Activate Games Inc.

As Marketing Director, I've had the privilege of leading dynamic teams and creating efficient systems to boost productivity. Our collective goal has been to innovate in our marketing efforts, constantly refining our strategies to better engage our customer base, enhance our SEO performance, and enrich our customer experience. I'm proud of my leadership approach, which prioritizes relationship-building and encourages every team member to reach their full potential.

Key accomplishments include:
- Developing and implementing software tools to streamline processes, promoting collaboration and driving us towards shared objectives.
- Orchestrating impactful marketing campaigns that have solidified Activate Games' standing as a leader in the entertainment industry.
- Leveraging my expertise in creating strategic marketing campaigns to consistently inspire innovation within my team.
- Producing captivating content that's gone viral on numerous social media platforms, significantly boosting our organic growth.
- Gaining recognition from numerous large media outlets, leading to hundreds of millions of views, engagements, and a substantial increase in our follower count.

My continued commitment to fostering creativity and driving system-based workflows has been instrumental in our digital success, solidifying our reputation in the competitive landscape of the entertainment industry.

Director of Marketing - USA

Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen

As the Director of Marketing at Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen, I've had the privilege of spearheading all marketing endeavors across our nine vibrant locations. In my role, I lead a talented team of marketers who are adept at crafting compelling content, orchestrating impactful email marketing campaigns, and managing our dynamic presence on social media.

Our team focuses on amplifying the voice of Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen, ensuring our messaging resonates with our target audience and encapsulates our commitment to fresh, healthful, and delectable offerings. Our cohesive and strategic efforts aim to strengthen our brand identity, foster customer loyalty, and drive consistent growth across all locations.

My leadership style emphasizes collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning. I am a firm believer in nurturing a work environment where each team member's skills and creativity are given room to thrive. By fostering an open atmosphere for idea sharing and providing ample opportunities for professional development, we consistently deliver marketing campaigns that not only meet but often exceed our goals.

Here's a snapshot of my role and responsibilities:
- Heading a skilled team of marketers specializing in content creation, email marketing, and social media management.
- Crafting and implementing marketing strategies to bolster brand recognition and customer engagement across nine locations.
- Nurturing a collaborative and innovative work environment that encourages creativity and professional growth.
- Continually tracking, analyzing, and optimizing marketing efforts to ensure they align with our business goals.
- Cultivating strong relationships with internal teams, external partners, and our customer base to drive business success.

I am immensely proud of the work we do at Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen, and I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for our team.

Director of Marketing

Breakout Games

In my role as the Marketing Director for Breakout Games, I have been the creative force behind our marketing initiatives. My job primarily revolves around driving sales via our online platforms. To do this, I have implemented a medley of strategies to not only engage and re-engage our customers but also to enhance SEO, discover fresh patronage, and elevate the current user experience.

Key facets of my role encompass:
- Orchestrating diverse marketing campaigns that blend digital and traditional strategies effectively.
- Managing numerous vendors, ensuring quality and timeliness of services.
- Supervising direct reports, fostering a productive and positive work environment.
- Leading the marketing team towards consistent growth and development.
- Improving the customer journey through innovative marketing strategies and enhancements in user experience.

As the marketing lead, my leadership style is centered around fostering development and efficiency within the team. I take pride in overseeing a mix of responsibilities spanning across digital and traditional marketing arenas while maintaining fruitful relationships with a number of vendors and direct reports. Through nurturing a culture of collaboration and innovation, I strive to push the boundaries of what's possible in our industry, driving Breakout Games to new heights.

Graystone Consulting

As the Founder and Lead Consultant at Graystone, I've had the incredible journey of building a full-service consulting firm from the ground up. We specialize in delivering top-tier services to a diverse clientele, including small to mid-sized corporations and non-profit organizations. Our focus spans across sales, both digital and traditional marketing, and bespoke business management solutions. My role involves assisting with contract negotiations and designing dynamic digital marketing campaigns aimed at expanding reach and enhancing brand awareness.

Here are some key highlights of my time at Graystone:
- Starting the company from scratch and consistently meeting year-over-year growth objectives, thereby generating revenues exceeding $10 million for clients across various business and non-profit sectors.
- Empowering clients to reach their annual sales objectives through setting team goals, training staff on innovative sales techniques, and monitoring performance closely.
- Generating leads by utilizing various marketing channels, initiating cold calls to prospects, aggressively networking with clients, and employing relational sales models.
- Amplifying the digital and social presence of clients' businesses by managing their social media platforms, crafting engaging content, increasing audience interaction, and keeping a pulse on user trends.

