Hi, I’m Alex Ostrove.
I’m a BRAND MARKETING LEADER with 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE growing WEB BASED BUSINESSES.
I specialize in brand strategy and leading the execution of integrated marketing initiatives. I believe that creative content drives commerce, that brand storytelling is the key to customer engagement in saturated marketplaces, and that strongest brands give people more than something to buy– they give people something to buy into.
In short— I build interesting brands.
I’ve worked both in-house for brands and in an agency relationship with them: as a consulting out-of-house marketer with a roster of up to six simultaneous clients and a team of freelance support. I understand how brands work and what they need, especially early stage, fast-paced and quickly growing companies.
FOUNDATIONS
BRAND & Agency EXPERIENCE
By the time I joined e-commerce startup Beachmint to manage the social properties of their six celebrity-backed brands (and launch four of those in a single year), I had developed a deep understanding of how customers engage online. It was there that I got my first opportunity to freelance for a Beachmint alum, which quickly transitioned into a career shift into consulting.
The start of my career coincided with the rise of social media for brands. I was using my B.A. in English as Forever 21’s marketing copywriter, and I was asked to write for ‘the Twitter.’ I suggested I also work on ‘the Facebook’— and I spent the next two years building a robust digital marketing department at F21, growing to launch and manage all social, influencer and digital media content, 10 employees, and a $2M budget.
CLIENT WORK
I was hired as an out-of-house head of marketing across media, tech, non-profit, entertainment, e-commerce, and professional service categories, applying my expertise in content marketing and brand building to launches, pivots, and growth of web-based companies.
On top of managing integrated marketing projects across email, social, experiential, influencer and earned media channels, I also created operational marketing systems; establishing content production cadence, budgets, calendars, organizational tools and team workflow for small, quickly growing teams.
My client list expanded, quickly increasing my need for output and driving me to restructure from individual consulting to an agency model where I hired and managed freelancers to execute client deliverables while acting as the client-facing principal. I grew experienced in fast-paced, results-driven projects, and became an expert in managing a decentralized team years before remote work became the norm.
FULL CLIENT LIST
SELECTED PROJECTS
BRAND WORK
When a consulting project for prelaunch brand Tamara Mellon grew into a full-time opportunity in 2016, I transitioned back to working in-house. In that role and my other roles since, I’ve reported directly to C-level executives and founders, collaborating in leadership roles on overall brand and growth strategies.
My passion and interest lies in setting growing companies up for success, whether that’s by developing strong, memorable brands with engaging multi-channel storytelling, or by building operationally sound internal systems. Organization, communication, and prioritization are my love languages.
SELECTED PROJECTS
SKILLS & SPECIALTIES
In industry speak: I specialize in ideating and actualizing campaign development through integrated marketing initiatives, managing brand positioning, strategic partnerships, content production, editorial copywriting, and digital media.
In simpler terms: I help brands come up with their “why” and communicate it effectively to grow their business.
My areas of focus are:
GROWTH STRATEGY
Brand growth isn’t only about increasing revenue– it’s about synchronicity between product, creative strategy, and customer journey. Thanks to my project-based consulting history, I’m experienced in making data-driven decisions that inform clear, company-wide roadmaps to achieving overall growth goals.
Brand Initiatives
Business Objectives
Company Roadmaps
Customer Lifecycle
Communication Strategy
Media Strategy
PR
Partnerships
Customer Insights
Analytics
SWOT Analysis
Cause Marketing
Effective marketing can’t exist in a vacuum. Beyond my experience managing Marketing and E-commerce departments, I also frequently lead interdepartmental teams on process and operational projects. I often partner with Product Development, Planning, Merchandising, and Data on cross-functional projects to execute the above brand growth strategies.
CROSS FUNCTIONAL COLLABATION
Go-to-Market Strategy
Team Calendars
Launch Planning
Internal Comms
Strategy Offsites
OKRs
Customer Experience
Packaging & Collateral
Hero Product
Assortment Strategy
Product Development
Merchandising
There’s an art and a science to developing a brand. Every customer touchpoint is an opportunity to reinforce values and differentiators, to surprise and delight, and to drive category awareness. I’ve launched 7 brands, 9 collaborations, 3 new categories, and countless campaigns, collections, and new products, each one an exercise in omnichannel campaign development. I’m seasoned in the development and production creative content of all mediums.
BRAND DEVELOPMENT & CONTENT
Brand Positioning
Messaging Hierarchy
Brand Workshops & Brand Book Building
Creative Briefs
Campaign Ideation
Content Strategy
Visual Identity & Art Direction
Copywriting
Brand Voice
Photo & Video Shoot Production
Website UX
Landing Pages
Ecommerce Design
Blog Content
Syndicated Content
INTEGRATED MARKETING
Consumers don’t think in terms of channels or funnels– their perception of brands is naturally holistic. That’s why I approach brand marketing via integrated campaigns: planning from concept to customer and balancing business acumen and creative strategy. I have over a decade of experience executing full-funnel, omnichannel campaigns by leading teams of up to ten channel managers and marketing contributors.
360° Marketing Calendar
Agency Management
SMS
Organic Social
Ad Creative
Product Marketing
Gifting
Influencer Strategy
Content Creators
Brand Ambassadors
Loyalty Programs
VIP Customers
Affiliate Marketing
Out-Of-Home
Direct Mail
Experiential Activations
Events
SEO
Ecommerce Experience
I have a proven track record of gleaning insights from metrics and using them to both reinforce strategies and communicate impact. I apply this results-oriented approach to executing initiatives of all sizes, creating a scalable project management framework for marketing projects designed to succeed in any sized company.
MANAGEMENT & EXECUTION
Leadership
Establishing KPIs
Measuring ROI
Analytical Skills
Presentations
Timelines
Workflows
Project Management
Budget Management
Forecasting
Agency Management
Hiring
TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe InDesign
AirTable
Asana
Basecamp
Excel
Figma
Google Analytics
Klaviyo
Keynote
Notion
Powerpoint
TripleWhale
Squarespace
Shopify
WRITTEN Work
I’m a writer by nature and it has informed how I approach brand storytelling. I create strong brand personas with recognizable voices, crafting the wink, the nod, the pithy one liner, the short text with a subtext that makes your brand memorable in the 0.5 seconds you have of your customer’s digitally distracted attention span.
I also ghostwrite, most often for client op-eds (that I’ve likely planned around an adjacent campaign, pitched and strategically syndicated with the help of press partners) and I rarely have the pleasure of sharing that work. My words have been published on the websites of the below publications;
I’m based in Los Angeles and I work remotely.
Email me here.