Campaigns people act on.
I’m Dave Solce, Director of Digital Strategy at Bellwether Public Relations. For 12+ years I’ve run social, paid media, crisis communications and PR for brands from Visit Houston to Michigan’s hospitals.
Experience at a glance
Dave Solce
Director of Digital Strategy, Bellwether Public Relations
$1M+ in annual ad campaigns managed
$4M+ in total Meta ad spend
Case studies
Fourteen campaigns, from hurricane response to brand launches.
Comprehensive marketing and campaign management
MI Hospital Careers
8,000 of a 27,000-worker gap closed in a year
I manage the strategy, client communications and execution of the multi-million-dollar Hospital Careers campaign, helping Michiganders find careers in a hospital near them.
Google Search lead generation
Michigan Progressive Health
Cost-per-conversion cut nearly in half
Took over search advertising and improved conversion rate by 2.41% and click-through rate by 1.28%.
Crisis communications
Houston First Corporation
On the ground through Hurricane Harvey
When Harvey hit Houston in 2017, I was in the room with the city’s top officials, communicating with residents struggling after the storm.
Storytelling
Get MI Degree
105 stories from 15 public universities
Visiting every public university in Michigan to show how achievable a four-year degree can be.
Social media management
Visit Houston
Part of a portfolio of 1M+ followers
Writing, capturing, strategy and page growth, showcasing the stories and opportunities of the Bayou City.
Brand launch
Avenida Houston
A new brand for $1.5B in redeveloped space
A new website, social media presence and community-building events for downtown Houston.
Comprehensive marketing
Flow Telecomm
Tailored strategies across seven Caribbean countries
Custom marketing strategies to improve customer sentiment and service awareness.
Social media management
Hemlock Semiconductor
The polysilicon story, told by the people who make it
How employees in Hemlock, Michigan develop the polysilicon in nearly every device today.
Legislative marketing
Michigan Association of Nurse Anesthetists
Backed legislation expanding CRNA practice during COVID-19
A campaign supporting legislation that expanded the opportunity for CRNAs to work during the pandemic.
Social media management
Hair Biology
Content strategy for women 50+
Content for a brand serving women 50+ with high-quality, biotin-infused hair products.
Social media strategy
Stash Tea
A full social audit and the roadmap that followed
A comprehensive audit that gave Stash Tea the information and strategy to plan its social future.
Marketing strategy
Big Changes Ahead
Branding and ads for Michigan’s insurance changes
A comprehensive branding and advertising strategy so every Michigander had the information they needed.
Social media management
Kidde Fire Safety
Fire-safety content across the US and Canada
Social content for a brand protecting homes and families with an array of safety products.
Marketing strategy
WorldStrides
A short- and long-term marketing and PR plan
A comprehensive marketing and public relations plan to support organizational goals.
Skills and experience
Bars show years of hands-on experience. Select a skill for the details.
Strategy
Social media strategy (11 years)
Since 2014, from Houston First and downtown venues to Visit Houston, managing over a million followers. Platform and content strategy across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn and Reddit, organic and paid.
Paid advertising (9 years)
Goal- and audience-first campaigns across awareness, advocacy, lead generation, conversion, B2C and B2B. Over $1M in annual ad campaigns managed at Bellwether.
A/B testing and optimization (9 years)
Testing creative, messaging, CTAs, audiences, platforms and geographies, then using ad and website data to make optimization recommendations.
Crisis communications (6 years)
From Hurricane Harvey response for Visit Houston and the George R. Brown Convention Center to day-to-day crisis response for Hemlock Semiconductor.
Public relations (6 years)
Media relations, copywriting and story pitching, with lasting relationships with reporters and outlets.
Paid platforms
Meta (9 years)
$4M+ in total spend for brands like Freetail Brewing, Hemlock Semiconductor and the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.
LinkedIn (7 years)
Lead generation, awareness, traffic and recruitment for Agile Defense, the Michigan Association of State Universities and more.
Billboards and OOH (5 years)
Geotargeted local and statewide placements for small businesses, food and beverage, and law.
TikTok (4 years)
Awareness, traffic and recruitment campaigns.
Snapchat (4 years)
Reaching Gen Z and millennial audiences, including video and interactive AR campaigns.
Reddit (3 years)
A wide range of campaigns and placements, working closely with Reddit’s agency team on research and planning.
Google Search (3 years)
Keyword campaigns built for lead generation.
Google Display (3 years)
Lead-gen, awareness and traffic campaigns using demographic, behavioral and contextual targeting, retargeting and A/B testing.
Tools
Sprout Social (5 years)
Advanced use of scheduling, community management, social listening, tagging and reporting.
Canva (4 years)
Static graphics, video elements, animated display ads, presentations and documents.
Hootsuite (3 years)
Posting, reporting and community management.
Sprinklr
Six months in Sprinklr’s new-employee program learning the back end and building scheduling, listening and community management features.
Adobe
Intermediate knowledge of Lightroom, Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Illustrator for photo, video, billboards and online graphics, with basic After Effects.
Leadership
Team leadership
An open, positive setting that brings out the best ideas, plus helping younger team members figure out where they want to take their careers.
Analytics and reporting
Reading ad-platform and website data together to turn results into clear optimization recommendations.
Ideation
From single social posts to multi-year campaign strategy, including the name of a national joint venture.
Photography and videography
Interview, product, real estate and portrait work, plus drone footage since 2021. Subjects include Kendrick Lamar, Maroon 5 and the Houston Astros.
Learning now: building out Hulu and Disney+ advertising, going deeper on Google Search and Display, and learning the Amazon DSP.
Brands I’ve worked with
From tourism and telecom to health care, higher ed and labor.
Avenida Houston
Visit Houston
Stash Tea
Flow Telecommunications
WorldStrides
Kidde Fire Safety
Philadelphia World Cup Host City Bid
Comcast
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
Michigan Association of State Universities
Michigan Health & Hospital Association
Porter Loring Mortuaries
George R. Brown Convention Center
Freetail Brewing
LIUNA
Let’s build the next campaign.
I’m always up for talking campaigns, digital strategy or what’s next. Email is the fastest way to reach me.
