Derek Oja
Verified Expert in Marketing
Marketing Expert
Cedar Rapids, IA, United States
Toptal member since September 10, 2024
Derek is a marketing leader who believes in measurement over guesswork. He helped generate 20% of TaxAct's revenue using just 1% of its marketing budget. Over 16 years and across 130+ clients, he has managed $4 million annually in paid advertising and driven customer acquisition in 40+ countries, supporting organizations from startups to multi-billion-dollar corporations. Derek also integrates AI into marketing workflows to improve targeting, reduce production time, and deliver reporting.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Advertising
- Digital Marketing
- Google Ads
- Graphic Design
- Lead Generation
- Marketing Strategy
- Meta Ads
- Social Media
Work Experience
Owner
3Eighty Marketing
- Managed a client ad spend of up to $2 million annually, strategically allocating budgets to maximize ROI and achieve campaign objectives.
- Oversaw 12-18 clients' workloads every month, effectively prioritizing projects as required.
- Handled a diverse range of daily projects covering the entire scope of marketing.
- Provided timely reporting and analysis of in-progress and completed projects.
Marketing Strategist (Contract)
PinSeekers
- Led digital marketing execution involving orchestrating strategic campaigns, optimizing channel performance, and driving measurable results for PinSeekers franchise growth.
- Optimized the PinSeekers site for SEO, continuously implementing changes and adjustments to enhance local/regional search visibility and improve performance over time.
- Created and managed all paid advertising efforts, ensuring strategic placement and budget efficiency and maximizing ROI across various digital platforms.
- Built graphics that adhered to athlete NIL rules and followed Big Ten school design guidelines, ensuring compliance and consistency across all materials.
- Designed all graphics for digital platforms, print advertising, and in-house placements, ensuring cohesive branding and visual appeal across all media.
Fractional Marketing Director
Iowa Brewing
- Advised ownership and leadership teams on corporate marketing strategies and handled end-to-end execution of action items.
- Handled all marketing assets for in-house, online, and print, including paid advertising, event promotion, strategy, graphic design, website upkeep, and social media management.
- Contributed to product and package design, ensuring visual appeal and brand consistency.
Marketing Specialist
New Leader Manufacturing
- Managed all marketing campaigns from strategy, ideation, creation, and execution, to analysis and reporting/recommendations.
- Handled creative development for co-marketing campaigns with OEM partners like John Deere and Case IH, aligning brand messaging and visuals for successful collaborations.
- Assisted in a rebrand implementation that led to a first-place award for corporate Identity from the National Agri-marketing Association (NAMA).
- Collaborated with a brand refresh that led to the International MarCom Awards as gold winners.
B2B Marketing Manager
TaxAct
- Worked alongside the marketing and sales teams to support revenue growth goals through client strategy, business development, and B2B marketing activities.
- Planned, directed, and executed marketing programs to increase the demand for products and services offered by TaxAct for professional and business customers.
- Generated 20% of company revenue while being allocated only 1% of the total marketing budget.
Marketing Project Manager
MobileDemand
- Handled planning, creation, deployment, and analysis of all inbound and outbound marketing.
- Led company creative assets for co-marketing campaigns with OEM partners such as Microsoft and Intel.
- Managed international channel partner marketing support.
Project History
ROAS for Online Retailer
Helped an online retailer achieve a 650% return on ad spend (ROAS) on around $1 million in ad spend.
The company needed to increase sales via online store and phone call sales. With this in mind, I implemented aggressive Google Ads and Microsoft Ads sales campaigns to drive relevant traffic to the website and increase phone calls. This resulted in a 650% ROAS for the client.
Meta Ads for eCommerce Brand
Implemented and managed Meta Ads campaigns that drive over $200,000 in monthly revenue at a rate of 5x ROAS.
I led and managed Meta Ads campaigns generating over $200,000 in monthly revenue with a consistent 5x ROAS for an eCommerce brand specializing in supplements for animals and humans. I developed strategic ad creative content, aiming to scale performance while maintaining efficiency and strong customer acquisition results.
