1st
National recognition
NCMPR Gold Paragon for the SEO/SEM program
Executive Director, Marketing & Creative Strategy
Evidence of impact.
Not just experience.
An evidence-backed case for returning to Waubonsee as an integrated marketing and creative leader, connecting the enrollment capabilities I helped build with the teams, portfolios and outcomes I have led since.
5
Functions supervised
Demand generation, creative, web, paid media and project coordination
$MM
Portfolio stewardship
Multi-brand annual media strategy, allocation and performance governance
122%
Commercial growth
Year-over-year category sales growth for TechMet Carbides
Explore the evidence
Four paths through the leadership case.
01 / Leadership & growth
See what changed since Waubonsee.
Supervision, multidisciplinary direction, commercial outcomes and portfolio stewardship.
02 / Waubonsee record
Review the integrated enrollment work.
Creative, media, measurement and campus communication working as one system.
03 / Thought leadership
Watch complex ideas become useful.
Recent video, published writing and higher education peer validation.
04 / Audience development
See a media brand built from zero.
Positioning, content, distribution and a combined audience of more than 45,000.
What changed since Waubonsee
Direct supervisory experience
From individual contributor to functional department head.
At Dorn Group, I have served as a functional department head and senior marketing strategist—setting strategic and technical direction, directly supervising a multidisciplinary team, coaching employees, overseeing quality and coordinating integrated delivery across brand, creative, content, media, web, automation and analytics. That work has supported national brands and large enterprises including Atkore, WD-40, Mechanix Wear and JPW Industries.
My career foundation spans graphic and publication design, print production, editorial content, direct mail, out-of-home media, event marketing and media relations.
01 / Direct supervision
Five functional disciplines
- Demand generation managers
- Art direction and graphic design
- Software and web development
- Paid-media management
- Project management and marketing coordination
02 / Team leadership
Direction, standards and coaching
- Translated client goals into functional priorities
- Provided technical oversight across disciplines
- Coached employees through unfamiliar work
- Reviewed quality, performance and delivery
- Coordinated execution with account leadership
03 / External management
Specialists beyond the firm
- Web-development firms
- Programmatic advertising platforms
- White-label service providers
- Content-marketing firms
- Independent web, automation and content specialists
Portfolio-level media governance
Strategy, allocation and accountability at multimillion-dollar scale.
I developed JPW Industries’ 2026 digital-media budget and media-mix strategy, then led development of the 2027 multi-brand recommendation. I authorized channel allocations and personally managed or supervised more than half of the annual spend, with clear performance expectations and reallocation triggers.
To protect client confidentiality, brand- and channel-specific allocations are omitted from this committee-facing summary.
Commercial growth cases
Strategy translated into measurable outcomes
Different markets. The same operating discipline.
01
Industrial cutting tools
Industrial cutting toolsLed the agency transition, rebuilt paid search, improved website conversion, established lead generation and nurturing, and expanded SEO content.
122%YoY category sales growth
02
Specialty e-commerce
Specialty e-commerceLed and personally implemented the consolidation of two Shopify sites into one scalable branded experience, including accessibility remediation following an accessibility-related lawsuit, SEO transition and digital advertising.
60%e-commerce growth
03
Industrial/MRO expansion
Industrial/MRO expansionDesigned a B2B lead-generation and nurture system using existing CRM contacts, targeted advertising and email outreach.
400+MQLs in under 60 days
04
Commercial electrical markets
Commercial electrical marketsDesigned a pickup-truck sweepstakes strategy to meet regulatory requirements across all 50 states while focusing acquisition on qualified electrical contractors.
10,000qualified contacts in 180 days
05
Industrial content and social
Industrial content and socialTurned an existing case-study library into a sustainable three-posts-per-week content engine across multiple social platforms.
30%annual audience growth, five straight years
Senior strategy in practice
The judgment behind the outcomes
Diagnose. Prioritize. Test. Reallocate.
Selected client work products show a repeatable operating method across disciplines. The value is not another list of digital tactics; it is evidence that I can turn ambiguity, competing priorities and imperfect data into a defensible course of action.
01 / Evidence-led diagnosis
Find the system failure, not the convenient explanation.
Powermatic · Conversion optimizationWhen traffic rose but dealer handoffs fell after a redesign, I framed competing hypotheses and combined attention analysis, a live three-way split test with 1,121 visitors and observed user testing. The winning design increased the “Buy Now” conversion rate 61% over the control and largely accounted for the loss.
