Gotham Artists

Independent consultant for Gotham Artists, a speaker bureau in New York City.

Consultant

Leadspring ISA

As the CEO of Leadspring I manage all operations and have worked hard with my team to become the Industry leading platform driving lead generation and conversion for Real Estate Marketing Agencies, Lenders, and Real Estate Agents.

100% USA Based Real Estate ISA Experts.
Over 200+ Active Realtors use our Live-Transfer System to Speak with Ready-to-Chat Buyers and Sellers.
						
Give us a Try Today! https://bookme.name/websearchroi/call-with-austin

Macquarie Group

At Macquerie Group, we empower people to innovate and invest for a better future.

Finance Manager within the Corporate Operations Group.
Ensured business processes, administration, and financial management.
Investigated means to improve profitability.

Finance Manager

CardioNet

Implemented a range of strategic company analysis, particularly financial statement and sales team analytics.

Developed financial forecasts and targets, by health care provider, based on changing payer structure.
Reviewed and quantified cost effectiveness of sales team commission payouts in their effort to solicit new business for company product.
Facilitated with financial planning and budgeting processes.

Sr. Financial Analyst

Thomson Financial Management

Collaborated on teams to support internal company business units. Wrote reports and guided strategic analysis of company wide processes and inefficiencies. Major projects included:

Thomson Global Research: Researched the asset transfer process to Thomson’s research arm in Switzerland (over $15 Million transferred since its inception). The team’s findings resulted in standardized practices and improved efficiency throughout the transfer process.
Financial Management Processes: Reviewed the financial processes of 5 departments within Content Technology and Operations groups. Administered cross departmental best practices and standards, based on the report and recommendations.
Tracked KPIs and prepared financial reports, ensured compliance with financial guidelines, company policies, and relevant legal regulations.

Universal Music Group

Independent and team based role providing written reports and financial recommendations to company leadership.

Determined the financial viability of signing prospective artists and entering into business ventures.
Performed analysis and wrote reports recommending contract deal structure (e.g. profit splits, joint ventures and press &amp; distribution deals) for partnerships with companies.
Implemented analytical forecasting, reporting, and project support to senior management.

Financial Analyst

CarePlus Health Plan

CarePlus Health Plan offers a broad choice of benefit plans to meet the different healthcare needs of our members. We are a reliable and trusted resource, and we strive to help our members make the right choices about their healthcare coverage.

Developed reports on plan membership, growth projections, outstanding claims analysis, etc.
Work closely with executive management to achieve outcomes based company goals
Recommend and update policies and procedures to improve performance

Operations Analyst

Let's skip the typical "how I started from nothing" origin story. 

Here’s what matters:

If you're a thought leader or keynote speaker and not leveraging modern lead generation strategies… you're leaving a lot of opportunities on the table.

Why? Because people book people.

If you've got:

-Value-add content
-A targeted list your ideal prospect
-Personalization that scales
-A follow-up system focused on building relationships

You can get booked on stages around the world, and sell your thought leadership to your ideal client.

And most importantly, amplify your impact.

How do I know this?

Because when I was building my lead generation agency, I discovered the power of combining data-driven strategies with deep industry insights.

I went from struggling to fill calendars to securing millions in revenue for my clients across various industries. 

I scaled my agency from a solo operation to over 300 clients and 80 employees worldwide.

Now, I'm applying these proven strategies to help professional speakers and thought leaders to grow their impact and secure high-profile engagements.

Interested in taking your thought leadership business to new heights?

Drop me a message, and let's explore how we can elevate your influence and bookings.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In case you're not interested in growth strategies and just want to know more about me, here are some random facts:

-I'm a Philly native who once thought an MBA was the only path to success (spoiler: it wasn't)

-My first entrepreneurial venture was a drink can cooler (it flopped, but led me to discover lead generation)

-I once turned a skeptical client's business around, hitting a $100k month in 2020 and making him $50k in a single month

-I'm a family man who took the leap into entrepreneurship with a wife and two kids depending on me (talk about motivation!)

-I've been consulting for Gotham Artists Speaker Bureau for the last 3.5 years, bringing my marketing expertise to the world of professional speakers.

Austin Benton, MBA

I’m passionate about beauty and retail marketing, and currently work as a Creator & Partnerships Marketing Manager helping brands launch campaigns that connect culture with performance.
With a background in both B2B SaaS and consumer brand strategy, I bring a unique mix of creative thinking, influencer marketing expertise, and business-minded execution. I thrive on building creator-led programs, identifying trend opportunities, and translating consumer insights into impactful digital campaigns.
Always curious and growth-driven, I love working in spaces where innovation, diversity, and community shape the way brands show up and grow.🌟

María J. Morales

Can we acknowledge how Formula 1 is quietly becoming one of the hottest brand playgrounds, even in beauty? 🏎️💄

OLAY just launched the “Super 5-in-1 Pit Stop”, an F1-inspired pop-up experience to promote their 5-in-1 Super Collection, complete with “Super Fuel” pumps, trial zones, and a custom-built Olay race car.