In my capacity as the lead, I have always believed in aligning our efforts with our clients' vision and the competitive landscape. This has involved crafting and executing sales plans, strategic marketing campaigns, staff training initiatives, and comprehensive business management strategies. I pride myself on building long-lasting, trust-based relationships with clients and referrals, maximizing both retention and satisfaction. I am proud of the impact Graystone has made, and I look forward to what we can achieve moving forward.

Lead Consultant

Tanzanian Children's Fund

Creating a home for children
Transforming communities
Building futures in Tanzania

The Tanzanian Children’s Fund works to ensure that all children and families in the Karatu region of northern Tanzania lead healthy and productive lives and have the opportunity to become positive agents of change for their country. In order to achieve our goals, TCF provides a loving and permanent home for 97 marginalized children at the Rift Valley Children’s Village. However, TCF also recognizes that the best way to promote the well-being of all children is to provide access to high-quality education, free healthcare, and microfinance trainings and loans to the entire community. Our innovative, multi-pronged approach to addressing systemic poverty is what has enabled us to have a deep impact and catalyze real and lasting change.

Board Member

Volunteer Alumni Trustee

Upscale Living Magazine

As the former VP of Marketing and Sales for Upscale Living, a luxury magazine in the USA, I created significant growth in our industry. Within a span of merely four months, I implemented strategies that led to a remarkable 75% increase across all our social media channels, thanks to a combination of content calendars, carefully scheduled posts, and a focus on top-notch content creation.

My contributions to the team included:
- Streamlining processes by implementing and advocating for the use of various marketing and sales software.
- Overseeing the entire sales cycle and meticulously tracking all KPIs for the sales team.
- Establishing a subscription-based network, which facilitated the magazine's successful expansion into multiple new markets.
- Selling advertising space to upscale businesses and managing a diverse portfolio of over 150 clients.
- Recruiting, nurturing, and leading a high-performing sales team.

In my leadership role, I fostered a culture of ambition and expansion. I managed a diverse clientele, selling advertising to prestigious luxury businesses while building and motivating a dynamic sales team. The experience was enriching, and witnessing the growth - both personally and within the team - was incredibly rewarding. The strides we made continue to contribute to the ongoing success of Upscale Living.

Vice President of Sales and Marketing

The Bourbon Review

In my role as the Director of Business Operations for The Bourbon Review, the leading magazine dedicated to Bourbon and American whiskey, I had the privilege of steering comprehensive business operations. I played a crucial role in driving sales revenue and ensuring the fulfillment of our organizational objectives. My responsibilities were multifaceted, spanning staff recruitment, new business development, partnership management, and channel sales.

I was able to provide effective leadership and deliver results-oriented training to our sales, logistical, and customer service teams. This approach not only fueled their peak performance but also ensured that we consistently met our sales KPIs while fostering an environment of continuous professional development. As a subject matter expert, I successfully negotiated deals with various societies and clubs, enhancing our bulk sales and stimulating recurring subscription sales.

Key achievements during my tenure include:
- Cultivating new sales pipelines and leveraging client referrals and competitive industry knowledge to secure repeat business from our existing customer base.
- Boosting our digital subscriptions by 200% through the strategic redesign and relaunch of a mobile application, utilization of digital advertising tools, and the implementation of industry best practices.
Increasing e-commerce by over 20% in 2019 while also cutting expenses by more than 3%, achieved through platform revamping, process streamlining, and cost containment measures.
- Successfully negotiated with one of the world's largest magazine distributors, which led to TheBourbon Review's acceptance into the international distribution market.

In all, my tenure at The Bourbon Review was a journey filled with learning and growth. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to influence and contribute to the success of the company during my time there.

Director Of Business Operations

Business Development Associate

United Way of the Bluegrass

As the Director of Philanthropy for the United Way of The Bluegrass, I was at the helm of all major gift fundraising, leading initiatives across four out of the nine counties served by the organization. I had the honor of managing a robust portfolio of $1.5 million, made possible through a blend of networking, fundraising events, strategic online marketing, and efficient use of tools such as LexisNexis.

