Matthew Vermillion, copywriter
content strategist
consultant
I'm a creative who tucks his shirt in and a strategist who throws out the rule book.
My expertise spans copywriting, content strategy, branding, creative direction, content development, digital marketing, team management, and more.
Having worked at agencies, in-house marketing teams, and as a freelancer, I know how to deliver business results in various complex environments.
I've built successful strategies and campaigns for B2B and B2C clients including Fortune 100 companies, agencies, nonprofits, startups, and small businesses.
As a musician who’s been playing in bands since I was 16 years old, I’m able to bring the creative thinking, improvisation, and collaboration I’ve learned to my work with clients and teams. Once we set a strategy and know we’re all playing in the same key, then we can really start to rock and roll.
But enough about me, let’s get to the work.
Some companies I’ve worked with
The Work
Content Strategy and Campaign Development: Generating demand and leads
S&T Telcom created a new business services product called Bluheeler, and they needed brand development and a content marketing campaign to reach and convert prospects. I developed brand positioning, messaging architecture, and content strategy that served as the foundation for the campaign.
I created an email nurture series, social posts, blog posts, and a whitepaper titled “The Rise of the Virtual CIO” to build demand and attract leads. Using keyword and topic research, I optimized all the content for performance, making sure assets covered exactly what the target audience wanted to know and was already searching for.
The campaign helped introduce new and existing customers to the business benefits and cost savings the platform offers to SMBs — and generated leads for the client.
Read the whitepaper “The Rise of the Virtual CIO.”
Agency: If This Then Creative
Role: Content Strategist, Copywriter
Branding: Succinctly telling the story
Growth Marketing Werks needed a way to give current and potential clients a deeper understanding of who they are and what sets them apart as a B2B media agency. Working with a graphic design team, I developed a package of assets to use as leave behinds after a prospect meeting, as part of a physical mailer, or for trade events.
I wanted the feature piece to clearly communicate their unique value proposition along with a fun, creative concept to illustrate it. To achieve those two goals, I developed the bold tagline “We don’t run ads. We grow your business.” And, we included a small packet of real seeds with the message “Grow with us” as a playful way to convey the benefits clients can reap from working with Growth Marketing Werks.
Another element in the overall package was metaphorical “seeds”— a series of flip cards that drive home what Growth Marketing Werks delivers to make client campaigns successful.
Agency: If This Then Creative
Role: Creative Director, Content Strategist, Copywriter
Account Based Marketing: Lead generation campaign
My team developed an Account Based Marketing (ABM) campaign for Oracle Cloud Technology that spoke directly to each target company’s unique business needs regarding cloud computing. As Senior Storyteller and lead content strategist, I conducted extensive research including interviews with the sales teams as well as industry and account research. Based on that research, I created customized messaging and content strategy for each account that took the form of landing pages, assets, email nurture series, and ads.
The goal was to clearly communicate to each target account that Oracle Cloud understood their specific business objectives and pain points—and could provide customized cloud solutions to address them. These are samples from our targeted campaign for Citi.
Another element of this campaign was to target C-suite decision makers. To get in front of this audience, which is notoriously difficult to reach via digital channels alone, we created a personalized direct mail piece that presented a thought-provoking message and teased the solution that Oracle provides. These packages were delivered directly to business leaders and included a relevant thought leadership book that I researched and selected along with a customized note from their key account director at Oracle.
Agency: 90octane
Role: Senior Storyteller
Website Content Strategy: On the enterprise scale
Serving as the Director of Content Strategy at Transamerica, I led all content strategy for the development and launch of the new Transamerica.com. My team and I worked closely with cross-divisional internal stakeholders up to the C-suite, UX research and design teams, and development teams to deliver a website that served the needs of the business and of our partners and customers. I managed the end-to-end strategy and execution of content on the site including the following:
Website content audit
Competitive analysis
Stakeholder interviews
Content workshops
Content architecture
Search Engine Optimization
User journeys
On-page content strategy
Content development and aggregation
Copy and design
Conversion rate optimization
Company: Transamerica
Role: Director of Content Strategy
Website Launch: Rebranding
As part of an overall rebrand for Ad Club CO, I led a team in designing, building and launching the new website. The brand positioning for the club was more than just visual, and I developed all the site copy, incorporating the new brand messaging and tone, and devised the content architecture and user experience for the site.
Agency: If This Then Creative
Role: Creative Director, Content Strategist, Copywriter
Content Audits and Campaign Strategy: Holistic content strategy
Two key elements of creating successful content strategy within a campaign or ongoing brand marketing efforts are assessing the landscape of existing content and developing smart distribution plans for content that provides the best user journeys.
At agencies, for freelance clients, and for enterprise marketing efforts at Transamerica, I have conducted numerous content audits for overall marketing assets and websites to rate effectiveness and measure performance, which informed the evolution of strategies for said properties.
I have also developed touchpoint strategies for complex campaign flows to deliver the right asset to the right audience at just the right stage of their journey.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
As Director of Content Strategy at Transamerica, I led a cross-departmental SEO Core Team in enterprise-wide Search Engine Optimization efforts for Transamerica.com.
Through the technical, content, and UX improvements we made on the site, we drove an increase in website traffic valued at $735,000 over a period of six months.
B2B Content Marketing for Lead Generation
Campaign landing page copywriting
Financial services copywriting
Demand generation campaign
Interactive landing page creative direction and copywriting
Sales sheet copywriting
Enterprise website content strategy
Brand messaging and copywriting
Cybersecurity whitepaper
Website content strategy and copywriting
Account Based Marketing campaign
Campaign touchpoint strategy
Content audits
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Brand messaging, UX content strategy, copywriting
Get in Touch
matthew@ifthisthencreative.com
303.918.1733
Connect with me on LinkedIn