A year in platform marketing rooms

Most of my year is spent in rooms — partner briefings, industry panels, agency meetups — not dashboards. That is the job: Regional Marketing Manager at Aleph Group in Limassol, covering Cyprus, Malta, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan for TikTok, Reddit, Pinterest, X, Microsoft Advertising, and Amazon Ads.

The pattern that keeps showing up: the best conversations start from a concrete feed problem, not a channel checklist. When a brand asks “should we be on TikTok?”, the useful answer is usually “what attention are you trying to win, and where does your buyer already spend it?”

Events compress that learning. Moderating main-stage panels at iFX EXPO, walking IMH sessions on Instagram and TikTok as growth engines, and co-leading TechIsland MarComms meetups force the same discipline: say something specific enough that a CMO and a performance lead both nod — without inventing a case they cannot verify.

Across four markets, the operators who win are rarely the loudest. They ship partner programs that local teams can actually run, keep brand and performance in the same conversation, and treat agencies as co-builders rather than vendors to brief once.

EK Notes is where I will write those field notes down — calmly, in first person, and only what I can stand behind. If you want the stage version, start at Speaking. If you want the seat and the arc, start at About.