel Corporation where I focused on creating social media content for C-Level executives and marketing material for "new to market" products.
During my time in Chicago, I had also begun to work at Exploding Kittens as an events consultant leading the creation of Burning Cat, a tabletop-focused convention in Portland, OR. My title there was Dark Lord of Fun. Scheduled to burn in May 2020 in Portland, OR, Burning Cat, unfortunately, succumb to covid. However, I was still hooked on working with Exploding Kittens.
After leaving the Designory, I moved to West Hollywood in Los Angeles and transitioned to working for Exploding Kittens full-time. In this role, I was responsible for Marketing & Communications strategies for all things Exploding Kittens - including puzzles, physical and digital game launches, events, and partnership projects, such as Exploding Minions with NBC Universal and Illumination.
I was responsible for planning, executing, and reporting on marketing campaigns for DTC and big-box retail partnerships. I was also responsible for defining the implementation and strategies for brand awareness campaigns, CRM [email], influencer partnerships, and public relations. I also developed RFPs for various projects and managed all related marketing agency partnerships.
During my time at Exploding Kittens, I worked on the development and product launches of: Kitty Letter (digital, app), Exploding Kittens (digital, app, Netflix game) Throw Throw Burrito [Tabletop Game of the Year Nominee], On A Scale of One to T-Rex (tabletop), Barking Kittens (tabletop), Poetry for Neanderthals (tabletop), A Game of Cat & Mouth [Tabletop Game of the Year Winner], Tacocat Spelled Backwards (tabletop), A Little Wordy (tabletop), Throw Throw Avocado (tabletop), Exploding Kittens Puzzles, Happy Salmon (tabletop), Exploding Kittens: Cat Burglar (tabletop), and Mantis (tabletop).
During the development and subsequent release of each game, I acted as the marketing lens and strategist for the project and project managed each of the resulting marketing campaigns. Working cross-functionally with team members in various disciples has been the key to my successes and most impactful campaigns
I've gotten to build some wild stuff. (Like a 20-foot tall Burning Cat Statue with laser nipples.)
And now I am looking for new opportunities to use my skills in social media, experiential marketing, public relations, brand awareness strategy, and content creation! If this sounds like something I can help you with, please contact me. I would love to chat!
Contact Me
I can be reached at any of my social media channels or by clicking this button here!
