I come from a scientific research background, so we approach marketing differently. We care about what works, not what looks good in a report. We focus on impact over volume, avoiding vanity metrics and low-value activity in favour of work that really moves the business. Data guides our decisions, but only when it measures what actually matters. And contrary to what most people assume, evidence-based doesn’t mean slow; we run lean experiments, iterate fast, and execute without waiting for perfect data.
I’ve built marketing programs from scratch across academia, science SaaS, and B2B AI, and my approach has stayed the same: focus on what actually drives the business, not what fills a slide deck.
Full-Stack Digital Marketing
Strategy that holds up, execution that follows through. Most marketing problems aren’t channel problems; they’re focus problems. We work across the full marketing mix: content, social, email, paid, website, and demand generation, with the strategic layer to tie it together. Whether you need someone to set direction, fill a gap, or take ownership of a program end to end, we bring both the thinking and the doing.
Webinar Development
From concept to lead report — and everything in between. Most webinars underdeliver because the strategy stops at “let’s do a webinar.” We build the full program: topic and format selection, speaker and partner coordination, promotional campaigns, production, and post-event lead handoff. Whether it’s lead generation, thought leadership, or customer education, we’ve run them all. And we know what makes the difference between a webinar that fills a pipeline and one that fills a calendar slot.
AI Marketing Adoption
The tools are only part of it. Dropping AI tools on a team and expecting results is one of the fastest ways to waste time and create frustration. Real adoption starts with the right foundation: clear use cases, established best practices, and a training cadence that builds confidence over time. We help marketing teams integrate AI in a way that actually sticks, drawing on hands-on experience with AI companies and a background in education and training.
We helped the following organizations
Director, Content & Design
ASAPP
(AI Customer Service)
Marketing Team Lead
SciNote
(Electronic Lab Notebook)
Communications & Marketing Manager
Dept of Physics & Astronomy, UBC
Frequently asked questions
A full-stack marketer works across the entire marketing function — strategy, content, demand generation, email, paid, social, and website — rather than specializing in just one channel. Think of it as having a senior marketing generalist who can set direction and execute across the board, without needing to hire five specialists. For most SMEs, that’s a more practical and cost-effective model than building out a full team or hiring channel-by-channel.
I do. I’m the lead strategist and executor on every engagement. Depending on the scope, I work with a trusted network of specialists, but I’m always the one accountable for the strategy and results. You’ll never be handed off to a junior team member you’ve never met.
With most agencies, you’re sold by a senior strategist and handed off to a team of junior executers managing multiple accounts at once. The person who understood your business in the pitch meeting is rarely the one doing the day-to-day work. With a consultant, you get one experienced person directly accountable for the work and deeply embedded in your business — no account manager layer, no briefing documents lost in translation, and no inflated retainer covering overhead you never see. The trade-off is capacity. But for most SMEs, the bottleneck isn’t headcount — it’s strategic clarity and focused execution.
Both work. Some clients bring me in for a specific project — a webinar program, a content audit, an AI adoption plan. Others need ongoing senior marketing leadership without the cost of a full-time hire — that’s where a fractional engagement makes sense. The right model depends on where you are and what you need. If you’re not sure, we can start with a scoped project and go from there.
The sweet spot is SMEs and SMBs — typically companies with 10 to 200 employees that have some marketing activity already but need more strategic direction, more execution capacity, or both. The more useful filter isn’t headcount though — it’s mindset. The clients who get the most value are ones who care about pipeline and revenue over brand awareness, are willing to experiment and iterate, and don’t need convincing that vanity metrics are a waste of time.
Usually with a conversation about where your marketing is today and where it needs to go. From there we scope the work based on your priorities and budget — whether that’s a single program, a strategic audit, or an ongoing retainer. There’s no standard package because every business is at a different stage. If something’s not the right fit, I’ll tell you upfront.
We track and report what you need, but we act on what matters. There’s no shortage of data in marketing — the challenge is knowing which numbers actually drive decisions. We prioritize pipeline generated, lead quality, conversion rates, and engagement that signals real audience health. Vanity metrics have their place in reporting, but they don’t drive strategy.
Contact me
Email: theresaliao@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresaliao/
Based in Vancouver, BC — working with clients across North America.