Great ads perform better.
In any media. A memorable idea lowers every cost that comes after it, from CPM to CAC.
CMO · Creator of Performance Branding
Brand and demand are the same engine.
I'm Marc Karasu. For 25 years I've built brands people love, use, and share. Brands that drive real revenue and pay for themselves. I call it Performance Branding: one strategy where the brand is the growth plan.
Branding+Performance=Revenue
25years in brand, media, and growth
Startupsto Super Bowls
GrowthIncreasing brand awareness, engagement and revenue
Brands I've built and grown
Yahoo! HotJobs
Betterment
Hearst
Lemonade
Ellevest
N26
Absolut
Reebok
Johnnie Walker
Vention
Performance Branding
Stop choosing between brand and performance.
Most companies split the budget, split the team and split the story. Brand gets cut first because it's hard to measure, and performance gets more expensive every quarter. Performance Branding runs them as one system: a clear, ownable position, creative people remember, and media bought to drive growth you can count.
Numbers matter. Relevance can't be measured.
Model to an agreed CPA, CAC and LTV, then protect the work that makes people care.
Be first into the new channel.
Facebook at Manilla, podcasts at Betterment, streaming TV. Early is where the efficient reach lives.
Brand is an investment, not a miracle.
Viral hits are edge cases. Real brands need a real team, a real budget and a plan to pay it back.
Track record
Proven at Super Bowl scale and at seed stage.
Yahoo! HotJobs
VP MarketingThree Super Bowl ads in three straight years, timed to the moment job seekers make New Year's resolutions. Helped build the brand through its $450M acquisition by Yahoo.
$450MBetterment
VP Marketing & GrowthBuilt the brand architecture from scratch and moved early into podcasts, turning a new idea in investing into a name people trusted with their money.
+300% AUMManilla / Hearst
CMO, full P&LRan marketing with full P&L ownership and was one of the first brands to scale acquisition on Facebook.
Full P&LVention
CMOLed a global marketing team of about 45 for a 3,000-engineer software firm, repositioning the brand around AI-driven software delivery for enterprise buyers.
B2B + AI
Where I learned the craft
Media buyer, planner and account lead at Chiat/Day, BBH and DiNoto Lee on Absolut, Chivas Regal, Patrón, Reebok and Johnnie Walker.
Founder and operator
Founded MeasuredUp, an early consumer review platform. Interim and contributing CMO for Lemonade, Adore Me, Ellevest, Clarity Money, General Assembly, Flatiron School, N26 and more.
Work with me
Three ways to get your growth unstuck.
CMO or VP Marketing
Own the whole function: brand, demand, team, budget and the revenue number. Remote or hybrid.
- Positioning the board and sales team can repeat
- One plan for brand and pipeline
- A team built to scale
Fractional CMO
Senior leadership for seed to Series B companies that need a real growth plan before they need a full-time hire.
- Brand position and messaging
- A 90-day growth plan with targets
- Hire and coach your first team
Advisor and board
An experienced voice for founders and CEOs on brand, go-to-market, agency choices and senior marketing hires.
- Monthly working sessions
- Pressure-test plans and creative
- Introductions and hiring help
Performance Branding
The Brand Is The Growth Strategy
Marc Karasu
The book · in progress
The playbook, written down.
Fifteen chapters in four parts on how to build a brand that drives the number. Lessons from the agency floor, Super Bowl buys, fintech launches and B2B turnarounds, plus honest advice on taglines, budgets and startup equity.
What I believe
Good brands connect through the heart.
Marc KarasuCMO · Creator of Performance Branding
Let's talk
Build the brand that moves the number.
Hiring a CMO, need a fractional leader, or want a second opinion on your plan? I read every note.
makyourbrand@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/marckarasu
New York and Connecticut · working with teams everywhere