before/after bookcase
WSET pr summary
summary of automated spreadsheets
skills list: websites, wordpress, ai, elementor, shopify, photoshop, illustrator, indesign, package design, shopper marketing, shelf talkers, event setup, POV/UVP/persona, channel strategies
Hey! I’m Melissa, a marketing leader with 12+ years in beer, hemp, and hospitality.
I build marketing functions from scratch. My sweet spot is taking something complex, emerging, or intimidating and making it approachable and profitable. I design the systems, strategy, and go-to-market frameworks that connect brand to revenue, then make sure everyone (sales, ops, distributors, retail partners) has what they need to execute.
I’ve spent most of my career at startups and small companies where I was the entire marketing department. I thrive in zero-to-one environments where I’m solving problems no one’s solved yet, building infrastructure that scales, and translating between creative vision and operational reality. I connect marketing to sales: driving retail support, distributor buy-in, and measurable ROI.
I’m looking for roles where I can think strategically, build foundational systems, and work cross-functionally to drive business outcomes.
Need an overview? Check out my resume on the right. Below, you’ll find detailed stories and visuals that show how my brain works.
Email me: melissa@itshiccup.com
When I joined Mission Brewing, there was no marketing department–just a beautiful old brewery in a 100-year-old Wonder Bread factory with great beer and no real story being told. I started as a bartender and tour guide, and six months later, I began to build the marketing department from scratch.
Over the next five years, I touched nearly every part of the business, from label design to events to neighborhood partnerships. By the time I left, I was leading a team of six, working with agency partners, and helping drive the most profitable years in the company’s history.
Mission already had heritage and heart, but we needed cohesion. I led a full brand and packaging redesign that increased core beer sales by 80% within a year.
I designed labels, merchandise, and custom Costco variety packs, managed TTB compliance, and produced press materials and photography. We worked with distributors and partner breweries to expand production, and I handled everything from brand approvals to sales sheets.
One of my favorite parts of this role was connecting the brand to the city. I represented Mission at downtown community board meetings and built relationships with nearby hotels, apartment buildings, and local businesses.
We ran happy hours with neighborhood apartments, stocked hotels with discount rack cards, and became a go-to stop for residents and visitors alike. I started a Growler Club and a New Resident Gift Program, partnering with property managers to give new tenants a free glass growler and one complimentary fill. It was a small idea that brought hundreds of new customers through the doors every month.
That program eventually evolved into Blackbeard’s Crew, a paid membership for our most loyal fans. Every month, we brought them into the brewery to collaborate with our brewers and create exclusive cask beers. It was messy, fun, and completely real; we gave people true behind-the-scenes access to the craft.
We filmed these sessions, including the “Plunder Tasting,” where members sampled new beers and gave feedback before release. The content became both community storytelling and authentic marketing. These weren’t influencers; they were neighbors, friends, and brand advocates who helped shape our products and spread the word organically.
In 2015, I helped seal a multi-year partnership with Petco Park. Mission had a huge presence in pre-game culture for the Padres, as we were located across the street from the tailgate parking lot.
We went from being an option in the craft beer section, to having our own dedicated cart, and finally expanding to our own brick and mortar location in the Western Metal building that we designed.
I also worked with our VP of Sales to build Mission Brewing’s annual programming calendars. A 12-month alignment of product launches, seasonal series, and marketing collateral. Each campaign included themed packaging, merch, glassware, and social assets tied to quarterly “Series” like Fruit & Oak, San Diego Series, and Harvest Series.
This structure became the foundation for our annual business planning (ABP) sessions with distributors and retail partners, helping sales teams forecast, pitch, and execute promotions with creative consistency across all markets.
By 2015, weddings and private events became our highest margin business, but they came at a cost: on a weekend, we were kicking out regular guests to host someone’s wedding. We were making money but losing brand loyalty. I saw the tension and ran the numbers on converting adjacent warehouse space into a dedicated private events venue. I built the business case, pitched ownership, and got approved for a shoestring budget build out.
I executed the entire project using secondhand furniture, in-house labor, and beer trades with local artists for custom murals and installations. The result was a beautiful, fully functional event space that became a consistent six-figure annual revenue stream without displacing a single tasting room guest. We protected the core brand experience while capturing high margin business we were already turning away. The venue is still operating and generating revenue today.
To introduce the space to the public, we advertised in local magazines, held free happy hours for wedding planners and vendors, and hosted styled shoots and local vendor marketplaces. I also personally emailed the local area DMCs as well as reached out to downtown offices during the late summer to begin booking holiday parties.
