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Resume and portfolio · Jupiter, Florida

Blake Hickey I run marketing for tech, legal and healthcare companies.

Marketing director with twenty years of lead generation, paid search, marketing automation and creative direction. I own the plan, the leads and the creative, I use AI to move faster, and I can show you where every lead came from.

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▶ A 60-second video intro is coming soon.

20 yearsin marketing, since 2006
$5M+in ad spend directed across my roles
1,000+leads at an $8.50 average cost per lead at Premium Digital
$50M+in proposals fed to sales teams, across my roles

Figures are from my own roles and records. Results depend on the market, the budget and the sales team.

Brands and organizations I've done work for

The Florida BarMicrotech IT & CybersecurityOrthodontics of WestonWalmart (commercial crew)VansBillabongTetley Tea

Including flyers, graphics and packaging for Tetley Tea that made it onto store shelves, and an event I promoted featuring Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec and Kevin O'Leary.

Where I've done it

Experience

Most recent first. Four of my six full-time roles lasted more than three years. Premium Digital later asked me to come back.

Feb 2023 – Present

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Marketing Director

Microtech IT & Cybersecurity Services

  • Own marketing strategy, demand generation, brand, paid media and reporting for a managed IT and cybersecurity provider (MSP) serving law firms, CPAs, financial services and healthcare practices.
  • Paid search beat The Marketing Team's 2024 MSP benchmark on both lead volume and cost per lead.
  • Unified lead reporting across Google Ads, Google Business Profile, Meta, email and Keap so leadership sees one consistent lead count.
  • Direct outside agencies against weekly targets and run the event-marketing program: booking CLE and CPE speaking engagements and helping write and produce presentations delivered at venues including MIT, Harvard, NASA and the New York City Bar.
  • Review every campaign for advertising compliance before launch.

2018 – Present

Jupiter, FL

Founder (part-time consulting)

Hickey Media LLC

  • Run freelance marketing, video and design projects.
  • Launched Double Jaw Marketing, a Hickey Media brand for speech-language pathologists, oral surgeons, orthodontists and dentists.
  • Host and produce The Florida Bar Business Law Section's CLE series on lawyer advertising compliance, with Bar ethics counsel and practicing lawyers.
  • Build AI automations and assistants (n8n, ChatGPT, Claude) that route leads, answer routine calls and cut repetitive work for client teams.
  • Designed flyers, graphics and retail packaging for Tetley Tea; promoted an event featuring Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec and Kevin O'Leary.

Sep 2019 – Feb 2023

Hollywood, FL

Marketing Manager

Premium Digital Control & Automation

  • Generated 1,000+ leads at an $8.50 average cost per lead for a luxury audio/video and smart-home integrator serving Palm Beach to Miami.
  • Built and led a three-person team: copywriter/SEO, videographer/designer and paid media.
  • Rebranded the company upmarket and created its brand guide. The company earned the 2020 Samsung 5-Star Platinum Direct Dealer Award during my tenure.

Feb 2018 – Aug 2019

Miami, FL

Social Media & Email Marketing Manager

Saved By The Dress & Bump Girl

  • Ran social and email marketing for a fashion e-commerce company doing $60M+ a year in sales, with months near $8M.
  • Opened Pinterest as a new prospecting channel at a positive return on ad spend (ROAS), and lowered cost per acquisition (CPA) with audience-targeted campaigns and A/B-tested collection, product and checkout pages.
  • Helped launch the sister brand Bump Girl, managed the email team and directed photo and video shoots in an in-house studio we set up for model and product shoots.

Sep 2015 – Mar 2018

Pompano Beach, FL

Marketing Manager

LogoUp.com & R.J. Roberts

  • Managed a four-person team across two B2B uniform brands selling Nike, Under Armour and Ogio.
  • Built automated funnels (newsletters, abandoned cart and lead magnets) and grew monthly sales with segmented offers across social, email and Google Ads.
  • Repositioned the R.J. Roberts site for automotive dealerships and ran redesigns of both websites.

Sep 2009 – Sep 2015

Miami–Fort Lauderdale, FL

Social Media & Content Manager

BC Surf and Sport

  • Produced 100+ product and tutorial videos with over 1,000,000 views for an 18-store action-sports retailer with a large online business.
  • Ran a website redesign, product photography, the weekly email and a custom Vans shoe collaboration.
  • Helped develop private-label apparel, skateboards and camera accessories.
Digital Imaging Technician, Camera Operator & Video Editor · VIMBY (part-time/freelance)Jun 2012 – May 2014 · Tampa Bay, FL

Crew on national Walmart commercials, including the 2013 Effie-winning "Receipt Challenge."