+61%conversion-rate lift in the winning test variant
02 / Enterprise roadmap
Separate immediate fixes from long-term capability building.
Unirac · Search and digital experienceI assessed 35 SEO success factors across seven areas, benchmarked competitors, and translated the findings into immediate actions and phased projects spanning information architecture, technical configuration, content, site performance, localization and platform consolidation.
35success factors organized into a prioritized roadmap
03 / Investment judgment
Make resource allocation legible to decision-makers.
JPW Industries · Competitive intelligence and mediaI combined imperfect third-party competitive intelligence with internal dealer- handoff economics and business-unit demand, then modeled brand and channel scenarios with explicit output, conversion and revenue assumptions. This earlier work is a clear precursor to my current multi-million-dollar portfolio stewardship.
4brands modeled across search and multi-channel investment
04 / Test-and-learn governance
Move budget when the evidence changes.
Spraying Systems Co. · Lead-generation pilotI designed a two-channel pilot spanning message themes, creative formats, audiences, regions and landing-page variants. When social produced an estimated 3.19 return on ad spend versus 1.07 for display, I recommended an 80/20 shift toward social while explicitly flagging a separate landing-page result as immature.
3×estimated social-channel ROAS versus display
My record at Waubonsee
My Waubonsee work established a foundation I have since scaled.
The platforms have evolved. The underlying approach—integrated planning, audience-centered experience, experimentation and accountable measurement—is the same approach I now apply at larger scale.
01 / Ahead-of-the-curve search strategy
NCMPR Gold ParagonNational first place
Search-led enrollment marketing before it became common practice.
For the 2011 website relaunch, I helped turn the college catalog into a structured acquisition system built around how prospective students actually search.
- 1,200+topic-specific landing pages
- 150+segmented paid-search ad groups
- 500+creative variants tied to relevant content
- ~20Ksearch terms, including lower-cost long-tail phrases
What this demonstrates
A comprehensive acquisition system—not isolated SEO and advertising. The scale and integration were advanced for higher education at the time, and the operating logic still holds.
02 / Integrated enrollment marketing
Enrollment growthConversion attributionCreative optimization
Integrate the enrollment journey. Measure contribution.
The fall enrollment campaign joined display, search, social, mobile, retargeting and online video under one visual system—and measured how those channels initiated, assisted and completed prospective-student actions.
Documented scope: in-house media management, 360+ creative variations, audience and geographic targeting, split testing, conversion analysis and an ROI model grounded in registration data.
Institutional context
+8.9% Fall opening headcount
Waubonsee ranked first in the supplied 2011–2012 comparison of 39 Illinois community college districts. The campaign is presented as a contributor to that shared outcome—not as its sole cause.
03 / Noncredit growth
Turn a limited budget into a focused growth system.
When noncredit revenue became an institutional priority, the Xcelerate youth program set an ambitious target: double summer enrollment from 150 to 300. The goal was reached in three months.
150 → 300100% enrollment growth
The strategy combined a local parenting-media partnership, social engagement, email, SEO/SEM, display and remarketing. It reached parents where they were already planning summer activities, rather than relying on a single campaign channel.
Review project evidence
Current proof / Independent audience development
Creator-led media brand
Build an audience from zero.
To test whether I could translate my digital strategy beyond industrial B2B, I created Big Guy In A Tiny House as an independent media brand. I developed the positioning, identity, content, production, search strategy, distribution and community growth myself.
The channel reached YouTube monetization within its first year and continues to grow through practical storytelling, search-led discovery and audience trust.
Brand in practice
An independent media brand built from positioning and identity through content, production, distribution and audience growth.
05 / Thought leadership
A sustained strategic point of view
Make complex ideas useful to other leaders.
Across published articles, client counsel, conference presentations and recent video, I have translated shifts in data, technology and audience behavior into practical decisions. The point is not prediction for its own sake. It is helping leaders understand what is changing, what is not and where to act.
Current perspective · 2025
Think ahead. Explain clearly. Make it actionable.
Generative discovery
Five ways to prepare for AI-mediated search.
A practical operating agenda spanning structured data, marketplaces, CRM, digital buyer tools and information management.Structured value expression
Make value legible to people and machines.