When Mission brought me back in 2022, the tasting room had been struggling since the pandemic. Event revenue had fallen dramatically. I was working remotely and part time, which meant I had to be extremely systematic about how I generated and closed business.
The month before I started: $1,321 in private event revenue. My first month: $13,559. By July it had climbed to $17,588. The full year produced a 77% year-over-year revenue increase.
Here’s how I did it.
The Event CRM
I built a Google Sheets based event pipeline from scratch because nothing affordable existed that did what I needed. It functioned as an intake system, a pipeline tracker, a revenue forecasting tool, and a follow up reminder engine all in one. Every lead had a status, a follow-up date, a revenue estimate, and a reason for loss if it didn’t close. Color coded, auto-sorted by event date, with automated alerts so no warm lead ever went cold by accident.
This gave us visibility we never had before: how many leads were coming in, where they were getting stuck, what was converting, and what wasn’t. I trained management on the system so they could eventually hire someone in house and actually measure their performance.
The Lead Generation Engine
Most breweries wait for inbound leads. I went outbound. I ran geotargeted Facebook lead form campaigns that fed directly into the CRM, capturing high-intent prospects actively searching for private event space in San Diego. Cost per lead: $7.46, for bookings averaging $2,500+.
Outbound outreach ran alongside the paid campaigns: DMC relationships, nearby hotels, apartment complexes, corporate contacts, nonprofits looking for fundraiser venues. The combination generated 60+ warm leads per month flowing into a structured, trackable pipeline.
Teaching It to Others
The system worked well enough that I was invited to present the methodology at the Craft Beer Professionals virtual conference, teaching brewery operators across the country how to build their own outbound event pipelines, structure their sales process, and track revenue with the same framework.
I also produced large-scale themed events, including our annual Mission Brewing Halloween Series, which grew to more than 450 guests and became our highest-revenue nights of the year. Each year we built immersive environments from scratch: scenic builds, lighting, storylines, photo ops, completely transforming the brewery into a living story.
I couldn’t have done that without the team that helped me bring it to life every year, a team as crazy as my vision!
Mission went from a quiet local brewery to a well-loved San Diego brand with regional distribution, a thriving tasting room, and a packed event calendar. We landed distro into stores like Costco, Trader Joes, Walgreens regional grocery chains, and produced a white label brand for Walmart.
Highlights:
Built and led the brewery’s marketing department
Managed six staff members and multiple agencies
Increased core beer sales by 80% within a year of rebrand
Tripled tasting room revenue through local partnerships and programming
Opened the Cellar & Loft venue, creating a new six-figure annual revenue stream
Produced experiential events that became signature brand moments
Maintained partnerships with Petco Park, hotels, and apartment networks
It was the kind of role that shaped everything I do now: hands-on creativity, community connection, and a love for turning great brands into memorable experiences.
I left Mission in 2017, but was brought back on to work with them on a consultant basis from 2022-2024 after a significant drop in tasting room revenue. Working only 8 months of 2022, the YOY increase was 77%.
Years of packaging design, print ads, promotional materials, sales enablement, and a whole lot of fun.
Director of Marketing | 2024–2025
When I joined Rexis Biotech, we were more than a brand, we were a technology company with a breakthrough: Hydro-Fiber, a patented process that converts THC from a fat-soluble oil into a true water-soluble fiber. My role was to translate that science into a story people could actually taste.
Brand Launch & Creative Direction: Built the full launch campaigns for Squared, the company’s flagship hemp-derived THC beverage. Directed packaging edits, web, retail, and social strategy across ten states.
Consumer Education & Storytelling: Turned complex biotech language into clean, accessible messaging that explained why Hydro-Fiber matters: faster onset, better flavor, no emulsifiers.
Retail & Distributor Support: Created sales sheets, shelf talkers, window clings, and POS toolkits that helped retailers understand both the science and the vibe.
Influencer & Social Systems: Designed a compliant UGC and influencer framework that humanized the category while driving measurable e-commerce conversion (5 % average DTC conversion rate).
National Programming: Assisted in designing marketing plan and annual programming for white label partner brands who were unfamiliar with the 3-tier system and how best to support their retail partners.
Introduce Squared to as many new customers as possible by removing the biggest barrier to entry: uncertainty. The offer was simple: two free cans shipped to your door–designed to educate and convert first-time THC beverage buyers who may have never even heard of the category.
