Today we’d like to introduce you to Zackary Marchand.
Hi Zackary, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Frisco, Texas and started my career in digital marketing, content, and social media back when brands were just starting to take social media seriously. I was always really interested in why people watch things, why things go viral, and how content actually drives business, so I built my career around content, influencers, and digital strategy.
Over the years I worked with a number of brands and agencies including Complexity Gaming, OnePlus, Samsung, and later Anker, where I led social strategy and content around major product launches and large activations like Coachella and the X Games. A big part of my career was building influencer and content programs and working on campaigns that reached millions of people. Along the way I got to work on projects involving creators and artists like MrBeast, Jaden Smith, Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, and Ty Dolla $ign, which was a really unique experience and taught me a lot about audience and storytelling.
At Anker, I led social strategy for North America and we were able to grow organic impressions from about 47 million to 141 million in a year and break company records for viral content. That period really taught me how powerful organic content and community can be when it’s done right.
At the same time, I was always interested in comedy and live entertainment, so I started doing stand-up comedy around Dallas and eventually began producing my own shows. I realized I could use the same marketing and content strategies I used for tech companies to sell comedy shows, build audiences, and produce events. That eventually turned into producing shows across Dallas–Fort Worth through my production company, Life Happens Comedy, where we’ve produced multiple sold-out shows and live events.
Now my career is kind of a mix of marketing, content production, live events, and comedy. I do consulting, produce content and podcasts, perform stand-up, and work on creative projects and shows. It’s not a traditional career path, but everything I’ve done really connects back to storytelling, audience building, and creating things that people actually care about.
If there’s a theme to my story, it’s probably that I spent a long time learning skills in the corporate world, and then slowly started applying those skills to things I actually loved doing like comedy, live shows, and content. Over time those worlds started to merge, and that’s really where I am now — building creative projects, shows, and content while using my marketing background to grow them.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road. One of the biggest realities of working in marketing, social media, and content is that when the economy slows down or companies start cutting budgets, marketing is usually one of the first departments to get cut or reduced. It’s an industry that can be very successful and very unstable at the same time.
Another big challenge has been that social media and content are still undervalued and misunderstood by a lot of executives and decision makers. The people who control the budgets often didn’t grow up with the internet the way younger generations did, so you end up spending a lot of time trying to explain why something is funny, why something will go viral, or why storytelling and community matter more than just running ads. Sometimes even when you have data and results, it’s still hard to convince people because they don’t personally consume content the same way the audience does.
A lot of my career has been balancing creativity and business — trying to show companies that content isn’t just posting memes, it’s psychology, storytelling, and building emotional connections with an audience that eventually leads to sales and brand loyalty. One book that really influenced how I think about this is Primal Branding by Patrick Hanlon, which talks about building brands like belief systems and communities rather than just selling products. That idea really shaped how I approach marketing, content, and even comedy shows — you’re not just selling a product or a ticket, you’re building something people want to be part of.
Over time, those struggles actually pushed me to start building more of my own projects, shows, and content instead of only building things for other companies. I realized it’s easier to build something yourself than constantly fight to convince other people why creativity, storytelling, and internet culture matter.
So the road definitely hasn’t been smooth, but a lot of the challenges ended up pushing me toward entrepreneurship, producing shows, and building my own projects, which has been a really important turning point in my career.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in content strategy, storytelling, and turning audiences into loyal fans that eventually become customers. A lot of companies focus on ads and short-term sales, but I focus on building content that people actually want to watch, follow, and share. My goal is always to turn viewers into fans and fans into what I call “zealot fans” — people who really believe in a brand, product, or show and tell other people about it.
One of the projects I’m most proud of was my time leading social and content strategy at Anker. During that time, we increased organic impressions from about 47 million to 141 million in one year, broke company records for viral videos, and exceeded goals across 25 major product launches by an average of 120%. By the end of 2025, we reached around 350 million organic impressions. We did that by moving away from traditional tech unboxing videos and instead focused on short, relatable human stories — usually 15 seconds to a minute — showing real-life situations where the products solved problems, often with humor and storytelling instead of just product specs.
Another project I’m proud of was “The Drop” for the OnePlus Nord launch, which was an interactive livestream concert starring Ty Dolla $ign. The livestream drew about 1.3 million unique viewers, and our watch time and engagement were several times higher than industry benchmarks. We were able to collect user data from the event and convert that into a paid drip campaign, which connected content directly to measurable sales and ROI.
What sets me apart is that I’m not just a marketer, and I’m not just a producer — I’m kind of a combination of strategist, storyteller, producer, and comedian. I understand the analytics and business side, but I also understand what people actually want to watch and why they share things. I’ve spent over ten years studying YouTube, social media, storytelling, and audience psychology, and I’m always trying to understand what motivates people emotionally and culturally, not just what sells.
I also think what makes me different is that I’ve worked in corporate marketing, influencer marketing, content production, live events, and stand-up comedy, so I understand both the business world and the entertainment world. That combination helps me create content and projects that are both creative and effective from a business standpoint.
At the end of the day, I don’t really see myself as just a marketer or a comedian — I see myself as a storyteller and audience builder, and that’s really what all of my work revolves around.
Honestly, I’m most proud that I’ve been able to build a career that combines business, creativity, and entertainment. I’ve helped build brands and campaigns that reached millions of people, but I’ve also built my own comedy shows, live events, and content from scratch. Building things from nothing and getting people to care about them is probably what I’m most proud of.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
One of the biggest mentors for me was Derral Eves. He’s one of the top YouTube strategists in the world and executive produced The Chosen, which became the highest crowd-funded TV series ever. He also worked on some of the most famous viral campaigns like the Squatty Potty ad and helped build major YouTube channels and brands. I learned a lot from his approach to YouTube, audience growth, and how to think about content as a business and not just videos. He really helped shape how I think about storytelling, audience psychology, and building communities instead of just chasing views.
Another person who deserves a lot of credit is my best friend Joshua Wethington. We’ve worked side by side off and on for about ten years. When I first started, I was actually in sales, and he pulled me into the content and YouTube world when we were working together at Vidpow. He taught me a lot about YouTube, content strategy, and production, and honestly my entire career path probably looks very different without him. We’ve collaborated on projects, shows, and content for years, and he’s currently very involved in the Dallas production community. A lot of the opportunities and skills I have today started from that partnership and friendship.
And probably the most important person is my wife. Anyone who has tried to build a business, work in creative fields, or perform comedy knows it’s not a normal or stable path, and there are a lot of ups and downs. She’s supported me through career changes, long hours, starting businesses, producing shows, and everything in between. None of what I’ve done would really be possible without her support and patience through all of it.
When people look at someone’s career, it often looks like an individual journey, but in reality it’s usually a small group of people who believed in you, taught you things, gave you opportunities, or supported you when things were uncertain. I’ve been really lucky to have a few people like that in my life.
Pricing:
- Brand consulting -Custom project pricing
- Social media strategy packages – Custom project pricing
- Marketing consulting -Custom project pricing
- Video production – Custom project pricing
- Speaking / workshops – Custom project pricing
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thamadzak/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zack-marchand/
