Digital advertising shouldn’t be disconnected from your business or handled by agencies focused on metrics that make them look good instead of outcomes that matter to you. Our hybrid model combines strategic consulting with hands-on execution support, helping you use paid ads as part of your complete marketing ecosystem—expanding your content reach, driving targeted lead volume, and building brand awareness across your total addressable market.

We provide exactly the level of support you need—from strategic consultation and team training to full campaign management with ongoing optimization. Whether you want to manage campaigns internally with our guidance or have us handle execution while you focus on strategy, we adapt our approach to fit your team’s capacity and goals.

In July 2024, the owner of a paid ads agency I had been consulting for decided to retire. I had the opportunity to take over the business – but I didn’t. Instead, I paid the owner for the right to pitch the clients I had already been working with something new.

Here’s why…

Before stepping into that agency role, I spent 15 years in corporate and consulting, working across marketing strategy, paid ads, PR & comms, content production, websites, operations and systems – not in silos, but as part of a cohesive approach that involved planning, implementing and optimizing.

When I went inside a specialized paid ads agency, I saw the disconnect. Clients had been conditioned to see paid ads as “the service” – the fix for volume problems without integrating the broader marketing strategy, operational setup and business goals that actually make ads work better.

I could offer ideas in meetings, but without being involved in execution, I wasn’t sticking to my lane. I felt throttled. I wanted to help businesses move forward, I wanted to support overwhelmed marketing leaders better, not just optimize their ad spend.

So, instead of taking over that agency, I started Waterwheel Marketing – a hybrid paid ads agency and consulting model designed to cultivate marketing ecosystems where advertising, PR, content and operations work together to cohesively create and harness the energy from those efforts.

Since every company has different internal resources and budgets, we customize their engagement model to fit:

Full Service: Strategy through execution, fully managed.
Hybrid: We build the foundation and provide custom ongoing support for in-house teams.
Client-Led: Clients want to manage their accounts but get support with setup, training and ongoing help.

I personally only onboard one client at a time. We train internal teams as we go. The more I understand their company and the more they understand the platforms and systems, the stronger our collaboration gets. We’re an extension of your team, not just a vendor.

$10 Million+ Managed Spend • 1 Million+ Leads Generated

Paid ads drive success by putting businesses directly in front of their ideal customers through detailed targeting, boosting brand visibility and driving business benefitting actions like leads and sales.

Empower your brand to flow with the currents of digital engagement through our paid advertising strategy. We guide your message to meet customers in their online habitats, leveraging diverse platform targeting to ensure precision in reaching your audience at optimal moments.

Google • Meta • LinkedIn • Bing • Pinterest • TikTok • Reddit

We choose platforms based on where your customers actually are, not where we want to run ads.