About me
I've marketed global brands. Now I want to grow yours.
I'm Sam Ireland, the person behind CDS Brand Solutions. CDS stands for Costa del Sol, because this is where I live, where I work and where I want to make a difference.
Experience that works for you
Nearly two decades of doing this, again and again, for global brands. Here's what that depth means for a business on the coast.
- Led marketing for global brands at director and VP level, building and running teams across the US, Europe and Asia.Senior strategy and leadership when you need it, without hiring a full-time head of marketing.
- Launched and relaunched brands many times over, from scale-ups after major funding rounds to established businesses moving into new markets.Your brand can look and sound the part quickly, without a long and expensive agency process.
- Built and scaled demand generation programs year after year, turning marketing into measurable pipeline and revenue, reported to leadership every month.You'll always know what your money did, in bookings, inquiries and revenue, not likes.
- Ran digital marketing at global scale: search, paid social, email, content and the websites that convert it all.The same digital playbook global brands use, sized to your budget and your market.
- Brought businesses together under new brands through multiple mergers and acquisitions, rolling each identity out across every team and touchpoint.A brand your staff understand and live, so customers get the same experience whoever serves them.
- Took products and services to market across the US, Europe and Asia, adapting the message for every audience.I know how to reach the international mix of residents and visitors on the coast.
- Started in hotel marketing, and now lead global marketing in hospitality technology, working with hotel brands worldwide.I understand covers, occupancy, rates and repeat guests from the inside, not from a textbook.
- Built websites, apps and marketing technology many times over: CRM, automation, attribution and reporting.One person for the brand, the website and the tools that hold it together, with no gaps between suppliers.
My story
My career started in hotels, and hospitality taught me early that marketing only works when the experience lives up to the promise.
Since then I've led marketing for global services groups, international software companies and fast-growing scale-ups, at director and VP level, working with teams and customers across the US, Europe and Asia. Today I lead global marketing in hospitality technology, working with hotels around the world.
When I moved to the Costa del Sol, I kept seeing brilliant local businesses leaving money on the table. Not because they weren't working hard, but because marketing had become too complicated, too expensive, or too focused on looking good rather than doing good business.
CDS Brand Solutions brings that big-company thinking to local businesses, at a scale and price that makes sense, from someone who lives here and will be in the room with you.
What I believe
The success of your business is my business.
Every euro counts
I spend your budget as if it were my own. No grand schemes for the sake of it.
Show the difference
Nobody values marketing until they can see and feel what it does, so I report in revenue, not jargon.
Quick wins, long game
Early results matter. But I'm here to be a long-term partner, not a one-off fix.
Every customer matters
Every inquiry is a chance to earn revenue, and every visit is a chance to earn the next one.