Videographer & Video Editor · Jobe Sports International (part-time/freelance)Jul 2012 – Jul 2013 · Orlando, FL

Product and pro-athlete video for tradeshows, social and YouTube.

Marketing Coordinator · Billabong (part-time/freelance)Oct 2011 – Sep 2012 · Deerfield Beach, FL

Grand-opening campaign and local SEO for the Deerfield Beach store launch.

Marketing Manager · The Boarder LineJan 2006 – Nov 2009 · Dowagiac, MI

Grew lesson enrollment and store sales through social media and in-store events.

Skills

What I bring to the team.

Strategy and the hands-on work. I can set the plan, direct an agency and still build the ads, the follow-up and the video myself.

Strategy & leadership

  • Marketing plans and budgets
  • Team and agency leadership
  • Sales and marketing alignment
  • Advertising compliance: Florida Bar rules, FTC guidelines

Demand generation

  • Google Ads and paid search
  • Meta and ChatGPT ads
  • Events and email
  • Local SEO and Google Business Profile

Automation & AI

  • n8n, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity
  • Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
  • CRM: HubSpot, Salesforce, Keap, LeadConnector
  • Automated lead follow-up
  • Lead-source tracking and reporting
  • A/B testing

Brand & creative

  • Brand strategy and rebrands
  • Video production and editing
  • Graphic design and photography
  • Copywriting

How I use AI

To move faster

Research, first drafts, testing more ideas in less time. I review everything before it goes out, and I keep client and patient data out of tools that train on it.

Where AI stops

I still decide what goes out

Anyone can buy credits and publish more content. Whether it brings in the right leads and earns their trust is still the job, and that takes someone who's done it for twenty years.

The whole funnel

Leads are only the first step.

Paying for every new customer gets expensive. I work the full cycle, from the first click to the review and the referral, so happy customers bring in the next ones.

Whiteboard sketch: ad, form fill, first reply, booked call, with the gap between form fill and first reply circled
Where most leads get lost: the gap between the form and the first reply. That gap is the first thing I fix.
  1. Top of funnel

    Get found

    Google Ads, Meta, local search, events and video that reach the right buyers.

  2. Middle

    Earn the click

    Pages and offers that answer what buyers ask before they call. Every new page gets tested against the old.

  3. Bottom

    Book the call

    Fast, automated follow-up and lead tracking, so no inquiry sits overnight.

  4. After the sale

    Take care of them

    A smooth handoff to your team, and check-ins that keep customers happy.

  5. Reviews

    Ask at the right moment

    Your staff trained and equipped to ask, with a simple process that fits their day.

  6. Referrals

    Turn customers into referrals

    A referral program built into the moments customers are happiest.

Referrals and reviews feed the top of the funnel again

What I add

I make the budget go further.

I look at what to hire, what to contract and what to automate, so the budget goes to what brings in leads.

AI that saves money

I build AI into the team.

Automations that route leads and stop people from repeating themselves. AI phone answering when the front desk can't pick up. On-brand prompt workflows, so AI images and video stay consistent and you don't burn through a month of credits in a week.

And guardrails: automation runs on its own secure machine, away from your office files, and no bot makes rapid-fire ad changes that get a Google or Meta account flagged or shut down. I've seen that happen, so I build to prevent it.

n8n · ChatGPT · Claude · Perplexity · Runway · Higgsfield · Adobe Premiere Pro

I've sat in the hiring chair

I know what talent costs.

I've interviewed and hired front desk staff, salespeople, marketers, designers and copywriters, from offshore contractors to senior Florida specialists. I know when a role needs a person and when it needs a system.

Rules and changes

I track platform and rule changes.

I know the rules behind the tools: Bar advertising rules, FTC guidelines, and what you can and can't do with AI-generated images. Google changes constantly, so I read industry news every morning and stay active in practitioner groups. When something changes, I tell you before it shows up in your leads.

Process first

I map it, then I automate it.

I studied Lean Six Sigma early on and learned project management from the managers I worked under. I still diagram everything: how a lead moves from marketing to sales to operations, where it stalls, and what to fix or automate first. Then I explain it so plainly that everyone on the team can run it.

"He created a detailed process flow from the beginning of the sale conception, to email campaign management, to live troubleshooting of customer issues."Christopher R., Technical Director, LogoUp.com & R.J. Roberts

Recommendations

From people I've worked with.

From LinkedIn recommendations, quoted as written and trimmed only where you see an ellipsis.