Now, here’s what makes this so brilliant from a marketing perspective:
1. Audience expansion, not just exposure.
 Beauty brands traditionally speak to women 25–45. F1’s audience, however, is rapidly growing among Gen Z females thanks to social media storytelling (think “Drive to Survive”). By entering this space, Olay isn’t just showing up, it’s repositioning skincare as performance-driven, tapping into an emerging demographic overlap.

2. Emotional rebranding through cultural association.
Speed, endurance, and precision, qualities tied to racing, translate beautifully into Olay’s new brand narrative of “supercharged” skincare. It’s a semiotic bridge: beauty meets performance.

3. Experiential = retention.
Consumers might forget a billboard, but they’ll remember fueling their skin like a car. This activation doesn’t just drive awareness, it creates sensory memory, boosting brand recall and social virality (hello, UGC!).

This campaign shows the real power of marketing today:
Not in selling more products, but in merging worlds that were never meant to meet, until now.
That’s how you transform cultural relevance into commercial ROI. 

#MarketingStrategy #ExperientialMarketing #Olay #Formula1Marketing #BeautyIndustry #CulturalMarketing #BrandActivation #MarketingROI #GenZMarketing #BrandInnovation #F1Marketing #EmotionalBranding #ConsumerExperience #MarketingTrends2025 #BrandStorytelling

Creator & Partnerships Marketing Manager | B2B SaaS Strategy | Data-Driven Content & Brand Marketing | Digital Storytelling & Performance.

As we wrap up the year, one thing is impossible to ignore...

Experiential marketing didn’t just make a comeback, it won 2025. And GARNIER CLUB x Wicked For Good screening is a perfect example of why.

This wasn’t your typical “beauty event.” It was immersive, clever, community-led, and honestly, a lesson in how brands can create moments people actually want to talk about.
Wicked-themed drinks, snacks, merch everywhere, micellar waters in Glinda pink and Elphaba green, photo ops designed to be instantly shared…
It felt fun, intentional, and built for the internet without feeling forced.

Here’s what really stood out to me:
1. Culture hits harder when it feels shared: Blending nostalgia with beauty makes the experience instantly familiar. It taps into emotion, color psychology, and fandom, making the brand feel relevant, not opportunistic.
2. This wasn’t an event, it was a content ecosystem: Every detail was engineered for UGC. The kind of setup where attendees want to film, post, and tag because it’s genuinely fun.
That’s reach you can’t buy, and impressions that outperform paid ads.
3. Community is the strategy now
What I loved most: creators and community weren’t accessories, they were the core. When people feel part of the story, they advocate harder, share more, and stay longer.
Community isn’t the “nice-to-have” anymore… it’s the growth engine.
4. And yes, the ROI is very real
 Experiential isn’t fluff. It moves numbers:
 • Branded search lift
 • UGC waves
 • Organic amplification
 • Warmer retargeting audiences
 • Stronger long-term affinity

The future belongs to brands that don’t just show up on screens, but show up in real life. Because the campaigns people remember aren’t the ones they scroll past… they’re the ones they get to live.

If 2025 taught us anything, it’s this: People are craving connection again.
And the brands creating moments worth sharing are the ones winning attention and conversion.
Garnier nailed the assignment.
More of this, please.

#ExperientialMarketing #BeautyMarketing #BrandActivation #CommunityMarketing #CreatorMarketing #UGCstrategy #MarketingTrends2025 #BrandExperience #InfluencerMarketing #DigitalMarketing #MarketingROI #RetailMarketing #EventMarketing #CultureMarketing #GenZMarketing #BeautyIndustry #SocialMediaStrategy #BrandStorytelling #MarketingInsights

Is offline marketing officially making a comeback?

Because honestly… all the coolest brands are proving yes. Pop-ups and IRL activations are becoming the new (old) power move, creating virality, real community moments, and instant amplification across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube… you name it.

And the latest proof? TIRTIR’s LA Pop-Up, a full K-beauty takeover done right.
Think: a Radiance Café, colour matching lab, beauty masterclasses, facial yoga, skincare stations, photo opps everywhere, and their now-iconic oversized cushion foundations.

This is the kind of marketing that wins because it blends experience + education + emotional connection.
 And from an ROI POV?
- High-intent on-site sampling
- TikTok-ready UGC built into the design
- Real-time feedback
- Stronger brand recall
- Organic virality without paying Meta

These experiences create multi-channel amplification: TikTok reviews, Instagram photo dumps, YouTube walkthroughs, LinkedIn marketing breakdowns, and the kind of word-of-mouth money literally can’t buy.

Offline isn’t replacing digital, it’s supercharging it. And if consumer brands want to win in 2025 & soon 2026, they need to think beyond the screen and design moments people will actually talk about… and take their friends to. 