The campaign combined education, sampling, and digital advertising into one streamlined funnel:
Paid Social + Search: Launched ads across Instagram, Facebook, and Google targeting “California Sober” consumers searching for hangover-free alternatives to wine or beer.
Landing Page: Built a conversion-focused destination that balanced storytelling and science, clearly explaining what hemp-derived THC beverages are, how Hydro-Fiber works, and why Squared was a better nightly ritual.
Lead Capture + Nurture: Captured emails and phone numbers for remarketing and SMS follow-up, turning free samples into long-term customer relationships.
Retargeting Campaigns: Served reminder ads and social proof to anyone who viewed the offer but didn’t complete checkout. Offered a discount to returning sample customers.
3,164 samples shipped in the first phase.
$0.13 average cost per landing page view, far outperforming standard beverage benchmarks.
Built a remarketing audience, brand loyalty, great customer service touchpoints.
The “Try Squared for Free” campaign did more than drive trial, it helped define a category. By pairing education with accessibility, we turned curiosity into confidence. Consumers not only tried a new brand, they understood a new product type: the hemp-derived THC beverage.
Coasters, sales sheets, email promotions, rebate programs, dozens of packaging mockups, coolers, event setups, print ads. This is what a marketing team of one looks like.
Role: Agency Lead / Creative Director
Brand Strategy • Campaign Development • Visual Identity • Launch Activation • Paid and Organic Media
When a group of cardiologists left a large hospital network to open Idaho’s first independent cardiovascular practice, they needed a full brand launch from the ground up–fast.
I built the marketing and creative system that brought High Desert Heart & Vascular to life across digital, print, and local media. The work spanned positioning, storytelling, visual identity, and launch activation in Boise, helping patients understand not just what the clinic was, but why it mattered.
The brand needed to communicate trust, independence, and compassion, not the sterility of a hospital brand.
I focused the creative direction on human connection and education: teaching patients that they had a choice in their heart care and introducing the doctors as accessible, highly qualified advocates.
Brand Story and Messaging: Developed positioning and copy framework around “Experts at Heart” and “When it comes to your heart, time matters.”
Launch Campaign: Directed creative for print, billboard, social, and local media announcing the July grand opening.
Digital Presence: Built and optimized Google My Business, HealthGrades, and local SEO profiles; launched first digital ad and YouTube campaign.
Visual System: Designed social templates, physician spotlights, and billboard concepts that emphasized humanity and modern design instead of medical sterility.
Community Marketing: Created local partnership and event strategy: health fairs, workshops, and referral outreach, establishing a neighborhood presence and immediate patient pipeline.
Patient Education: Developed video and blog content with the cardiologists to translate medical information into accessible language.
Established full digital and local footprint before opening.
Clinic reached full patient capacity within first three months.
Successful press outreach secured placements in local and senior-focused media.
Created reusable marketing infrastructure now used across all departments.
Marketing Strategy • E-Commerce Transformation • Brand Development • Revenue Growth
For eight years, I served as the marketing and business development partner for Lark Cake Shop, a beloved Los Angeles bakery specializing in cakes, wedding desserts, and seasonal offerings. During that time, I helped transform the business through a blend of digital infrastructure, brand evolution, and community-driven growth strategies.
When the 2020 shutdown hit Los Angeles, Lark relied entirely on walk-ins and phone orders. Within one week, I designed and launched a full online ordering system with integrated delivery workflows–a pivot that not only kept the business alive but transformed its long-term revenue model. Today, online orders represent the majority of its sales.
Over the course of our partnership, I rebuilt the marketing foundation from the ground up, including:
A complete website redesign with improved navigation, UX, and online ordering
Email marketing programs for promotions, holidays, and product launches
Direct mail campaigns targeting high-value local zip codes
A full paid digital advertising strategy, including Meta, Google, and hyperlocal targeting
Traditional media placements in local newspapers, magazines, and TheKnot.com
Rebrand support including updated signage, packaging stickers, A-frames, and shop visuals
Coordinated product photoshoots to elevate presentation and improve conversion
Developed a corporate outreach campaign delivering free sample cupcakes to local offices, driving significant increases in corporate orders
Expanded footprint on food delivery platforms such as UberEats and DoorDash
Ran annual holiday campaigns including November pies, December yule logs, and seasonal assortments that became major revenue drivers
Strengthened and grew their wedding dessert business, historically their most profitable segment, through improved digital presence, advertising, and portfolio presentation
Across eight years of collaboration, I helped Lark Cake Shop evolve from a primarily walk-in retail bakery to a digitally powered, multi-channel business with strong brand identity, modern marketing systems, and year-round recurring revenue streams.
