Overview

From July 2017 to May 2020, I served as a consultant embedded alongside the VP of Marketing for White Oak Pastures, a fifth-generation Georgia farm transitioning from wholesale-dependent operations to vertically integrated D2C brand. What began as a HubSpot implementation engagement evolved into comprehensive marketing leadership over several years, building teams, creating content systems with decade-long longevity, and establishing the “regenerative agriculture” category in mainstream consciousness.

This case study documents my professional development from marketing consultant to director of communications, demonstrating the trajectory that would eventually lead to helping create the Seed Oil Free Alliance.

The Challenge

White Oak Pastures operated a nearly unusable e-commerce platform. The mobile experience was nonexistent because the website dated to the late 90s, and the business remained wholly dependent on its wholesale contracts. They had purchased HubSpot but were paralyzed, unable to activate the platform within their existing website and its SAGE 100 ERP constraints.

The mandate was not simply to “do marketing” but to architect digital transformation within enterprise software limitations, build sustainable systems, and establish the farm as a brand independent of any single wholesale channel.

Year 1: Infrastructure & Digital Foundation

Mobile-First Philosophy

Before the process began, I implemented a mobile-first web design strategy, recognizing that the majority of customers would discover and purchase via mobile devices.

Enterprise Software Integration

As HubSpot Certified Partner, I configured CRM, content management, and lifecycle marketing automation integrated with SAGE 100 ERP, a specialized system requiring custom development. This required integration of enterprise-level software for both the e-commerce and hospitality booking systems.

Results

The mobile-first launch produced immediate, sustained results:

• 300% increase in online conversions (first month, with continued growth throughout tenure)
• 2x email marketing sessions
• +33% organic search traffic
• +66% mobile users

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Year 2: Team Building, Content Architecture & Vertical Integration

Recruiting the Content Team

I recruited and trained a five-person creative team: photographer, two writers, drone videographer, and rotating interns. I directed the content calendar, edited all content, managed SEO, email marketing, and graphic design, establishing systems that would outlast my tenure.

“Around The Farm” Blog

I launched a weekly newsletter and blog celebrating staff and animals. This content engine, still running today at blog.whiteoakpastures.com, established the human and agricultural story behind the brand, creating emotional connection with the Bluffton, GA community, owner Will Harris, and his “bold return to giving a damn.”

Agritourism & Revenue Diversification

I implemented hospitality software integrated with SAGE 100 to manage cabin rental operations for the farm’s agritourism program. This created a second revenue stream (lodging) independent of product sales, leveraging the farm’s 150-year history and lush landscape.

Paid Acquisition

I launched and managed Google Shopping and AdWords channels, proving the farm could acquire new customers at scale through paid media and not merely organic discovery.

Product & Packaging Innovation

I directed packaging redesign, including the iconic box graphics and styrofoam-free compostable insulation still in use today. This sustainability innovation aligned physical product experience with the farm’s environmental values.

Results

• Full vertical integration: meat grown, processed, packaged, and shipped from farm
• Multi-revenue-stream operation: meat, agritourism, retail
• Online order facility construction justified by DTC demand

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Year 3: Category Creation & Media Relations

Breaking News

A General Mills-funded Life Cycle Analysis proved White Oak Pastures’ rotationally grazed herds were sequestering more carbon in soil than the farm emitted from all operations, so I coined the term ‘carbon-negative beef’ in press releases distributed globally.

I took the helm translating peer-reviewed research into public narrative. I wrote and distributed the press release that introduced “regenerative agriculture” into mainstream conversation and positioned Will Harris and White Oak Pastures as category pioneers.

Earned Media Coverage

This media relations campaign generated sustained national and international media coverage:

• CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta: “The Future of Meat”
• Joe Rogan Experience (#1893 and #2062)
• BBC World Service, NBC News, Forbes, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Good Morning America, Popular Science

The story had longevity, major coverage continued through 2022, establishing the farm as the definitive voice in regenerative agriculture.

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Skills Demonstrated

• Fractional CMO leadership & team building
• Digital transformation within enterprise constraints (SAGE 100 ERP)
• Mobile-first strategy & e-commerce architecture
• Content strategy with long-term system design
• Agritourism & hospitality marketing
• Paid acquisition (Google Shopping/AdWords)
• Product & packaging design
• Media relations & category creation
• Science communication & narrative translation
• Sustainable agriculture marketing

This is the third of three case studies documenting my professional development from marketing consultant to communications director. For the complete series, see Case Study 1: Communications Director for the Seed Oil Free Alliance and Case Study 2: Director of Retention for Perfect Keto.