Advertising for Holiday Gift Card Sales
Obtained over 16,000% return on ad spend (ROAS) for a holiday campaign.
The company is in its first year of business and wanted to promote online gift card sales leading up to the holidays. I launched and managed Google Ads and Meta Ads promoting gift card purchases, ultimately generating holiday gift card sales that equated to over 16,000% ROAS.
Click-through Rate Improvement for Golf Entertainment Company
Employed SEO to help a golf franchise improve its click-through rate by over 40% on over 80,000 monthly impressions.
The client’s previous marketing agency did not optimize their website for search engines, which led to poor search performance. I did a full SEO revamp of the client’s website, including custom metadata, page speed, and new content creation.
Exponential Growth for Mobile App Through Paid Advertising
Leveraged Google Ads and social media ads to drive over 1,000 new monthly users to download the mobile app.
The company needed to increase the number of farmers and farmhands downloading and using the app. I used a combination of Google Ads and social media ads (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) to help drive 1,000 new downloads per month on a $0.15-0.25 cost per click.
Revenue Increase for Regional Retailer
Helped a regional retailer increase revenue by 15% thanks to seasonal Google Ads campaigns.
With increased competition, the client wanted to boost the visibility of their brand and product among high school students and their parents. I implemented an aggressive regional Google Ads campaign to increase brand awareness and boost online and in-store sales.
Optimization for Local Dentist Office
Drove a large local dentist office toward a new website, cutting data entry time by 95%.
The client had an outdated website that did not represent them as a company. They wanted something new, modern, and clean that was easy for people to navigate and understand. They also needed a website platform that was easy for them to make changes; they needed to digitize their form processes to cut down on manual data entry.
As a result, I created a brand new, responsive Wix website and optimized it for local SEO. I also helped them implement a digital consent form their clients could complete before their first dentist appointment.
AI Implementation Across Paid Ads Efforts
- 35% — Improvement in ROAS
- 75% — Time Saved in Creating Ads
- 5 Hours — Saved per Month in Analytics/Reporting
The client had heard about AI marketing tools but had not yet explored them. The client wanted to test using several AI tools across Meta Ads and Google Ads to see how it would improve performance and save time.
I explained to the client the various tools that could be used for ad copy, graphic design, analytics, campaign management, and others.
The client agreed to a 2-month initial test. Once the client sees the near-immediate positive results, there will be no turning back!
Increased ROAS by 35% month-over-month by optimizing underperforming ads and enhancing creative with AI. Saved time in reporting enabled higher ad spend and profit—the client dropped the agency due to better results and faster turnaround.
Education
Bachelor's Degree in Marketing
Mount Mercy College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
Skills
Core
Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Social Media, Digital Marketing, Branding, Web Marketing, Lead Generation, Local SEO, Brand Strategy, Marketing Strategy, Content, Apple Search Ads, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), Content Creation, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), Product Marketing, Paid Advertising, Pay-per-Click (PPC), Email Marketing, Marketing, Digital Marketing Strategy, Facebook Ads, Performance Marketing, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Google SEO, SEO Audits, WordPress SEO, Marketing Mix, Keyword Research, AI Marketing, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Social Media Advertising
Platforms & Tools
Canva, Mailchimp, Bing Ads, Google My Business, X (formerly Twitter) Marketing, Adobe Suite, Google Analytics, Screaming Frog, Instagram Ads
Business Models
B2B
Other
Meta Ads, Microsoft Advertising, Wix, Strategy, Website Management, Advertising, B2B Marketing, Email Marketing Strategy, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Google Play Store, Growth Strategy, Growth Marketing, PPC Campaign Management, Brand Management, Audience Segmentation, Landing Page Optimization, Ad Optimization, Graphic Design, WordPress, Event Marketing, Squarespace, B2B Partnerships, Trade Shows, Partnership Marketing, Mobile Apps, Shopify SEO, Brand Awareness, Amazon, eCommerce, Startup Marketing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Lead Nurturing, AI Chatbots, Photography, Page Speed Optimization, Shopify, Website Design, Customer Retention, Sales Growth, Analytics
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