Head of Content @ LASSO | Co-host of That's Marketing, Baby | Delivering daily cheat codes for small content teams

I'm a creative director turned content marketer and strategist with more than 20 years of experience conceptualizing and executing breakthrough work for B2C brands like Eggo, Rice Krispies, Blue Cross, Cottonelle, and McDonald’s, and B2B brands like Fastly and Island.

I have a knack for leading cross-functional teams toward a common goal, bringing order to the oft-chaotic creative process, crafting insight-driven global campaigns, and bringing stories to life via long- and short-form content.

Jess Cook

Ya girl has a new title:
 
VP, Marketing at Vector 👻
 
And while I do my office chair happy dance, I see this as part of a larger and very exciting trend.
 
The next generation of B2B marketing leaders 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 because brand and storytelling have become non-negotiable for growth.
 
In a world where being forgotten is the most expensive problem you can have, the marketers who can: 
→ Tell a story that sticks 
→ Build brand that competitors can't replicate 
→ Create content that makes people feel something
 
... are the ones that smart founders and CEOs will want leading the charge.
 
So to all my fellow content people out there wondering if you can make the leap to marketing leadership:
 
👏 This 👏 is 👏 your 👏 moment.
 
Your ability to translate audience insights into ownable marketing moments is not a nice-to-have anymore.
 
It's the underpinning of modern marketing strategy.
 
And I'm crazy excited to keep proving it with the entire Vector team.

I found this random tool online that lets you create videos that look like they're breaking through your LinkedIn feed.
 
Cost me $40.
 
Figured, what the hell. Let's try it.
 
So I made this little video ad of our ghosties lounging in a pool with a unicorn floaty that "breaks through" the bottom of the post and floats across your feed.

And people 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴.
 
The comments weren't about our product. They weren't even really about the message.
 
They were about the ad itself:
• "Ok, the unicorn floating out of the post got my attention... very clever!"
• "Broke my brain in the best way!"
• "I am HERE for that unicorn!"

Which is either a total failure or the most successful awareness ad we've ever run, depending on how you look at it.
 
But with:
• 100k+ impressions
• 6-second dwell time
• 2.6% CTR
• 3% engagement rate
... I'm going with the latter.
 
I think about this ad a lot when people talk about needing huge budgets to do "creative" B2B ads.
 
The tool was $40. The video took maybe an hour to put together. The ad spend was $5k over the summer.

And it's still one of our most memorable ads.
 
All while companies out there spend $50k on a single piece of "premium" content that looks exactly like everyone else's premium content and performs exactly how you'd expect: meh.
 
What if you just tried something weird instead?

Things that have me 🐝 buzzing right now:

• I FINALLY hired a Demand Gen marketer and they start in two weeks! (Any guesses who? 😏)
• Vector's 2026 all-company kickoff is TODAY! 
• We're doing a LIVE episode of This Meeting Could've Been a Podcast on 1/14 - you comin'?
• My kids went back to school! (Hallelujah. I love them. But it was time.)
• The Stranger Things finale still giving me all the nostalgic feels

What's making this first Monday of 2026 a little less Monday-like for you?

Here's what's keeping me up at night lately:
 
All the things that put Vector 👻 on the map—the podcast, the bold ad creative, the swag—operated mainly on vibes.

They happened (and worked) because we moved fast, took risks, and didn't overthink it.
 
But now we're growing. Trying to triple what we did last year.
 
Which means we 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 need the stuff that doesn't feel sexy but absolutely matters: processes, documentation, scalable systems, the "grown-up" marketing operations.
 
And I refuse to let building those things kill the magic.
 
Even though I know that's exactly what happens to most B2B brands as they grow.
 
They trade "let's try it" for "let's run it through legal." They trade bold for safe. They trade memorable for committee-approved.
 
I'm determined to figure out a different path.
 
Here's how I'm trying to think about it:
☝️ We can't sacrifice momentum for maturity. We have to figure out how to do both.
✌️ The cool stuff is what gets us noticed. But the systems are what let us capitalize on it.
 