Brands that understand this are creating moments people want to talk about… and post about.
TIRTIR nailed it. Experiential marketing is back,  and it’s performing.

#ExperientialMarketing #BrandActivation #PopUpExperience #MarketingStrategy #BeautyMarketing #KBeauty #RetailInnovation #ViralMarketing #GenZMarketing #ConsumerBehavior #MarketingTrends #BrandExperience #CommunityBuilding

SHEIN’s Paris Store: PR Disaster or Genius Marketing Play?

When SHEIN opened its first permanent store in Paris, the reaction wasn’t subtle, it was a cultural earthquake. Protests erupted, media flooded the scene, politicians chimed in… and yet? Lines of shoppers still wrapped around BHV.

From a marketing POV, this wasn’t chaos, it was strategy.
Here’s why:
1. Protests became the fuel, not the fire
The backlash centered on:
- Ethical + labor concerns
- Environmental impact
_ The scandal over “childlike” sex dolls listed on the site
- Fast fashion’s cultural footprint in a fashion capital

But the media coverage? Global. Instant. Relentless.
Awareness went through the roof, the kind of exposure most brands pay millions for.

2. Big brands walked out, handing SHEIN the spotlight. As soon as SHEIN joined BHV, several luxury and beauty houses pulled their products from the building: Dior, Chanel, Guerlain, Lancôme, and Aime Cosmetics, among others.

What does that mean in marketing terms?
Competitors removing themselves from the shelf = market share and attention concentration. SHEIN didn’t just gain space,  it gained dominance.

3. Controversy drives cultural relevance: SHEIN understands its demographic.
Gen Z talks sustainability… but 72% say price is their top purchase driver. So yes, protests trended. But so did hauls, try-ons, and in-store videos. Outrage and demand went viral at the same time.

4. Offline retail = legitimacy + content engine
A physical store in Paris isn’t just a store, it’s a statement. And it instantly became a multi-platform amplification loop:
 - TikTok hauls
 - IG Reels
 - Press headlines
 - Street interviews
 - Influencer commentary
 One activation → thousands of touchpoints.

My POV:
SHEIN didn’t avoid the fire, it stepped right into it and turned it into a marketing moment.
Risky? Absolutely. Reputationally messy? Without a doubt. But from a visibility, awareness, and retail dominance perspective… it worked.
In 2025, the brands that win aren’t the quiet ones. They’re the ones that shape conversation, even the uncomfortable ones.


#MarketingStrategy #ExperientialMarketing #BrandActivations #FastFashionDebate #RetailTrends #ParisRetail #ConsumerBehavior #CulturalMarketing #MarketingROI #BrandAwareness #SHEIN #MarketingAnalysis #LinkedInCreator

Is it just me… or are AI tools becoming the new “holy-grail products” of the digital world?

Everyone claims to be the one, but only a few truly deliver. And in beauty & retail marketing… trust me, I’ve tested everything. ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, every “AI girlie” promising to transform my workflow.

But this week, I found one that actually did. And yes… I’m pleasantly surprised. 
RIP juggling seven different platforms, I found an all-in-one tool that operates like a full creative team:

ChatLLM by Abacus.AI 

Here’s why it’s especially powerful for beauty + retail professionals:
1. All top AI models in one place: ChatGPT 5.1, Gemini 3 Pro, Claude 4.5, DeepSeek, Grok, Perplexity, ideal for product launches, UGC scripts, ad copy, briefs, and pitch decks.
2. Image & video generation that’s actually production-ready: Packaging mockups, visual concepts, lookbooks, retail displays, created in seconds.
3. Instant landing pages & mini-sites: Campaign funnels, waitlists, shade-finders, done with a single prompt.
4. Decks & reports automated: PowerPoints, Excel sheets, Word docs, cleaner, faster, and fully on-brand.
5. An AI personal assistant that works around the clock: Research, tasks, admin, handled while you focus on strategy.
6. “Humanize” button: Perfect for polishing copy to sound less robotic and more beauty-brand chic.
7. DeepAgent for full apps & workflows: Plain English → production-ready builds.

And the best part?
It replaces almost every AI subscription I’ve ever paid for… for $10/month.
If you work in beauty, retail, creator, or e-commerce, this could genuinely streamline your entire workflow.

Try it here: https://lnkd.in/e2gXYdgK


#MarketingStrategy #BeautyMarketing #RetailMarketing #AIMarketing #CreatorEconomy #EcommerceGrowth #DigitalMarketingTools #BrandStrategy #BeautyIndustry #RetailInnovation #MarketingTrends2025 #AIForBusiness #ContentCreationTools #MarketingCommunity #sponsored #AIWorkflow

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The Battle

Austin Benton, MBA

María J. Morales

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The Battle

Austin Benton, MBA

María J. Morales

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}María J. Morales's LinkedIn Performance

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