My responsibilities at United Way included:
- Implementing creative approaches to engage donor partners and build community solidarity.
- Cultivating a personal network of individual donors, each contributing $1,000 or more, to champion our cause.
- Successfully growing personal business by 50%, which involved generating over $500K in new donations and pioneering fundraising initiatives.
- Maintaining and strengthening long-term relationships with an existing portfolio of donors, prospects, and philanthropic advisors to achieve organizational goals and boost fundraising.

In my role, I not only managed fundraising but also focused on fostering and deepening relationships with our generous donors. I am proud to say that I was able to grow my personal business by 50%, a feat that involved raising more than $500,000 in new donations. These accomplishments were a direct result of my commitment to creating and nurturing lasting relationships with donors, prospects, and philanthropic advisors, all of which helped us accelerate our fundraising efforts and achieve our organizational objectives.

Director of Philanthropy

Development Officer

Campaign Consultant

I delivered instruction on financial management strategies and problem-solving techniques, taught English language skills to students from kindergarten age through adulthood, and educated students through a range of skill-building activities for speaking, writing, reading and listening. I made lessons interesting and interactive by using visual and auditory approaches. 

Other duties included engagement with external resources, and research into new micro finance technology and software. I also assisted with the implementation of new software for the micro finance program, helped organize financial documents in Microsoft Excel, and organized supplementary materials in English for all students

Volunteer

Total Quality Logistics

As a Logistics Account Executive I was accountable to resolve problems pertaining to transportation, logistics systems, imports/exports, and customer issues. I developed my own book of business, established long-term partnerships with our customers, maintained reports, process documentation, and customer service logs, and delivered training.

In addition, I participated in carrier management processes, such as selection, qualification, and performance evaluation, negotiated transportation rates and services, and made recommendations related to optimal transportation modes, routing, equipment, and frequency.

I also utilized transportation management, electronic logistics marketplace, and electronic freight information systems, for communicating freight transportation information to customers and suppliers, to enhance the efficiency, speed, and quality of transportation services.

Logistics Account Executive

Husband | Marketer | Helping SMBs Grow Their Marketing Channels

I am a skilled and experienced marketer and consultant passionate about creating successful campaigns that drive growth and increase brand awareness. 

I am experienced in managing teams, creating systems to optimize productivity, and implementing software tools to streamline processes. 

I have a proven track record of developing and implementing effective marketing strategies, resulting in significant organic growth, viral content, and numerous earned mentions by prominent media outlets.
 
Feel free to contact me at wgray@graystonellc.net with any thoughts, comments, or questions about my work—I’m always interested in making new professional acquaintances.

Your Social Media Profile Is Costing You Customers.

People are clicking on your profile—but they’re not converting.

They see your content, but they don’t take action.

The problem? Your profile isn’t set up for impact.

Your social media page isn’t just a bio—it’s a landing page for your brand. If someone finds you, they should instantly know:

✔ Who you are
✔ What you offer
✔ How to take the next step

Yet most brands have vague bios, cluttered links, and no clear CTA.

A well-optimized profile should work for you, even when you’re not posting. Make it clear. Make it easy. Make it convert.

Comment “social” below, and I’ll send you a worksheet on auditing your social media profiles. (Must be connected or following me + like this post!)

#Marketing #SocialMedia #BrandStrategy #Optimization #BusinessGrowth

Will Gray

Director of Marketing at Activate | Location Based Entertainment Marketer

Attention is cheap. Trust is everything.

Anyone can run ads. Anyone can go viral. But if people don’t trust you, none of it matters.

The brands that dominate don’t just get seen—they get believed. 

They show up, deliver, and prove their value every single time.

I’ve learned that… 

- High engagement doesn’t mean high conversions.

- More traffic doesn’t mean more sales.

- A big audience means nothing if they don’t believe in you.

But when you…

Build trust first. The rest will follow.

#Marketing #BrandTrust #BusinessGrowth #CustomerLoyalty #SalesStrategy

Your Marketing Is Too Slow. Speed Wins.

If you’re still debating your next move, your competition already made theirs.

Marketing isn’t about perfection—it’s about execution. The brands that win aren’t the ones with the best ideas. They’re the ones that act fast, test, refine, and scale.

✔ Waiting for the “perfect” campaign? You’re losing.
✔ Overthinking every post? You’re invisible.
✔ Ignoring speed? You’re handing customers to your competitors.

Launch. Learn. Optimize. Repeat. That’s how you grow.

Comment “speed” below, and I’ll send you my playbook on marketing execution that drives real results. (Must be connected or following + like this post!)

#Marketing #Growth #Execution #BusinessStrategy #SpeedWins

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