So I'm working on: 
→ Protecting time for experiments (they stay sacred) 
→ Building repeatable frameworks for what's working (so we can do more of it) 
→ Hiring people who get excited by BOTH sides of this equation
 
I think the trick will be to figure out which magical, vibey things work the most, and scale them without diluting them.
 
Still figuring this out. (And will be for the foreseeable future lol) 
But that's what's keeping me up.

When Eric Linssen introduced me to Kelly Arndt, I was on month five of searching for THE demand gen marketer to join the Vector team.

I had a lot of boxes this person needed to check: 
→ Ads expert who could stand up and scale our paid engine
→ Mad scientist who could run Vector for Vector
→ Charismatic ambassador who could share our own use cases with customers and prospects
→ Player coach willing to build in public alongside with the rest of our marketing team
 
I wasn't going to settle. I wanted top 1% talent, and that meant being patient.
 
I interviewed 30+ demand gen marketers. All incredibly talented, some we came thisclose 🤏 to hiring, but they just weren't our person for one reason or another.
 
So when I met Kelly Arndt, I knew I'd hit the jackpot.
 
🎰 He has a content background (WHAT?!) so he gets that story matters as much as performance.
🎰 He's a systems builder and a true believer in compounding incremental growth.
🎰 He has a bias toward action, a penchant for killer dashboards, and an experimental mindset.
🎰 He speaks fluent customer because he is the embodiment of our power users.
 
Kelly starts at Vector today (!!!) owning all things paid and growth. 
 
Six months felt like forever, but good people are always worth the wait.

Narrator: 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥.
 

Here's what I didn't know was coming...

Josh posting "my head of marketing's on vacation, give me your worst ideas" and LinkedIn wholeheartedly accepting the challenge. Hundreds of suggestions. Everyone tagging me. Him hand-coding a website at midnight dedicated to his marketing crimes.
 
All while I'm in a pool in the Caribbean.
 
My mistake? 
Thinking he was joking when he dropped hints about "marketing plans" before I left.
 
His mistake? 
Not realizing I'd have WiFi.
 
The chaos that followed created the Josh & Jess dynamic that's still core to the Vector 👻 brand.
 
In the latest podcast episode of 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱'𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁, we break down:
→ How one joke post turned into one of our our biggest brand moments
→ Why Josh ended up shipping cards from his garage at $5 a pop (karma) 
→ The exact moment he realized marketing is harder than he thought 
→ How this accidental campaign shaped everything we do 
→ Why sometimes the best strategy is just trying something bold
 
People still ask if we planned it. The truth is I had no idea.
 
And somehow that made it perfect.

Raise your hand if you plan on updating your website content this year. 🙋‍♀️
 
(hint, your hand should be up)

The times, they are a-changing. There are SO many new way to get your content to work harder for you: feeding LLMs, creating buzz, handling objections, building trust, creating die-hard fans, and nurturing the 95% who aren't ready to buy just yet.

It's a LOT. 

But just breathe. Here's your first step. 👇
 
Get your ticket to 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗱 — THE event for all things B2B websites — happening February 9–11 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
 
Two full days of workshops (hosted by the amazing peeps below) on the stuff that actually makes B2B websites work:
→ Brand
→ Positioning 
→ Messaging
→ Conversion optimization
 
And, of course, Content — hosted by me!

I'll walk you through Vector's content strategy, page structure, AI processes, and more, so you can see how we turn content consumption into dolla dolla billz.
 
Also, South FL in in February? Big ol' cherry on top.
 
If you are SERIOUS about coming, (like serious, serious) DM me for my half-off promo code.
 
See you in Florida? ☀️
https://lnkd.in/gvmqwBiF

The message testing strategy Josh 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 knew about:
 

👉 Run a small ad campaign to test your positioning before launch day.
 
We launched a new product - Signal-Driven Ad Audiences - to see how people would respond to our new positioning, 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 before everything else went live.
 
