John D’Amato, Creative Director and Marketing Strategist.

Hey, I’m John D’Amato, a creative director and marketing strategist with a designer’s foundation, based in Nashville, TN. For the last decade I’ve built brand systems, launched websites, and made the campaigns that carry them across B2B, SaaS, fitness, tech, medical, and legal. I like the whole arc of it, the strategy, the design, the build, and the numbers that come back after.

I do my best work on collaborative teams, the kind where people hold each other accountable and the feedback is real. That extends to how I use AI. I treat it as a thought partner, not a shortcut, and I’ve built brand-trained Claude systems that produce on-brand content with human oversight at every step. AI handles the first 80%, craft and judgment handle the 20% that makes it good.

Outside of work I travel as often as I can, hike whenever there’s a trail nearby, and play music with a family full of musicians. I’m also a serious cinephile, which is probably where a lot of my instincts about pacing, composition, and story came from in the first place. Most of what I like about those things is the same thing I like about the work, paying attention to how something is made.

I hold a double major in Marketing and Graphic Design from Lipscomb University, and I’m a Claude Certified Architect. Currently open to full-time and freelance opportunities. Let’s talk.

Experience

2024

Marketing Director at Market Disrupt

2 years, 2024 to Apr 2026, Remote

  • Helped grow the company from early-stage revenue to seven figures over four years
  • Managed $20K+/month in paid media spend across 6 active client accounts in a portfolio of 20+ clients
  • Led a team of designers, video editors, and paid ad designers across client campaigns, setting direction and reviewing work through delivery
  • Drove 1,000+ leads in week one at 5.3x ROAS on a full-funnel B2B acquisition campaign
  • Built two brand-trained AI systems, a design system for PayPlan and a content system for altLINE, producing on-brand creative and copy at scale
  • Built client-facing performance reports and dashboards across Google Analytics, HubSpot, and Meta/Google Ads, translating campaign data into actionable insights and optimization recommendations
  • Produced and marketed full-funnel webinar campaigns averaging 50+ attendees and a 78% attendance rate
  • Built and managed email campaigns with open rates as high as 37% and above-average click rates
  • Developed outbound lead gen strategies including ICP development and campaigns averaging 10+ MQLs per month

2022

Creative Director at Market Disrupt

2 years, 2022 to 2024, Remote

  • Drove paid social creative to 7.5x ROAS, partnering with the media buyer to analyze converting creative and iterate on performance data
  • Led art direction across brand, campaigns, and deliverables for a portfolio of 20+ clients, defining the visual standard for typography, layout, and composition
  • Directed and mentored a team of 5+ designers, video editors, and paid ad designers, providing craft-based feedback that elevated their output
  • Built 5+ complete brand and design systems from scratch, including visual identity, typography, and component libraries applied at scale
  • Owned the visual narrative across multi-channel campaigns spanning digital, social, web, and video
  • Produced and art-directed content for 80+ webinar campaigns, averaging 50+ attendees per event
  • Integrated AI image generation (Midjourney, Firefly) and AI design tools (Claude, ChatGPT) into production, building brand-trained systems that accelerated output while maintaining craft
  • Led UX/UI decisions and handled HTML/CSS implementation for web projects in Webflow and WordPress

2020

Freelance Creative & Marketing Consultant

5 years, May 2020 to Present, Remote

  • Completed 100+ projects with a 100% client satisfaction rating and Top Rated status on Upwork
  • Deliver brand identity, web design, and campaign creative for clients across SaaS, healthcare, fitness, and B2B, from discovery through launch
  • Build websites and landing pages in Webflow and WordPress, including custom-coded components and CRM integrations
  • Build brand-trained AI design and content systems in Claude and Claude Design, structuring brand assets so teams produce on-brand copy and creative from plain-language prompts

2017

Marketing Manager at Plus One, an Optum Company

5 years, 2017 to 2022, Franklin, TN

  • Oversaw marketing operations across six locations and a $1M+ annual budget, reporting performance to Nissan quarterly
  • Led and mentored a team of 14 across multiple sites
  • Drove B2B2C health incentive programs to a 35% average engagement rate across 15 quarterly programs, against a 25% industry benchmark
  • Maintained a 45% fitness facility utilization rate across all six locations

2013

Marketing Specialist at Plus One, an Optum Company

4 years, 2013 to 2017, Franklin, TN

  • Supported health incentive programs for a large enterprise wellness initiative
  • Created marketing collateral and email content to drive program awareness and participation
  • Helped develop engagement strategies and tracked program performance metrics

Education

2006 to 2010

Bachelor of Arts, Marketing & Graphic Design

Lipscomb University, GPA 3.90

Certifications

  • Claude Certified Architect
  • Webflow Certified
  • HubSpot Content Marketing Certified
  • HubSpot Email Marketing Certified
  • Adobe Creative Cloud Certified
  • Canva Marketing Professional

If you’re hiring for brand, campaigns, or both, I’d like to hear about it.

Get in touch

Nashville, TN