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Jonathan J.

Founded Digital Natives Group (Sold-2021), Put 50+ books on NYT Bestseller List

From 2011-2021, I co-founded, scaled, and sold and award-winning digital marketing agency. From putting books on The New York Times Bestsellers List to marketing Super Bowls, I've done it all. I'm currently consulting with thought leaders, tourism and entertainment brands, and media companies on new project launches and rebrands.

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From a bare portfolio, my partners and I built Digital Natives Group into a digital-first marketing shop with a dozen creative professionals who were trusted by global thought leaders and brands as diverse as Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, the NFL, and The Nature Conservancy.

In addition to recognition from the Webbys, Shortys, and other industry awards, we were named 2018 national agency of the year by Sprout Social and crowned the Best Agency in Queens seven times running. In 2021, after growing to seven figures in revenue, we partnered with two other firms who each assumed a part of our portfolio in acquisitions that successfully retained all clients and staff.

On sabbatical for the better part of the last year, I have spent my time writing (a book that I hope will see the light of day), traveling, giving time back to my community in support of criminal justice reform and housing access. Alongside that, I'm acting as an advisor and/or fractional CMO to thought leaders and SMBs in need of someone with strong digital marketing expertise. Some of the right verticals for me include:

  • Health and Wellness
  • Publishing
  • Thought Leadership
  • Professional Services
  • Tourism and Entertainment
  • Non-profit
  • Media
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Jonathan J.

Work

Experience

Jul 2021 — May 2022
Accelerate360

Accelerate360

VP - Digital Marketing

Accelerate360 is an omni-commerce sales, distribution and logistics, marketing and media company that unlocks growth for retailers and brands at the intersection of culture, content, and commerce.

  • Maintained 100% client and staff retention during acquisition process, and further doubled the size of the marketing team to 15 people in under 10 months.
  • Identified cross-department value creation opportunities, leading to millions in revenue generation.
  • Developed and executed growth-focused marketing strategies for health, wellness, and publishing clients, resulting in successful launch campaigns for five bestselling books.
  • Oversaw design of the digital marketing strategy for US Weekly’s first-ever retail activation.
  • Achieving pay equity across and within our function groups.
Sep 2011 — Jun 2021
Digital Natives Group

Digital Natives Group

Co-Founder + Partner

Digital Natives Group was a digital marketing agency I co-founded in 2011. Over ten years, we worked our way up from helping the local ice cream shop to partnering with titans like the NFL, Comcast NBCUniversal, SwissRe, and the Nature Conservancy, New York icons like I Love NY, Grand Central Terminal, and the Empire State Building, and luminaries like #1 best-selling author Dr. David Perlmutter, Nobel laureate Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, Hollywood screenwriter David Koepp, and dozens of other world-class leaders. Our journey included billions of impressions, million of products sold, thousands of pieces of content, hundreds of pitches and proposals, and dozens of websites and apps.

  • Work featured in Wall Street Journal, Daily News, The New York Times, Food & Wine, Newsday, Lifehacker and other media outlets.
  • Drove sales programs that earned firm seven-figures of annual revenue, primarily sustainable MRR.
  • Controlled annual budgeting and P&L to determine marketing and hiring investments, ensuring profitability with margins over 50%. Negotiated a 15% higher sale price than retained broker.
  • Crafted and executed digital marketing strategies for over 100 book launches, resulting in millions of books sold and dozens of New York Times bestsellers.
  • Directed Dr. Will Bulsiewicz from a community of 35K to over half-a-million.
  • Helped grow David Perlmutter a community of 1MM+, and market 6 best-selling books
  • Managed planning and activation of social programs for NFL’s Consumer Products division for 5 years, including Super Bowls 48-52, resulting in aggregate audience growth of 40,000%.
  • Produced and oversaw the NFL’s Fan Style Council for two seasons, a partnership between twelve influencers and CPG licensees. This first-ever program doubled traffic to NFLShop.com.
  • Worked with teams across Comcast/NBCUniversal to drive awareness of their CSR initiatives online, achieving a 3x increase in impressions.
  • Designed HR practices and workplace culture that retained employees for an average of 4.5+ years.