Open To Work
Hi, I’m
Erica Kunerth
fCMO, Growth Marketer & Creator
Mankato,MN
Summary
Results-oriented marketing leader skilled in aligning brand vision with business strategy to drive ROI and growth. Expertise in translating market insights into data-driven strategies that enhance revenue across technology, education, nonprofit, and consumer goods sectors. A service leader skilled at cultivating innovation and collaboration within teams to achieve organizational goals.
Overview
34
years of professional experience
Work History
Mission First MarketingMinneapolis, MN
Founder & fCMO
01.2018 - Current
Job overview
- Fractional CMO specializing in data-driven growth strategies for mission-driven organizations from start-ups to $100 million in revenue.
- Develop and managed strategic initiatives that contributed to revenue growth.
- Deployed insight-driven growth strategies through brand strategy development, digital demand generation, customer experience journey mapping, content strategy & creation, brand & product portfolio management, multi-channel campaign management, new product development, and go-to-market strategies.
Zenith Education GroupMinneapolis, MN
Director of Marketing & Brand Experience
02.2016 - 01.2018
Job overview
- Resurrected marketing initiatives post-transition to not-for-profit status, re-establishing corporate marketing functions and launching repositioning initiatives that increased awareness, lead generation, and enrollment in technical training programs.
- Partnered with senior admissions and campus leadership and led cross-functional teams to deploy multi-channel strategies to support company turnaround and reinvention of career technical education.
- Conducted data-driven customer segmentation and VOC research to identify best student personas and relevant market segments, delivering targeted brand promise and messaging hierarchy that maximized engagement, conversion, and retention.
- Conducted brand training initiatives with each campus and remote admissions teams.
- Led planning and implementation of multi-million dollar national lead-generation marketing campaigns in a matrixed environment, directing cross-functional teams and agency partners to optimize digital, streaming audio, social media, mobile, native content, TV, pay-per-click, affiliate, SEO, partnership, and PR outreach efforts.
- Multi-channel strategies drove 250% increase in unique visits, exceeded branded lead forecast by 17% and enrollments by 29%.
- Digital campaign drove 800x growth in branded search.
- Enrollment activation program generated a 43% increase in starts at an ROI in excess of 2,500%.
Halo InnovationsMinneapolis, MN
Vice President of Marketing
11.2008 - 05.2015
Job overview
- Led marketing initiatives that tripled core business revenues and
- Spearheaded market launch of Bassinest Swivel Sleeper, achieving 123% of revenue goals.
Generated eightfold increase in enterprise value, leading to strategic acquisition and investor exit.
Drove product success through targeted marketing strategies and stakeholder engagement. - Grew brand's digital and social media presence through influencer marketing campaigns, increasing brand authority and expanding social channels by over 100% YoY.
- Expanded hospital channel penetration by over 450% through positioning core product as "gold standard" for safe sleep practices, achieving over 40% coverage of U.S. births.
- Increased brand awareness by 112% and grew YoY annual revenues of core business 12-20%.
- Developed and executed integrated marketing campaigns across paid, earned, and owned channels, achieving annual sales goals.
Naterra LandMinneapolis, MN
Director of Marketing
11.2005 - 01.2008
Job overview
- Led marketing for the largest recreational land developer in the Midwest.
- Developed strategies for brand presence and online category leadership, reallocating resources to digital initiatives for growth and visibility.
- Shifted customer acquisition from traditional to online lead-generation model.
- Led market segmentation research to identify customer personas and buying processes, aligning campaigns and brand training with customer needs.
- Redesigned brand identity, resulting in improved market presence.
- Drove over 15% YOY annual sales revenue growth.
- Increased total lead volume by 46% and reduced cost-per-lead (CPL) by 39%.
- Increased total online conversions by 317% and conversion rates by 39%.
- SEO strategies achieved a 20-fold increase in SERP results and #1 organic search rankings.
Campbell Mithun AdvertisingMinneapolis, MN
Vice President, Account Supervisor
01.1992 - 01.1999
Job overview
- Led campaign to resurrect and turnaround the iconic Wonder and Hostess brands and restore each to category leadership.
- Led strategy and execution for $20MM Interstate Bakeries account, driving brand initiatives.
- Strategic lead for $20MM Interstate Bakeries account.
- Directed all consumer research, account planning, brand strategy, media planning and buying, promotion planning, creative development, and execution.
- Increased unit sales 5% in flat category, regaining #1 market share position in most markets.
- Advertising campaign awarded Silver Clio and Cannes Film Festival Finalist.
- Supervised account services staff and managed account P&L to ensure financial performance.
Education
University of Missouri School of JournalismColumbia, MO
Bachelors of Journalism
University Overview
Graduated magna cum laude; Student of the Year
University of St. Thomas Opus School of BusinessMinneapolis, MN
Executive Education - Mini MBA Program
Minnesota State UniversityMankato, MN
Candidate, MFA from Creative Writing
University Overview
Teaching assistant, English department
Skills
- Digital marketing strategy
- Demand generation
- Strategic planning
- Campaign management
- Creative strategy
- Brand positioning
- Market insights
- Customer journey mapping
- Content planning and creation
Work Preference
Job Search Status
Open to workWork Type
Contract WorkPart TimeFull TimeLocation Preference
HybridRemoteSalary Range
$100/hr - $150/hrCertification
- Digital Marketing, HubSpot Academy - 2021
- Email Marketing, HubSpot Academy - 2021
- Content Marketing, HubSpot Academy - 2021
Timeline
Founder & fCMO
Mission First Marketing
01.2018 - Current
Director of Marketing & Brand Experience
Zenith Education Group
02.2016 - 01.2018
Vice President of Marketing
Halo Innovations
11.2008 - 05.2015
Director of Marketing
Naterra Land
11.2005 - 01.2008
Vice President, Account Supervisor
Campbell Mithun Advertising
01.1992 - 01.1999
University of Missouri School of Journalism
Bachelors of Journalism
University of St. Thomas Opus School of Business
Executive Education - Mini MBA Program
Minnesota State University
Candidate, MFA from Creative Writing