About

There’s more to hiring a marketing advisor than simply getting advice. Below are some of the ingredients I bring to the table.

1. Fiduciary
If you ask a butcher what to eat, they’ll probably recommend meat. If you ask a nutritionist, they’ll give you a range of options. I’m like the nutritionist. I don’t sell food, just the best options out there for you.

2. Unlimited
You shouldn’t need to make a value decision every time you or someone on your team contacts me. For that reason, I only offer fixed-fee, unlimited access retainers.

3. Transparent
A common criticism I see about marketing service providers is that some of them obfuscate the work they do or the true results they get. Since I don’t sell the implementation part, I have no incentive to hide anything. I aim for total transparency and plain-spoken explanations of what’s happening.

4. Transformation
For your business to grow, you’ll need to do things differently. I’ll help you make the changes necessary to see measurable financial growth.

5. Strategy
Successful marketing strategy requires making trade-offs. I’ll help you plan, budget, and implement a strategy that grows with your business.

6. Systems
No change is lasting unless it’s built into the fabric of how you operate. We don’t just “do work”, we’ll turn our ideas into a system that becomes an asset to your business.

7. Oversight
A big part of what I do is ensure each piece of your marketing is performing and working in harmony so you don’t spin your wheels or veer off course.

8. People
If you need outside support to help implement, I’ll make direct introductions to vetted specialists to do the tactical implementation. I never mark up nor take a referral from anyone I recommend.

9. Data & Analytics
Hunches have a place in marketing, but so does data. I’ll help you get your data in order so you can make decisions based on the key metrics that matter most.

10. Advocacy
At the end of the day, I see myself as an advocate and champion for you and your business. We all need someone we can trust. I take this responsibility to heart.

11. Execution
Even though I’m not the one personally doing the actual implementation of our strategies, my job is to facilitate those outcomes using a combination of everything above in a way that is profitable for you.

My Story

My name is Kevin C. Whelan and I’m a marketing advisor and interim CMO.

I work with companies who are serious about their growth but either aren’t ready to hire a senior marketing executive or wish to bring in additional outside expertise to assist with their goals.

My story as a marketer began in the early 2000’s as a freelance web and graphic designer. Over the years, I began broadening my work and offering more marketing-related services.

KVNW was officially founded in 2014 as a digital marketing and web design agency. I worked with companies across a variety of industries and disciplines.

In 2017, I began pivoting my agency into marketing strategy and advisory services. My advisory experience included companies in industries like ecommerce, commercial real estate, online education, SaaS, and more.

I bring a disciplined approach to helping companies create strategies, systems, and repeatable processes that help them achieve their growth goals and make consistent progress—all while making it easy to manage what’s going on.

I am proud a father of two, husband, and dog owner.🐶

Education

• BA, Philosophy, University of Guelph (2008)
• Post-Graduate Certificate, Entrepreneurship, George Brown College (Honours) (2013)
• Certificate, Web Writing and Social Media Communication, (Honours, 94% av.) (2014)