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Stephen Cozzolongo
Co-Owner at Digital Position, LLC
Stephen Cozzolongo is a seasoned marketing professional and the Co-Owner of Digital Position, LLC, a role he has held since January 2017. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Stephen has built a career focused on digital marketing and search strategies.
Professional Background
Stephen's expertise lies in several key areas:
- Digital Marketing
- Search Marketing
- Paid Search Strategies
- Content Marketing
- Growth Marketing
- Advertising
Prior to co-founding Digital Position, Stephen worked as an Advertising Supervisor at Resolution Media from February 2014 to March 2017. In this role, he excelled in negotiating budgets, developing paid search strategies, and executing marketing initiatives to exceed client goals and KPIs.23
Education and Early Career
Stephen holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing from SUNY New Paltz and a Master's degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science from the State University of New York Cortland. His early career included positions such as:
- Assistant Swim Coach at SUNY Cortland
- Account Executive at BlueGlass Interactive, Inc.
- Executive Assistant at 10e20, LLC23
Achievements and Certifications
Throughout his career, Stephen has earned several accolades and certifications:
- Bing Ads Accredited Professional (Microsoft)
- Google Adwords Certification
- 5-Time SUNYAC Champion
- Floyd Patterson (Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year) at SUNY New Paltz
- Honorable Mention Academic All-American (NCAA)3
Approach to Marketing
At Digital Position, Stephen leads a team that focuses on innovative search marketing initiatives. He emphasizes the importance of tracking and data analysis in marketing strategies. Stephen's approach involves:
- Implementing comprehensive search marketing campaigns
- Utilizing data-driven decision making
- Focusing on client retention (with an average client tenure of 3.5 years)
- Prioritizing transparency and acting as an extension of the client's team13
Stephen's philosophy extends beyond just marketing metrics. He believes in creating a positive work environment, stating that "Digital Position was founded on the idea that work doesn't have to suck".4
In addition to his work at Digital Position, Stephen recently mentioned launching another marketing agency called SparkLaunch Media, which he describes as being very different from Digital Position.5
Highlights
A health brand marketer (who sometimes comments on my content) called me “a freak” because I take optimization to such an extreme.
He knows I track everything.
My workouts. My sleep.
Everything I eat. Every supplement I take.
All my labs and bloodwork…
(I’ve spent at least 8 hours a day optimizing messaging strategies and marketing campaigns for more than a decade. It’s muscle memory at this point. I can’t turn it off when work stops.)
But my justification of a $400 gym bag is what put him over the edge.
We were talking about stop motion ads and I pointed at my Haven Athletic backpack and said stop motion would be perfect for something like that.
He said I’m a freak and nobody else cares about optimizing their life as much as I do.
I disagree.
I think there are lots of “freaks” like me. Especially in the health and fitness space.
So, hey Caleb Ulffers…
I made a stop motion video and a full ad because I love the product. (I’ll add the stop motion in a comment.)
A non watermarked version is all yours as long as you promise to tell me how it performs.
I’m confident it’ll work, but the proof is the only way I can win the argument.
And everyone else…
Is somebody gonna match my (organization/optimization) freak in the comments so a certain health brand marketer can see how many of us are out there?
Thanks.
P.S. Yes, that’s my underwear drawer. And yes, making it messy for this video hurt my heart.)
I wanted to be 100% present when our baby was born. But I’ve been running a business non-stop for the last 8 years. You can’t just turn that part of your brain off. Or can you?
I was expecting my “time off” to be at least a little stressful.
Friends told me the first few weeks after the baby’s born can be “the hardest time of your life.”
And since I became a partner at Digital Position, LLC… I’ve never gone completely offline for more than a day or two.
It’s one thing to say that you trust your team. But how many of us have really put that to the test?
When my wife went into labor on Father’s Day, I logged out.
It honestly felt like a vacation.
Actually better…
I wasn’t worried about work at all.
For the last few years, we’ve been focused on creating a strong team. We joke that our health and fitness specialization means the team’s never been more physically strong.
But we strategically hired people with complementary skill sets. And we dedicated time, effort, and budget to team-building.
It worked. They had it all under control.
And the time off that I got to spend with this little baby is something I’ll never forget.
To business owners: (or anyone building a team)
It’s worth the effort and the investment to find the right people. I know relying on freelancers can save a lot of money on salaries. And I understand why agencies are embracing that global workforce model. But the added cost of full-time employees can buy you a lot of other benefits.
And to my team: Grant McKinstrie Austen Wiley Kaylee Price Jordan Lagan And the rest…
Thank you.