"We were generating leads like nothing I have seen in my decade-long work. ..."
Dennis C.Content designer who reported to me, Premium Digital
"Blake is a great collaborator, especially with marketing, and overall communication. ..."
Christian S.Sales development rep I worked with, 2024
"Upon his arrival, he immediately helped adjust our branding and messaging to have a stronger more relatable story and target a more high-end demographic. ..."
Kathleen I.HR Manager & Executive Bookkeeper, Premium Digital
"His leadership and organizational abilities were directly responsible for the company's success. ..."
Andrew F.Marketing Coordinator, R.J. Roberts & LogoUp.com

Read all recommendations on LinkedIn

If you hire me

My first 90 days on your team.

Pick your industry. Every plan starts the same way: listen first, fix the foundation, then turn up what works. Here's what changes for yours.

Weeks 1–2

Listen and audit

  • Meet sales and leadership; learn who the best customers are and why they buy
  • Audit ad accounts, tracking, CRM, website and follow-up
Day 30

Fix the foundation

  • One report everyone trusts, with every lead tied to its source
  • Automated follow-up live so no lead goes cold
Day 60

Turn up what works

  • Shift budget toward the channels with the best cost per qualified lead
  • New landing pages and creative tested against the old ones
Day 90

Report and scale

  • A clear results review: what each lead cost and what it turned into
  • The next two quarters planned, budgeted and written down

See the work

I still make the creative.

Video and creative from the roles above.

Florida Bar CLE seriesHost and producer. Trailer for the Business Law Section's series on lawyer advertising compliance.
Premium DigitalVideo for a luxury smart-home company, part of the upmarket rebrand.
BC Surf and SportThe custom Vans shoe collaboration, one of 100+ videos with over 1,000,000 views.

Credentials

Education and recognition.

Education & certifications

  • Associate's degree, Graphic Design, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, 2011
  • Certified Advertising Compliance Specialist, National Association of Advertising Compliance, 2024
  • Crack the Code to Conversion Tracking, AdVenture Media, 2025
  • ZoomInfo Sales Certification
  • B2B Marketing on LinkedIn

Speaking & membership

  • Host and producer, The Florida Bar Business Law Section CLE series on lawyer advertising compliance
  • Member, National Association of Advertising Compliance

Recognition

  • 2020 Samsung 5-Star Platinum Direct Dealer Award, earned by Premium Digital while I ran its marketing
  • 2013 Effie Award-winning Walmart "Receipt Challenge" (contributed as digital imaging technician and second camera)

Outside work

Outside work, I make things. Woodworking and art come first, including two collaborations with the Thunder Clan of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi in my hometown of Dowagiac, Michigan: one turned their music into a visual piece, and one paired my woodwork with their feather and bead work. When my retainer case got smashed, I invented a heavy-duty travel case to replace it. I competed in wakeboarding, snowboarding and BMX, and these days I surf, mountain bike and golf. The best part of any week is time with my family.

Speaking and media

Watch, listen or come see me.

Teaching lawyers, financial advisors and parents is how I prove I know the material.

Watch

The Florida Bar CLE

Presenting The Florida Bar Business Law Section's CLE series when the updated lawyer advertising handbook came out.

Watch the trailer
Listen

Raising Weston podcast

Talking with local parents alongside Dr. Marissa Cooper of Orthodontics of Weston.

Find it on Spotify
Scheduled · December 2026

The Florida Bar

Speaking on marketing, AI tools and security for law firms.

Scheduled · June 2027 · Tallahassee

TMA

Invited to teach financial advisors how to market their practices.

Don't take my word for it

Check my work.

Every claim on this page can be checked. Here's where to look.

  • Read my recommendationsEach is tied to a real person's profile. See them on LinkedIn
  • Watch me on cameraThe Florida Bar CLE series I host and produce. Watch the trailer
  • Read client reviewsGoogle and Facebook reviews from people who hired me. Read reviews
  • Look up the workSearch Walmart's "Receipt Challenge," a 2013 Effie winner, or the Vans x BC Surf Chukka Low.
  • Talk to my referencesAfter our first call, I'll connect you with former managers and clients.
  • Ask me anything on a callFifteen minutes is enough to tell whether someone did the work. Book a time

Ways to work together

Let's build something that lasts.

Leadership

Marketing director

Full-time and remote, for a company that wants one person to own the plan, the budget and the results.

Book a callCall (561) 935-3389
A project or a talk

Freelance or speaking

A launch, a campaign or a video runs through my company, Hickey Media. Talks and team trainings are on my speaking page.

Hickey MediaSpeaking

Fair question

"Why not just hire an agency?"

When you do need an agency, I'll hold it to weekly targets and tell you straight what's working.

Want to talk?

Let's talk for 15 minutes.

Tell me about the goal, and I'll tell you honestly whether I'm the right fit. By phone or Zoom.

Prefer to write or call?
[email protected]
(561) 935-3389

A lifeguard stand on an empty Atlantic beach at first light
Based in Jupiter, FloridaMarketing director since 2006