And instead of spending months workshopping it to death, we ran an ad campaign around it.
 
→ Real budget on the line
→ Real buyers seeing it (contact-level ad audiences FTW)
→ Real engagement (or crickets)
 
The fastest way to see if messaging resonates with actual humans.
 
I know for a FACT I told Josh about this beforehand, though he claims otherwise. He literally approved the creative. 😆
(In his defense, he was probably thinking about 47 other things.)
 
But I digress...

Your ad campaigns can do double duty. They're not just for demand gen—they're also your fastest feedback loop on whether your message and offer actually land.

Joshua Perk 👻 and I dig into all things ads at Vector 👻 in the latest episode of 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱'𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 - out now!
 
AND if you dig what we're putting down, we're doing a LIVE episode next week. 😬 There's no telling what could happen. Get a front row seat with the link in the comments.

What's one of your Q1 marketing bets that's making you nervous?

Here's mine. 👇
 
Joshua Perk 👻 and I are recording a LIVE episode of 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱'𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 this Wednesday, January 14, at 12 pm ET.
 
No editing. No do-overs. Just us, talking through our entire 2026 marketing plan in real time.

We'll share:
→ The market forces that shaped our plan
→ Our 3 "big rocks" for the year
→ The channels we're putting most of our dolla billz into
→ Sneak peeks of our hiring, event, and influencer plans
→ How we'll know if any of this (gestures around wildly) is actually working
 
All delivered with our general weirdness... and nowhere to hide.
 
See you there?! 🤞
https://lnkd.in/g8GDaSw8

Hey, real quick...
 
Josh and I are doing a LIVE episode of the podcast in T minus 3ish hours—sharing Vector's entire marketing plan for 2026: big rocks, goals, hiring, the whole shebang.
 
Would love for you to be a part of it if you're free at 12 noon ET. (And if you're not, register anyway so you get the recording!)

Hope you can make it! https://lnkd.in/g8GDaSw8

Jess and Josh from Vector standing against a blue background with pink and yellow geometric shapes. Text reads 'This Kickoff Could've Been a Podcast LIVE! with event details 'Jan 14 @ 12pm ET' and 'TODAY!' on sticky notes. Vector logo and ghost mascot appear in bottom right corner.

I already have seven conferences lined up on my calendar this year. 😳

Some we're sponsoring.
Some we're going to see and be seen.

But the one I KNOW is going to level up my skills (and confidence) as a newly minted VP of Marketing?

The Exit Five Marketing Leadership Retreat
🌵 March 18-20 in Paradise Valley, AZ

A two-day working session with people who've been running marketing for years and can help me answer some of the questions I'm wrestling with right now:

• How do we keep our brand narrative focused as our team grows?
• What are the next key hires that will continue to propel our growth? 
• How should we adapt if we're not hitting our goals?
• How do we outdo what we did last year?
 
The group is small. The conversations are real. And there's nothing like learning from people who've already made the mistakes you're about to make.
 
There are only 100 spots and it's already half full. So, if you're new to leadership, a seasoned pro, or just want to pressure-test your thinking with other marketing leaders, come join me.
 
Details here:

Open article: Marketing Leadership Retreat | March 18-20, 2026 by bit.ly

Marketing Leadership Retreat | March 18-20, 2026

ivrygold

Your path to a better business and life starts here | Empowering and Equipping Entrepreneurial Women, who've experienced Trauma, Triggers, and Mental Health Challenges, to thrive in business and life.

ivrygold is now Inc. verified!

ivrygold works with Women & Survivors of Trauma who are current and aspiring business owners, turning vision and goals into long-term revenue growth through 1:1 and Mastermind Small Group Coaching.

We also help growing businesses during growth stage to plan and establish recruiting processes, employer branding and talent attraction strategies, and onboarding and training systems. 

Launch Business Bootcamp was put together to make launching your new passive stream of income or business idea simple. This step-by-step intensive 1:1 coaching experience will help you build the foundation of your Business, Brand, and Offer and Launch with confidence in just 3 working sessions.

