Marketer Studied: Vol 5. Insights from former Constant Contact VP of Customer Growth

Meet Mark Allen

Each week, we sit down with a marketing leader to learn more about their careers, insights and accomplishments. 

This week, that marketing leader is Mark Allen, former VP of Customer Growth at Constant Contact. After starting his career on the agency side, Mark transitioned to the client side and has been there ever since. He consistently gravitates to tech companies that are growing and scaling, finding enjoyment in the chaos and challenge of it all. 

Here are the need-to-knows about Mark: 

• During his time as Director of Marketing at Prospectiv, Mark’s teams grew revenue by 95% over two years, resulting in an exit sale. 

• In his first leadership role, Mark created B2B partnerships with over 25 universities (Harvard, MIT, Purdue, etc.) for the telecommunications company MobileSphere.

• At Upromise, Mark led all strategic marketing campaigns for the eCommerce platform and credit card portfolio, growing revenue by 25% YoY.

Growing in early tech days

Mark landed on a career in marketing after studying sociology and getting a business degree. Though his father was in marketing, it was the marketing he saw growing up that pulled him into the field.  

“My curiosity about marketing really came about because I’m an avid sports fan and I saw these brands back in the late 80s and early 90s connecting so strongly with fans. My first role out of college was working at a sports marketing agency. There, I got to see the one-to-one connection that brands were taking advantage of when it came to people’s passion around their particular sport. 

My job was with the Senior Tennis Circuit with the tennis stars Jimmy Connors , Bjorn Borg, and John McEnroe (each of whom were formerly ranked world No. 1) so there was tremendous passion around them. Just watching the connection that brands had with customers in those atmospheres really built the start of my career. That’s where I got into digital marketing, before it was the ‘it’ place to be.” 

Mark spent over seven years with the agency Prospectiv, growing from a Product Manager to Director of Marketing. After that, he went over to the brand side and inadvertently landed in the tech sector, right around the time that it was taking off. 

“SaaS products became an area where I was intrigued and that’s where my path led me. It wasn’t something I chose, it kind of found me. I joined Carbonite as Senior Director of Acquisition Marketing and that was the first SaaS product I worked on. 

There, I took everything I learned from a digital marketing and lead gen perspective, and brought it to a much bigger brand. For me, that was a big step and a big challenge because it was much more about the brand and connecting with customers. I learned a lot about attribution and how integrated campaigns work together—how to leverage data, how to work with analytics teams and finance teams. That was my first foray into what is now normal today. But at the time—around 2013 to 2014—we were doing some pretty cutting-edge stuff to figure out how the ecosystems were working.”

Though Mark worked with large companies in the budding tech industry, it was his work environments that played a pivotal role in helping him find a fit for his passion and skill set. 

“The business catering company ezCater is pretty renowned for its company culture. The leadership there was willing to let the teams drive a lot of the initiatives.

I’m not saying that was always the case but at that company, it was something that was very intentional. 

That experience really allowed me to take the next step of my career—working with a really great team, challenging myself, realizing where I had some weaknesses, and where I needed to be better. After that, I started to realize that company culture is a really important piece of what makes me a good marketer.”

As he grew in his career, Mark honed in on two key areas of expertise to help him springboard from individual contributor to marketing leader. 

“I really honed in on paid search and email marketing. I sharpened those skills at both Carbonite and UPromise. Those two tactics helped me understand and lean into where, at the time, marketing was going. It was becoming much more data-driven and much more segment-based. 

With paid search, it’s about how much you’re willing to pay for the volume so you start to learn about the math and data analytics behind that. With email marketing, it’s about understanding messaging and putting the right message, the right product or service, in front of a customer at the right time. That’s such a cliche but it’s really what those two tactics started as. And that’s a foundation for digital marketing in general—just figuring out how you blend data, customize segments, and share messaging in an effective way.”

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A standout campaign

Of all the campaigns Mark has led the charge on, one in particular stands out. 

“So ezCater delivers food into office buildings and I was with them when COVID hit. Obviously, at that point, everyone went home. Once we realized what was going on, we identified two needs: there was a need to help feed the front lines and our restaurant partners were struggling because no one was ordering anymore. 

So our team and pretty much the whole organization leaned into ‘Feed the front line’ as our campaign. We were able to identify hospital workers, warehouse workers, and start to get food delivered to them. We worked with the employers of those workers to get it cleared for food to be delivered. But one of the challenges we found was that hospitals and some of these warehouses didn’t want tray catering because we didn’t really know how COVID was spreading at the time. And with tray catering, by nature, you’re sharing with a bunch of people. So we started to hear pretty loudly that these food items needed to be individually packaged or individually wrapped. 

The first thing we did was source restaurants that had sandwiches and those types of items. But what we ended up doing is developing a new product called Relish, which was an individually packaged meal. And it was born out of the challenge to help feed the frontline workers and support our restaurant partners who were struggling at the time. The passion, the collaboration, and the business pivot that went into it was really powerful. Today, five years later, this product still exists on ezCater. I still love that campaign and hold it dear to my heart.”

Advice and takeaways

Mark’s career journey offers a lot of lessons. Here are a few that stand out:

1) Turn Challenges into Opportunities Through Innovation

One of Mark’s standout achievements was leading ezCater’s pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic. Faced with a sharp decline in office catering demand, his team identified emerging needs—feeding frontline workers and supporting struggling restaurant partners—and innovated by creating individually packaged meals through their “Relish” product line. This campaign not only addressed immediate challenges but also resulted in a sustainable new revenue stream that continues to thrive years later.

Cultivate a culture of agility and innovation within your organization. When faced with disruptions—whether economic shifts, technological advancements, or societal changes—encourage your team to proactively identify opportunities hidden within the challenges. Build cross-functional teams that can quickly assess market dynamics and collaborate on creative solutions. Additionally, invest in scenario planning to prepare for potential crises before they arise. The ability to adapt swiftly while staying true to your brand’s mission will position your company as a resilient leader in the market.

2) Master Data-Driven Marketing to Drive Precision and Performance

Mark’s expertise in paid search and email marketing underscores the importance of data-driven strategies in modern marketing. Paid search taught him the value of understanding cost-per-acquisition and return on investment, while email marketing emphasized the power of segmentation and personalization. These foundational skills helped him navigate the shift toward analytics-driven marketing that prioritizes measurable outcomes over gut instinct.

Prioritize building a robust data infrastructure that enables your team to make informed decisions across all channels. Invest in tools that provide actionable insights into customer behavior—such as predictive analytics or advanced CRM platforms—and foster collaboration between your marketing, finance, and analytics teams to ensure alignment on goals and metrics. Encourage experimentation with A/B testing and campaign optimization to refine messaging for different audience segments. By blending data insights with creativity, you can deliver highly personalized experiences that drive both acquisition and retention while maximizing ROI.

3) Harness Passion to Build Emotional Connections

Mark Allen’s early exposure to sports marketing revealed the profound impact brands can have when they connect with audiences on an emotional level. By aligning with the passion fans felt for iconic athletes like Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, brands were able to create deep, memorable connections that transcended transactional relationships. This insight shaped Mark’s understanding of how emotional resonance drives customer loyalty and engagement.

As a marketer, consider how your brand can tap into the emotional drivers of your audience. Start by identifying what your customers care about most—whether it’s their hobbies, values, or aspirations—and align your messaging and campaigns with those passions. For example, if your audience values sustainability, ensure your brand authentically champions eco-friendly initiatives. Emotional connections are built through storytelling, shared values, and experiences that resonate deeply with your audience. When done well, these connections can transform customers into lifelong advocates for your brand.

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