Matt Melander

About Matt Melander

As a transformational marketing executive with 20+ years of leadership, I set the strategic vision for data‑driven growth, guiding teams to expand customer acquisition, optimize investment, and maximize lifetime value across all channels. I forge integrated marketing platforms and distinctive brand narratives that elevate market position and deliver quantifiable business outcomes.Strategic Leadership & Vision: •Set the strategic direction for revenue‑marketing frameworks, ensuring every campaign aligns with clear ROI objectives.•Shaped brand positioning and storytelling initiatives that captivate target audiences, reinforce differentiation, and drive more efficient acquisition.•Instituted a Marketing Center of Excellence to codify best practices, governance, and cross‑regional collaboration.•Advocated agile marketing principles, reducing time‑to‑market by 30% and fostering a culture of rapid iteration.Performance Marketing & Brand Stewardship:•Oversaw the establishment of multi‑touch attribution architectures that maximize ROAS across all channels.•Championed initiatives that improved acquisition efficiency by over 30%, unlocking significant budget leverage.•Defined the roadmap for predictive and AI customer acquisition, leveraging advanced analytics and machine learning insights.•Embedded holistic measurement systems, ensuring every marketing investment is directly traceable to revenue impact.MarTech & Data Governance:•Directed the integration of a unified MarTech ecosystem to enable hyper‑personalized customer journeys at scale.•Led enterprise AI adoption strategies, elevating targeting precision and engagement through intelligent automation.•Governed the rollout of customer data platforms, creating single customer profiles to power strategic segmentation.•Formulated first‑party data policies to safeguard marketing resilience in a privacy‑centric environment •Embedded brand‑engagement metrics into executive dashboards to continuously refine messaging and drive lower CPAs.Marketing Strategy | Performance Marketing | Customer Acquisition | AI and Digital Transformation | Marketing Technology | Data-Driven Decision Making | Customer Journey Mapping | Omnichannel Marketing | Conversion Optimization | Attribution Modeling | Customer Lifetime Value | Marketing Automation | Predictive Analytics | Revenue Marketing | Growth Marketing | Brand Development | Digital Advertising | Customer Segmentation | Marketing ROI

Experience

1. Senior Director, Customer Acquisition & Lifecycle Marketing

   Brookdale

   Oct 2017 — Present · Nashville, TN, US

   As the senior-most leader driving customer acquisition and performance marketing, I positioned marketing as a core revenue engine within the nation’s largest senior living provider. Under my leadership, marketing’s contribution to move-ins increased from 17% to 30%, generating $891M+ in 2024 revenue and establishing acquisition as the company’s top growth channel.I oversee a $35M+ full-funnel media investment and direct cross-functional teams focused on scaling growth through data, technology, and customer-centric strategy. I led the transformation of Brookdale’s marketing infrastructure—embedding AI, predictive analytics, and a modern MarTech stack to drive personalization, efficiency, and measurable performance.Key leadership highlights: •Architected a scalable, insight-led acquisition strategy aligned to enterprise growth goals. •Reduced lead response time from 3 days to 1 minute through automation, resulting in a 260% lift in contact rates. •Drove an 18% YoY reduction in CPA and 43% increase in landing page conversion through advanced testing and modeling. •Established a Marketing Center of Excellence to unify best practices, governance, and innovation across the organization.I bring a strategic lens to growth, building high-performing teams and future-ready marketing capabilities that deliver lasting enterprise value.

Education

• Universal Technical Institute

  Associates of Occupational Studies, Automotive and Diesel Technology

  1995 — 1997

• University of Phoenix

  Bachelors in Business Management, Business

  2009 — 2011

Skills

• Product Marketing
• Business Management
• Social Media Marketing
• Call Center
• Vendor Relations
• Integration
• SEO
• Customer Satisfaction
• Business Analysis
• Market Research
• Vendor Management
• Contract Negotiation
• Start-Ups
• Cross-Functional Team Leadership
• User Experience
• Management
• Team Building
• Marketing Strategy
• Program Management
• Emerging Media Strategy
• Social Media
• Content Marketing
• Strategic Planning
• Crm
• Team Management
• Analytics
• Marketing
• Customer Relationship Management (Crm)
• Operations Management
• Content Management
• Budgeting
• Process Improvement
• Business Process Improvement
• Customer Service
• Retail
• Customer Relations
• Change Management
• Team Leadership
• Leadership
• Marketing Communications