The Womanpreneur Lab, our flagship program, was designed for Entrepreneur Women with Trauma and Triggers, to help them streamline their businesses and passion projects, setting them up with the right foundations to scale… All while keeping Mental Health top of mind 💙

Let’s work together and collaborate! Visit ivrygold.co to schedule a quick intro chat or email ashley@ivrygold.co




Revenue Growth Partner | Execution Strategy | Project Management | Marketing | Brand Strategy | Brand Marketing | Personal Brand | Fractional and Interim Employment Services | Business Mentor | AI Workshops | Marketing Workshops | Business Workshops | Community Mentorship

Founder, Consultant, Coach

Founder Mental Health Pledge

Founder Mental Health Pledge is an coalition of startup investors, founders, and leaders coming together to destigmatize and encourage mental healthcare for founders and the greater startup community as a business imperative. Visit FounderPledge.com to learn more and take the pledge.


________________________

Founders make countless sacrifices at the expense of their mental health.

They are more likely to suffer from:

2X Suicidal Thoughts & Depression 
10X Bipolar Disorder
3X Addiction
6X ADHD

My company, ivrygold's mission is Empowering and Equipping Women, with Trauma, Triggers, and Mental Health Challenges, to Thrive in Business and Life.

And rightfully so,

That's why I have committed to the "Founder Mental Health Pledge" - To make mental health a business priority.

Join me and 677 others in dedication to a better focus on Mental Health for Business Founders, leaders, and teams 💙

Member

WhiteFlag

As a WhiteFlag Ambassador, I am an advocate and voice for a unique and groundbreaking platform dedicated to fostering support, connection, and empathy within its community. 

WhiteFlag is a free, anonymous, peer-to-peer support app designed to offer a safe space for individuals seeking support, understanding, or simply a listening ear.

Learn more and join the community at https://www.whiteflagapp.com

Ambassador & Investor

Free Skin Co

This brand took a road of its own, going down a beautiful philanthropic path with high demand that was never expected 💙 Closed temporarily for rebrand — Will announce the relaunch when we’re there! 

Free Skin Co combines our founder, Ashley's, love and passion for skincare with clean ingredients that work for sensitive and acne-prone skin with her drive to improve the mental health.

Though our Self Care Packs for Survivors Program, 30% of all profits are donated to improving the mental health and healing process for survivors of child sexual abuse, sexual assault, trauma, and PTSD 💙

Founder

Protis Global

For over 25 years, Protis Global has been recognized as a leading global search firm in the Consumer Goods industry. Our years spent understanding the professional, personal and financial motivators for candidates allows us to deliver against the needs of Fortune 500’s and start-ups alike.

Key Industries Served:
Consumer Package Goods (CPG), Banking, Global Food & Beverage, Food Tech, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Adult Beverage, Cannabis, Hospitality, Media and Beauty

Director, Brand and Marketing

Portobello America

At Portobello America I was responsible for leading all aspects of brand positioning, product marketing and creative development. 
These responsibilities included creative strategy, development and execution of new product lines and special programs, planning and executing 2-3 annual brand events, development of department and project SOPs for cross-functional internal team and eternal vendors, lead product photography, videography and 3D rendering development, vendor onboarding and management, new client onboarding and more.
Assisted with development of website, digital product apps, and customer apps to enforce brand integrity and proper content strategy
Reported directly to the CEO.

Portobello America is a solutions-oriented innovator and leader in the tile industry. Portobello America is part of Portobello's internationalization strategy in the US based in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Brand and Marketing, North America

Robert Half

Recruiting Manager with Robert Half Finance & Accounting, the world’s first and largest specialized financial recruitment service. 

Full-desk recruiting role included high volume B2B cold calls for client job orders, as well as responsibility to source, interview and prep candidates for matched positions.

