Fractional Growth Marketer · Builder
Midwest Bred. Global Reach.

Blagica.

(blah-ghee-tsa) (boh-til-ee-eh-ro)

25 years building the internet. Still building.

I run Zlato — a fractional growth marketing consultancy where I work as an embedded senior growth marketing executive for founders and brands who need strategy that actually ships. And I build tools, write things, and make stuff because the work is always the proof.

How I Work Say Hello
Emmy Winner 25+ Years Digital Midwest Bred · Detroit · Chicago · Minneapolis Fortune 100 · Agencies · Startups
Blagica Bottigliero

Two things I do.
Both are real.

I'm not a consultant who talks about building — I build. And I'm not a builder who ignores strategy. These two things feed each other constantly.

01

Fractional Growth Marketing Executive

I run Zlato —
a growth marketing
consultancy.

Embedded senior growth marketing leadership for founders and modern brands who need sharp strategy and hands-on execution. Not decks. Not advice. Traction.

  • Full-funnel growth strategy
  • Paid media — search, social, CTV, OOH
  • PR & earned media
  • Experiential & event marketing
  • Analytics setup (GA4, cAPI, attribution)
  • Creative testing loops & content ops
  • Team training & executive coaching
  • Program pinch-hitting
Visit zlato.co →
02

Builder · Maker · Utility First

I also build tools
that solve real
problems.

Using AI tools and automations to develop a series of utility apps — slowly launching. Plus a podcast and a writing project that are already live.

  • AI tools & automations — apps in progress
  • Conversations with B — podcast featuring Detroit founders, Midwest innovators & Gen X builders
  • You Can Call Me Barb — memoir-in-essays, coming soon
See what I'm building →
Blagica Bottigliero
25+
Years at the
intersection of
marketing & tech

About

A Digital OG.
Still building.

I'm a first-gen Macedonian kid from Metro Detroit who ended up in the front row of the internet's entire history. From CD-ROMs at Giant Step to joining Orbitz early in their eMarketing team — through the dot-com crash, through LinkedIn arguments, through Friendster and MySpace and TikTok — I've watched everything and helped build a lot of it.

I've run global social at Motorola Mobility. Led digital strategy as VP at Edelman. Co-founded Bottles Nation, one of the first virtual tasting platforms in the US, and hit $1M in 10 months. Built and ran the full marketing operation for a DTC THC beverage brand in a fully regulated category — standing up GA4, cAPI, attribution, paid social, PR, experiential, connected TV, and out-of-home from scratch.

What I do best is translate ambition into traction. Crisp messaging. Plans that ladder to revenue. Creative testing loops you can run in hours. Analytics that executives and operators both actually understand.

I'm also a writer. A builder. And back home in Metro Detroit, where my family first put down roots near 94 and Chene.

🏆 Emmy — NBC5 Chicago 🎓 WMU Outstanding Alumni 2024 🏛 Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid Team 📡 Cook County New Media Council

Working Together via Zlato

What it looks like when a
Fractional Growth Marketing
Executive is in your corner

Whether you need a senior growth marketing executive embedded in your team, a training program that actually lands, or someone to pinch-hit on a critical program — I've done all of it.

📈

Fractional Growth Marketing Executive

Senior growth marketing leadership embedded in your team — without a full-time hire. I build the plan and execute alongside you from day one.

⚡

Program Pinch Hitting

When you need someone to step in fast and run a program at a high level. Launches, pivots, gaps between hires — I'm built for this.

📊

Analytics & Attribution

GA4, cAPI, Triple Whale, affiliate attribution — stacks that give executives and operators data they can actually act on.

🎯

Paid Social & Performance

Full-funnel programs built to test fast and scale what works. Creative testing loops. Not just campaigns — repeatable systems.

🤖

AI Tools & Content Ops

Building content engines with AI at the center — workflows, tooling, and the creative operating systems that actually ship output at scale.

🎤

Training & Executive Coaching

Private training to get C-suite and marketing teams current on what's actually happening in digital, AI, and growth.

Book Time With Me

Building · Shipping · Making

I don't just advise on building.
I actually build.

I use AI tools and automations to work on a series of apps I'm slowly launching — alongside written work and conversations that are already live.

Apps · AI Tools · Automations

Building in Public

Using AI tools and automations to develop a series of utility apps — slowly launching. Regularly embedded in Detroit's builder community through TechTown, Bamboo, and Midwest House — attending sessions, connecting with founders, and staying close to what's actually being built right now.

Stay in the loop →

Podcast · Unscripted

Conversations with B

Business, leadership, and life in the middle — featuring Detroit founders, Midwest innovators, Gen X builders, and people navigating careers, reinvention, and what's happening right now. Smart questions. No scripts.

Listen on Spotify →

Writing · Memoir in Essays

You Can Call Me Barb

A memoir-in-essays about being a first-gen Macedonian kid who learned to navigate two worlds — work and home, grit and reinvention. About what it means to always be from somewhere, even after you leave.

Coming soon →

Experience

Big brands. Scrappy startups.
Everything in between.

25+ years across Fortune 100 companies, global agencies, and high-growth startups — in Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, and beyond.

Where I've worked

Giant Step Orbitz Edelman Motorola Mobility ModSquad The Escape Pod JEB Commerce Delta Beverages Bottles Nation Zlato

Brands I've worked with

Quaker Kraft Kimberly-Clark True Value Maytag Energizer Purina Lindt Johnston & Murphy Princess Cruises Evenflo Fashion Fair Parkwhiz Choose Chicago Illinois Technology Association AeroPay Leo Burnett
View Full Career on LinkedIn →

Speaking

SXSW. TEDx. Dubai.
Northwestern. Detroit.

I speak on digital marketing, AI and growth, women in tech, building systems, and what it actually means to adapt. Available for keynotes, panels, workshops, and university engagements.

SXSW Interactive
TEDx
Social Media Week Chicago
TechWeek Chicago
Northwestern University
University of Chicago
University of Illinois
Loyola University
Marquette University
Western Michigan University
PRSA
Web Analytics Association
Retail Show · Dubai, UAE
All Web · Skopje, Macedonia
Adobe Research Foundation
Excelerate Labs
Future Midwest Conference
Chicago Interactive Marketing
Social DevCamp Chicago
Chicago Women in Publishing
Crain's Chicago Business Forum
Social Media Breakfast Minneapolis
Local First Chicago
National Main Streets Conference
Book Me to Speak

Podcast

Conversations
with B

Business, leadership, and life in the middle. Unscripted conversations with founders, operators, and Gen X builders navigating careers, reinvention, and what's actually happening right now.

Founder, Angel Investor & FemTech Champion: Katherine Kirsch

39 min

AI and What's Next for Gen X with David Armano

58 min · ex-Edelman, now in AI

Future of Work and AI with Rishad Tobaccowala

43 min

Reviving Detroit: A Conversation with Ned Staebler

53 min · Wayne State / TechTown

Listen on Spotify
Conversations with B

Press & Media

Quoted. Featured. Opinionated.

Wall Street Journal Bloomberg Businessweek PR Week Crain's Chicago Business Digiday Sprout Social / Adapt Chicago Tribune Voyage Chicago WGN Radio WBEZ Chicago Fox 32 Chicago Western Michigan University

Let's work together.

Sharp strategy. Honest execution. Momentum you can measure. If that sounds like what you need — or you just want to see what I'm building — let's talk.

Book a Meeting Email Me LinkedIn