Connect taxonomy, proof and decision tools to an increasingly AI-assisted buyer journey.Managing the transition
Do not “pop the clutch” on change.
A plain-language framework for adapting marketing systems without abandoning the capabilities that still create value.Selected published writing
Ideas that hold up beyond a platform or campaign.
Measurement judgment
Question whether a metric measures what leaders think it measures.
Uses survivorship bias to show why the most visible response is not always the most valuable outcome.
Read article ↗Technology governanceAdopt emerging technology with timing, purpose and organizational readiness.
Balances early-adopter advantage against hype, implementation risk and the path to productive use.
Read article ↗Organizational learningUse iteration to move beyond imitation and rigid “best practices.”
Frames continuous improvement as a disciplined way to reduce risk while developing a differentiated strategy.
Read article ↗Data, privacy and trustRecognize that first-party identity must be earned—not merely acquired.
Connects privacy constraints, consent and useful value exchange to responsible marketing-technology adoption.
Read article ↗Higher education peer validation
Neil Ruffolo presenting · Recent professional setting
Neil, your talk about online advertising and analytics was EPIC!
Scott Knauer, NCMPR event organizer and higher education peer
Unsolicited email, March 18, 2013
This unsolicited response followed the 2013 NCMPR presentation Get Online and Get in the Game. Scott specifically encouraged a follow-up session centered on goals, conversions and effectiveness. The presentation translated goal attribution, multi-channel paths and assisted conversions into a practical enrollment-marketing framework.
Read the original feedback06 / Institutional communication systems
Connect the brand to everyday campus experience.
The work was not confined to advertising. It extended into identity, information, services and wayfinding—creating consistent, useful touchpoints for students, faculty, staff and visitors.
Four-campus system
Campus digital signage
Balanced the distinct identity of each campus with college-wide brand and message consistency.View evidence ↗
15-building campus tour
Interactive media console
Developed controlled public content, campus news and a Google Maps-based tour for a centerpiece lobby installation.View evidence ↗
College-wide identity
XCARD
I developed the XCARD name and designed the original identification card when the program was introduced, connecting the “X” in every college ID number to a memorable campus identity.The leadership through-line
The tools changed. The operating principles did not.
Build systems
Create durable capabilities that outlast any one campaign.
Connect the work
Unify creative, media, web experience and measurement around institutional goals.
Make data useful
Translate complex evidence into decisions colleagues can act on.
Share the outcome
Claim the contribution accurately while respecting the team nature of enrollment growth.
Evidence register
Primary artifacts behind the claims.
- 2011Results Focused SEO/SEMNCMPR Paragon Awards entry
- 2012Fall enrollment campaign (“Fall Colors”)NCMPR Paragon Awards entry
- 2012Illinois peer enrollment comparisonFall opening headcount and full-time enrollment
- 2012Xcelerate youth enrollment growthProject profile and campaign documentation
- 2013Higher education social marketingProject profile and campaign documentation
- 2013Get Online and Get in the GameNCMPR presentation with Jeff Noblitt and Stephanie Wennmacher
- 2013“EPIC” presentation feedbackUnsolicited email from an NCMPR event organizer
- 2014/22Colleague recommendationsLinkedIn recommendations from Douglas Grier and Rachel Pankow
- 2015–18Selected Dorn client strategy workPowermatic CRO; JPW intelligence and media modeling; Unirac SEO roadmap; Portacool and Spraying Systems performance governance
- 2019–21Selected strategic writingMeasurement, martech governance, agile learning, privacy, AI attribution and channel disruption
- 2025Strategic video seriesGenerative discovery, structured value expression and deliberate technology transition
- CurrentBig Guy In A Tiny HouseIndependent audience development and channel monetization
- 2026–27JPW digital-media portfolio strategyConfidential budget, scenarios, KPIs and reallocation guardrails
- SelectedDorn Group commercial growth casesInterview-ready accounts of strategy, leadership and business outcomes
04 / Emerging-media leadership
Proven early adopter
Turn an emerging channel into an institutional capability.
I initiated Waubonsee’s social media presence and built it into an integrated part of the marketing and communications mix—establishing content, audience development, paid reach and measurement while institutional adoption was still new.
The campaign generated 2.87 million impressions, 12,197 clicks, 11,220 other social actions and 1,547 new Facebook followers. Those outputs matter because the channel was connected to an enrollment strategy—not managed as a standalone feed.
View project profile ↗