From 2009-2013, I was a project manager and motion graphic artist at a small studio in LA. We were often contracted by Disney/Pixar, MTV, and other large outfits to design and produce visual effects.
Below you’ll only see projects that were completed in their entirity by me during that time, including Disney Channel promos, a supersign in Times Square, and movie intro sequences.
Event Operations, Programming, Community Experience, Production Support
Cardistry Con is the world’s premier gathering dedicated to the art of card flourishing, held in major cities around the world. Across six years (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023), I worked on the small organizing team to help produce an event that blends the energy of a creator festival, the precision of a live performance, and the community-driven excitement of a fan convention.
Every year, Cardistry Con brings together hundreds of creators, performers, YouTubers, designers, and fans from dozens of countries. My role across these six years spanned event operations, programming support, registration, attendee experience, stage management, talent coordination, run-of-show logistics, communication workflows, and on-site production troubleshooting. Because the event moves cities each year (Los Angeles, Berlin, Hong Kong, Portland, etc.), every iteration required building new systems, new vendor relationships, and new solutions for wildly different venues, layouts, and programming needs.
Cardistry Con is a uniquely demanding event: everything happens live, everything is filmed, and the community has extremely high expectations for both production quality and personal connection. I helped structure workshops, competitions, meetups, and stage programming, managed attendee flows, coordinated transitions, kept run-of-show timing on track, and supported all the little details that make a community event feel seamless. This work strengthened my ability to operate inside a high-cadence, high-pressure event environment, balancing logistics, creative production, and the human side of community building.
Across my six years with the team, the event grew from a niche gathering to a polished, international experiential brand with sold-out venues, global livestreams, and a fanbase that travels the world to attend. Being part of that evolution taught me how to create events that feel intimate at scale, that run smoothly behind the scenes, and that become core memories for the people who attend.
While leading marketing and events at Mission Brewing, I designed and produced a series of large-scale immersive Halloween events that became the brewery’s highest-revenue days year after year. These weren’t themed parties for the sake of novelty, they were fully built environments, intentionally designed to transform the space, control guest flow, and create a memorable, high-energy experience.
I owned these events end to end, from concept and creative direction to budgeting, build-out, staffing, bar strategy, programming, and on-site execution. Each year, I refined the experience based on what worked, scaling production value while maintaining operational efficiency. The result was consistent sell-outs, 450+ attendees per event, strong repeat attendance, and a reputation for Mission as a destination for immersive, experience-driven programming that delivered both cultural impact and real revenue.
While leading marketing and events at Mission Brewing, I designed and produced a series of large-scale immersive Halloween events that became the brewery’s highest-revenue days year after year. These weren’t themed parties for the sake of novelty, they were fully built environments, intentionally designed to transform the space, control guest flow, and create a memorable, high-energy experience.
I owned these events end to end, from concept and creative direction to budgeting, build-out, staffing, bar strategy, programming, and on-site execution. Each year, I refined the experience based on what worked, scaling production value while maintaining operational efficiency. The result was consistent sell-outs, 450+ attendees per event, strong repeat attendance, and a reputation for Mission as a destination for immersive, experience-driven programming that delivered both cultural impact and real revenue.
Back for the 7th year in San Diego, this was my first first forray outside of the Mission Brewery venue. As a testament to my leadership, a dozen former employees across departments from Mission Brewery came by on their lunch break or after work to help contribute in any way they could. I even had someone voluntarily fly in from SF to help. Our event delivered the highest single revenue day in Melvin Brewing’s history.
Our largest build yet, a take on “Nightmare on Elm Street,” included a maze and 7500 SF of event space. This was the first year we expanded into the Cellar & Loft in addition to our regular tasting room. We offered VIP and GA tickets, special cups that offered a discount on beer refills (eased bar logistics and increased revenue), a live band, DJ, and of course, all of the over-the-top scenic design you could handle.
A giant shipwreck in an iconic historic space was perfect for this sold-out event. As always, a completely custom entrance set the stage — this time, however, the enormous custom built mast was our cornerstone piece. That wasn’t quite enough so we fabricated a PVC and hand carved foam ship. You can see the ridiculous scale in our first build photo (necessary for our large space, of course).
Under the big top, the show-stopping evil clown entrance and crafted ticket booth set entrants up for more surprises, like a fortune teller, balloon wall, and a theater-style stage.
