The Marketer
Hi, I’m Mike
Director, leader, and hands-on operator helping ambitious teams turn big ideas into campaigns they can actually execute.
My goal is simple:
Build a marketing system that works.
10+ Years of Experience in Marketing, Demand Generation, and Technology
I’ve spent the past decade building marketing across demand generation, operations, events, executive communities, paid media, email, websites, automation and content.
At RETHINK Retail, I earned two promotions in under a year and progressed from Senior Demand Generation Specialist to Director of Marketing & Communications. I led teams, managed a $50K monthly marketing budget, supported high-volume client campaigns and helped build communities and events that connected retail leaders with the partners trying to reach them.
I’m at my best when the work has a lot of moving parts. Give me the strategy, the team, the tech stack, the timeline and the messy middle, and I’ll help turn it into something people can actually execute.
How I Help Teams Succeed
Case Studies
The best way to understand my work is through the problems I’ve helped solve. From growing audiences and improving digital journeys to building campaign systems and leading high-volume marketing programs, these case studies show how I connect strategy, execution and measurable impact.
Technical Skills
Modern marketing runs on more than good ideas. It takes the right mix of creativity, data, technology and process to turn strategy into results. I use marketing tools not just to launch campaigns, but to build systems that help teams move faster, measure what matters and keep improving.
Photography
Photography is a different kind of storytelling, but it comes from the same instinct that drives my marketing: noticing what matters, framing it clearly and creating something people remember. It is also the most personal part of this site, and a look at how I see the world outside of work.
How will I help you succeed?
Case Studies
The best way to understand my work is through the problems I’ve helped solve. From growing audiences and improving digital journeys to building campaign systems and leading high-volume marketing programs, these case studies show how I connect strategy, execution and measurable impact.
Technical Skills
Modern marketing runs on more than good ideas. It takes the right mix of creativity, data, technology and process to turn strategy into results. I use marketing tools not just to launch campaigns, but to build systems that help teams move faster, measure what matters and keep improving.
Photography
Photography is a different kind of storytelling, but it comes from the same instinct that drives my marketing: noticing what matters, framing it clearly and creating something people remember. It is also the most personal part of this site, and a look at how I see the world outside of work.
Experience
Director of Marketing @ RETHINK Retail / March 2025 to July 2026
Led marketing and communications across executive communities, events, webinars, research, client campaigns, ABM, email, paid media, websites, automation and reporting.
In this role, I balanced department leadership with hands-on execution. I led a growing team, managed an approximately $50K monthly marketing budget, supported high-volume client campaigns and helped build the systems behind RETHINK Retail’s marketing engine.
Key Accomplishments:
- Earned two promotions in under a year, progressing from Senior Demand Generation Specialist to Director of Marketing & Communications.
- Helped grow Global Retail Leaders from 99 to 389 members.
- Helped nearly double RETHINK Retail’s LinkedIn audience and more than double newsletter subscribers.
- Improved newsletter open rates from approximately 22% to 35%.
- Directed ABM programs that generated approximately 500 qualified leads per month.
- Built campaign intake, portfolio management, quality-control and automation systems that replaced hundreds of hours of manual work per quarter.
- Helped lead the marketing behind communities, events and campaigns that connected retail leaders with the partners and solution providers trying to reach them.
Marketing Operations Manager @ RETHINK Retail / October 2024 to October 2025
Expanded from demand generation into marketing operations, team leadership, campaign systems, audience development and cross-functional execution.
Key Accomplishments:
- Took on formal team leadership and broader ownership of marketing operations.
- Built stronger workflows across ABM, event marketing, email, CRM, landing pages and reporting.
- Helped improve how campaigns moved from idea to execution, with clearer ownership, better handoffs and stronger quality control.
- Supported major event and community growth across RETHINK Retail’s executive audience programs.
Senior Demand Generation Specialist @ RETHINK Retail / April 2024 to October 2024
Joined RETHINK Retail to support demand generation, audience growth, CRM workflows, landing pages, email marketing, executive outreach and event promotion.
Key Accomplishments:
- Helped build the foundation for stronger executive-audience acquisition and qualification.
- Supported GRL growth, event registration, ABM campaigns and sponsor-facing marketing programs.
- Improved campaign tracking, landing page execution and audience-development workflows.
- Took ownership beyond the original role, helping create the systems and momentum that led to a promotion within six months.
Marketing Consultant @ Mike the Marketer / 2018 to April 2024
Built websites, campaigns and marketing plans for small businesses before pausing the business when I joined RETHINK Retail full-time.
Selected work included generating six new clients for an attorney’s office, launching an exterior cleaning company’s website and advertising strategy, and helping a performance artist turn a part-time hobby into a full-time business.
Digital Marketing Manager @ International Training / 2019 to 2022
Led digital marketing campaigns for a global scuba training organization, working across paid media, landing pages, email, sales enablement, analytics and international stakeholder coordination.
Key Accomplishments:
- Helped drive a 30% increase in instructors and 33% increase in students over two years.
- Supported company growth during the pandemic by rapidly releasing marketing resources for instructors and training centers.
- Led the Adventure Diver PPC campaign, generating $51,760 in revenue with a 324% ROI.
- Supported the Learn to Dive campaign, adopted by 1,071 businesses and tied to a 16% increase in diver acquisition through digital channels.
Marketing Manager @ Emergency Medical Consultants, Inc. / 2015 to 2019
Built a dedicated marketing function for a healthcare training business, improving digital registrations, website performance, social reach and customer communication.
Key Accomplishments:
- Increased online course registrations by 351%.
- Tripled social media reach and increased engagement tenfold.
- Rebuilt the company website and improved the registration journey, increasing average daily visitors by 302% and lowering bounce rate by 22%.
- Implemented digital journey and communication improvements that helped reduce incoming calls by 14%.
Earlier Experience
Earlier roles in real estate, technology sales and customer experience helped shape how I communicate, sell, teach and translate complex ideas for different audiences.
Education
Bachelor of Arts – Political Science, University of Florida, 2012.
Awards
Presidential Club @ Best Buy / 2014
Rated amongst the top 100 sales employees in the entire Best Buy company for outstanding customer satisfaction scores and revenue generated per hour.
Outstanding Business Group Performance @ Best Buy / 2013
Recognized for the ability to serve customers adeptly and with a sense of urgency, providing an exceptional customer service experience while exceeding sales goals.
Michael A. Villafranco
Thanks for checking out the site! If you have any questions or would like to reach out to me, please use the contact form.
Have a nice day!