New York, New York, United States
Hi there! Welcome to my LinkedIn profile. 👋 After nine years of living, studying, and working in Israel, including graduating with an MBA degree and working at two e-commerce start-ups, I pivoted my life and career back to the United States with the singular goal of giving back and making a positive impact on the game of baseball. Persistence, hard work, and a whole lot of sharing my story and passion on LinkedIn led me to my current role at Major League Baseball as an MiLB Club Services Manager. My role since August 2021 (as described in much more detail below) is to act as an MLB liaison for the MiLB Clubs and front office staffs, facilitate positive engagement and communication, manage merchandising and marketing initiatives, and track progress across the wide portfolio of projects across all 120 Minor League Baseball Clubs. And here's a little bit more about me outside of my full-time job: ▶ My areas of expertise mainly revolve around e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, and social media, although I've filled all kinds of roles so far in my career (including order fulfillment, customer service, finance, and more). ▶ My DNA is comprised of a consistently positive attitude and and an eagerness to support others, I love corny puns and snacks, and I have lots of random baseball knowledge. ▶ My travels to support Israel Baseball have taken me around the world from South Korea and Japan to Germany and Italy as well as every single Team Israel World Baseball Classic tournament/qualifier/exhibition game. I also led the e-commerce and retail efforts for the national team around its historic Tokyo 2020 Olympics appearance. ▶ I have an ever-growing collection of 120+ mini ice cream baseball helmets from my many travels that will soon necessitate a larger desk. I also inspired the creation of an MiLB logo mini ice cream helmet. Feel free to visit my personal website to learn more: zackraab.com. And you're welcome to send me a message here (or contact me via my website) if you'd like to chat. I look forward to connecting! 😄 Zack ---- Extensive experience with Digital Marketing, E-Commerce (Shopify), Brand Management, Social Media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest), Content Creation, Market Research, Advertising, Ad Creation, Strategic Planning, Budget Management, PPC, Performance Marketing, Keyword Development, SEO, Customer Support, Customer Reviews (Yotpo), Google Ads (Search, YouTube, Gmail, Display, PLA), Google Analytics, Facebook & Instagram Ads, Canva, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Monday.com, and Asana.
- Coordinating overall Minor League Baseball marketing and promotional initiatives, and tracking progress among a wide portfolio of MiLB projects for all 120 Clubs - Facilitating projects and constant communication with 24 specific MiLB Clubs as their dedicated Club Services rep at MLB and ensuring positive and collaborative engagement among all MiLB Clubs - Maintaining internal resource portal as the go-to business information hub for all MiLB Clubs - Leading monthly idea-sharing and best practices marketing and consumer products & licensing focused calls - Directing the evolution and year-to-year changes of Official MiLB Club Style Guides for three official on-field collections available to all 120 Clubs - Reviewing and approving every theme night, promotion, giveaway item, appearance, and more for 24 Clubs on an annual basis - Collaborating closely and regularly with countless MLB departments, including but not limited to Consumer Products, Digital, Social, Editorial, Ticketing, Partnership Activation, Legal, Baseball Operations, and Social Impact - Working with MiLB's official commerce partner and licensing agent to continuously improve and enhance e-commerce, merchandising, and marketing efforts supporting MiLB Clubs - Traveling throughout the season to visit many MiLB Clubs to meet with their staff and better understand what makes their ballpark, fan experience, and community impact so special - Assisting in organizing and leading idea-sharing breakout sessions at the annual MiLB Business Summit & Licensee Showcase and Baseball Winter Meetings - Contributing and leading various other initiatives throughout the year including MiLB's Copa de la Diversión program, MLB's Employee Softball Tournament, and the MLB Mitzvah Jewish ERG Most importantly, doing my best to represent baseball positively, make a lasting impact on our great game, and assist the hardworking and passionate people in our industry one day at a time!
- Coordinating overall Minor League Baseball marketing and promotional initiatives, and tracking progress among a wide portfolio of MiLB projects for all 120 Clubs - Facilitating projects and constant communication with 36 specific MiLB Clubs as their dedicated Club Services rep at MLB and ensuring positive and collaborative engagement among all MiLB Clubs - Maintaining internal resource portal as the go-to business information hub for all MiLB Clubs - Leading monthly idea-sharing and best practices marketing and consumer products & licensing focused calls - Directing the evolution and year-to-year changes of Official MiLB Club Style Guides for three official on-field collections available to all 120 Clubs - Reviewing and approving every theme night, promotion, giveaway item, appearance, and more for 36 Clubs on an annual basis - Collaborating closely and regularly with countless MLB departments, including but not limited to Consumer Products, Digital, Social, Editorial, Ticketing, Partnership Activation, Legal, Baseball Operations, and Social Impact - Working with MiLB's official commerce partner and licensing agent to continuously improve and enhance e-commerce, merchandising, and marketing efforts supporting MiLB Clubs - Traveling throughout the season to visit many MiLB Clubs to meet with their staff and better understand what makes their ballpark, fan experience, and community impact so special - Assisting in organizing and leading idea-sharing breakout sessions at the annual MiLB Business Summit & Licensee Showcase and Baseball Winter Meetings - Contributing and leading various other initiatives throughout the year including ESPN's MiLB Promo of the Week segment, MiLB's Copa de la Diversión program, MLB's Employee Softball Tournament, and the MLB Mitzvah Jewish ERG Most importantly, doing my best to represent baseball positively, make a lasting impact on our great game, and assist the hardworking and passionate people in our industry one day at a time!