Recruiting Manager

Septic Maxx

I was hired with this company to lead the IT partner to develop an inbound marketing and EDI system to increase company revenue and productivity, and decrease payroll overhead.
I additionally spearheaded the company's brand overhaul: Rebranded all product packing, logo, website, social media, SEO and internal training to coincide with the new EDI and inbound leads project 
In this role I also oversaw all day-to-day operations of the business and was responsible for a complete branding overhaul for the company. 
Directly managed leadership team of 4 and oversaw 65+ employees 
Leadership development and mentoring of managers and department leads
Management of manufacturers and distributors to create and manage products for multiple lines and sister companies (residential telemarketing, retail, and commercial products)

Director, Marketing and Operations

Visionary Brand Management, Inc.

Tactical brand management for internal teams and external messaging for product and talent marketing, inbound marketing, social media and ad management, SEO development and monitoring, website design, graphic design for small-medium sized companies. Hubspot Inbound Certified agency. 

In this role I was responsible for managing a team of four, customer life-cycle management, defining and building brand guidelines and playbooks for clients, establishing KPIs and brand strategy, overseeing client account progression, project management, creative development and GTM execution over my team.   

ABOUT VISIONARY BRAND MANAGEMENT
Visionary Brand Management is a full service digital branding agency committed to providing a pleasurable & results-oriented experience for our clients. We were designed around creating marketing that people love.

Founder, Head of Brand Strategy & Marketing

Cydcor

The Brand Operations Manager (BOM) role was a concept I was lucky enough to assist in the development of. During my time as a Recruiting Manager, Social Media for business was just coming into existence and I started experimenting with building websites, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Twitter and blogs from a Talent Marketing perspective. It was so successful at our local office that I began to also assist our 30+ other franchise locations in the USA and assisted in the development of this new program for 300+ locations with the corporate office in California.

Brand Operations Manager

Award-winning and pace-setting recruiter. Responsible for making 100-150 cold and warm calls per day in order to recruit new employees for multiple sales locations throughout the country. Regular keynote speaker at national meetings/conferences with over 5000 attendees. Assisted in development and launch of innovative ATS used at hundreds of sales offices in North America. Creating, posting & managing job ads. Conducting in-person and telephone interviews, hiring new employees, and training new employees. Preparing teams for new location openings, office management, large-scale team management and leadership development training, payroll, social media management. Created and assisted in launch of new promotion structures and business opportunities for future employees.

Direct, face-to-face sales and marketing account manager. Worked with B2B customers, handling new account acquisitions, customer retention, and marketing. Trained new employees, conducted interviews, led meetings and business trips, and managed a team of 3. Promoted to Recruiter & HR Manager after exceeding sales goals and setting nationwide company records in the field.

B2B Account Manager

Empowering & Teaching Women and Trauma Survivors to transform passions & experiences → From triggers to 6+Fig business & career they love | Mental health first 💙 | Mastermind & 1:1 Coaching, Personal Brand, Skincare

My name is Ashley Pereira, and I am the woman talking about the things "you aren't supposed to talk about." Like Abuse, Assault, Trauma, Suicide Prevention, Mental Health, and Women’s Empowerment. 

As a survivor of abuse and failed suicide, my mission is to empower women and trauma survivors to elevate their confidence, achieve balance, and thrive in business and life. 

While I am an accomplished Brand and Marketing Leader by profession, helping new businesses to launch or enter the US market, expand their programs and solutions, align internal teams for better Buyer Experience, streamline for scalability, and lead CRM implementation,

I am also the . . .

▪️Founder of ivrygold — Coach to Entrepreneur Women & Survivors of Trauma 
▪️Co-founder and co-host of The Worthy Woman  
▪️Co-creator of Sell Me Your Story Workshop

I'm a little obsessed with my kids, enjoying life, laughing as much as possible, curiosity, and Business, Recruiting, Brand, and Marketing Strategy, with a heavy emphasis on Personal Brand and Mental Health, and the common skincare-obsessed chat.

__________________

To book me as a guest for a podcast, speaking engagement, or to work with me please email: hello@ashleypereira.me

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Ashley Pereira

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