- Facilitating projects and constant communication with 36 specific MiLB Clubs as their dedicated Club Services rep at MLB and ensuring positive and collaborative engagement among all MiLB Clubs - Creating and maintaining internal resource portal as the go-to business information hub for all MiLB Clubs - Leading monthly idea-sharing and best practices marketing calls and directing the evolution and year-to-year changes of Official MiLB Club Style Guides - Collaborating closely and regularly with countless MLB departments, including but not limited to Consumer Products, Digital, Social, Editorial, Ticketing, Partnership Activation, Legal, Baseball Operations, and DEI - Working with MiLB's official commerce partner to continuously improve and enhance e-commerce, merchandising, and marketing efforts to support MiLB Clubs - Traveling throughout the season to visit many MiLB Clubs to meet with their staff and better understand and see what makes their ballpark, fan experience, and community impact so special - Assisting in organizing and leading idea-sharing breakout sessions at the annual MiLB Fall/Winter Meetings Most importantly, doing my best to represent baseball positively, make a lasting impact on our great game, and assist the hardworking and passionate people in our industry one day at a time!
- Leading all website and digital marketing efforts around Israel's historic Tokyo Summer Olympics appearance - Completely redesigned the online shopping experience from start to finish which led to a 785% increase in sales and a 440% increase in unique site visitors within the first five months - Added many new product options, expanded our women's and youth categories, created and launched an affiliate program, and integrated customer reviews on the site, among other positive improvements - Managed the launch of an extensive line of Team Israel player merchandise (222 new products in total) and the creation of a limited-edition first-ever Israel Baseball bobblehead - Running dedicated Twitter (@ILBaseballShop), Facebook (@ILBaseballShop), and Instagram (@israel_baseball_shop) accounts for the shop - Planned for and successfully executed an in-stadium retail operation that spanned nine pre-Olympic exhibition games over ten days across eight Northeast USA cities/stadiums
- Identified a gap in the market and helped facilitate the creation and launch of a dedicated Israel Baseball online shop in January 2020 in advance of their Tokyo Summer Olympics berth - Assisted with the initial e-commerce, paid advertising, product design, website experience, and social media strategies
- Offering private consulting sessions covering: digital marketing and advertising, e-commerce and web design (user experience), and personal branding, social media, and resume-writing - Assisting individuals, organizations, and small businesses with their digital footprint - Sharing best practices and tips/tricks I've learned while reinforcing my own knowledge with each session Testimonials available on site: zackraab.com/consulting
- Developed and created a catalog of a massive (7,000+ pieces), one-of-a-kind baseball memorabilia collection - Implemented an indexing system to list, track, and photograph items for identification and retrieval - Organized multiple physical storage locations
- Managed all Google Search, YouTube, Display (static, native, and dynamic product remarketing), Gmail, Discovery, DoubleClick/DV360 (native display and video), and Quora pay-per-click (PPC) advertising activity - Implemented strategy, keyword research, setup, budgeting and bid optimization of hundreds of wide-reaching advertising campaigns - Led writing and A/B testing of cross-channel ad copy and weekly reporting and presentations describing account performance, spend level, conversion rates, structural/strategic improvements, and various growth opportunities - Continuously tested and monitored recently released Google Ads targeting methods - Headed recruitment, interviewing, hiring, and training process of junior PPC team members - Managed and administered the company's customer review platform and strategy (website and product reviews), including monitoring incoming reviews & customer photos - Consulted on varying levels with regard to Google Shopping ads and product feed implementation, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Bing advertising platforms and organic content strategy, digital marketing budget allocation - Assisted in writing ad copy and website/email/social media content, improving website SEO and blog strategy, and brand video efforts and influencer opportunities - Gained valuable start-up experience and played a part in the exciting $328M acquisition of R2Net / JamesAllen.com by Signet Jewelers Ltd. (Sept 2017)
- Assisted with all Google Search, Google Shopping, and Display advertising activity, including strategy, setup, budgeting and bid optimization of hundreds of high-budget campaigns, keyword research and implementation, and writing and A/B testing of cross-channel ad copy - Spearheaded initial Youtube and Gmail advertising activity - Compiled weekly reports and presentations recounting account performance, spend level, structural and strategic improvements, and various growth opportunities - Continuously tested and monitored recently released Google Ads targeting methods - Assisted on varying levels with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Bing advertising platforms, online marketing budget allocation, writing ad copy and website/email/social media content, various SEO, blog & website improvements, and influencer marketing opportunities