Boring marketing is expensive. KOLAB AI puts a senior human CMO in your seat and surrounds them with a proprietary AI agent stack and a multi-CMO bench — the accountability of a leader, the output of a 40-person agency.
Full-funnel growth, run by the seat that owns the number.
01 · Ecommerce & DTC
Scale paid without torching margin
Paid Acquisition
Meta, TikTok, YouTube, programmatic — creative-first testing at agent speed.
Creative Studio
Concept to motion. Human-led, machine-assisted, brand-safe.
Lifecycle & CRM
Email and SMS flows segmented to behavior, not vibes.
Amazon & Marketplace
Listings, storefront, PPC, and full-funnel growth management.
02 · Retail & CPG
Win the shelf and the feed
Distribution Strategy
On-premise, off-premise, and broker-ready GTM plans.
Shopper & Field
Activation calendars, POS, sampling, and velocity tracking.
Brand Architecture
Positioning, naming, and price-tier that survive a buyer meeting.
Retail Media
Amazon, Instacart, and retailer networks run as one funnel.
03 · Founder & Creator Brands
Turn a personality into a P&L
Offer & Funnel
VSLs, webinars, lead magnets, and the math behind them.
Content Engine
Always-on capture, edit, and distribution across every surface.
Sales Enablement
Decks, outreach, and rep playbooks tied to pipeline.
Analytics
Board-grade dashboards. Attribution that survives diligence.
§ P · Performance case studies
Paid media programs — managed spend, measured outcomes.
The work, with numbers attached.
/ Flagship engagements
FlagshipAutomotive · Performance exhaust
CORSA Performance
Three years of always-on demand generation at national scale.
Managed
$728,215
Impressions
107.0M
Reach
11.3M
Clicks
2.03M
CTR
1.90%
CPM
$6.81
Built a multi-year always-on Meta program for a top performance-exhaust brand — 107M impressions to 11.3M people at a category-beating $6.81 CPM, driving 2M+ clicks.
May 2023 – Jun 2026
FlagshipVeteran services · Mission-driven
VetComm
Seven-figure acquisition engine for the veteran community.
Managed
$1,120,020
Impressions
65.3M
Reach
10.3M
Clicks
1.63M
CTR
2.50%
CPM
$17.16
Scaled a seven-figure mission-driven program reaching 10M+ veterans at a sustained 2.50% CTR.
Partnered with the platforms that move the number.
Meta
Google
TikTok
Amazon
Shopify
Klaviyo
YouTube
Snapchat
Triple Whale
HubSpot
§ 01 · The Thesis
Marketing is a leadership problem. AI is the leverage. The seat still belongs to a human.
Most brands don't need another agency, another tool, or another deck. They need a CMO who can decide. KOLAB AI is built around that seat — staffed by senior operators, multiplied by AI agents, and held accountable to the P&L.
We've sat in the room when budgets were cut, raises were closed, and exits were signed. The stack is new. The standard isn't.
§ 02 · The Collective
Many CMOs. One mind-share.
We don't place a CMO. We surround one.
Every engagement gets a lead CMO accountable to your founder/CEO. Behind them sits the collective — other sitting CMOs, our proprietary playbook, and an AI agent stack trained on twenty years of consumer brand work. When we hire the next CMO into a client seat, we bring them into KOLAB first. That's the whole point.
Active bench — placed into hydration, energy, and spirits engagements.
CMO-003
Performance Seat
Senior CMO · Automotive & Sport
Active bench — motorsport, performance aftermarket, lifestyle.
CMO-004
DTC / Retail Seat
Senior CMO · DTC & Lifestyle
Active bench — paid acquisition, retention, and retail expansion.
§ L · Leadership
The humans in the seat.
Two Co-CMOs. One accountable bench.
CO-CMO · 01
Ernie B. Manansala Jr.
Co-Founder & Co-CMO
Two decades building and scaling consumer brands — from energy drinks to AI-driven growth.
→20+ years scaling consumer brands across automotive, beverage, and CPG.
→Founder and former CEO of KOLAB Agency (acquired by AMASS Capital).
→Helped launch NOS Energy Drink. Drove marketing for AEM Performance, BorgWarner Turbo Systems, and Pirelli.
→Former President & CMO, Outlaw Energy. Former CMO, Nirvana Water Sciences.
→2013 Ford Escape design award — featured in Ford's SEMA booth. FreightWaves speaker.
CO-CMO · 02
Marty Murley
Co-CMO
20+ years aligning brand strategy with measurable performance.
→A CPG category expert with 20+ years in digital marketing and brand development — strategy, analytics, and multi-channel growth across SEO, paid media, social, email, and content.
→Partnered with Ernie across the consumer-brand world, including the BreinFuel and Nirvana Water Sciences orbit.
→Now serves as Co-CMO of KOLAB AI, bringing brand systems and performance accountability to the collective.
§ 03 · The Stack
Proprietary AI agents — the leverage behind the seat
Eight agents. One operating system. Every client.
AG-01active
Research & Intel
Category, competitor, audience, retail. Always-on briefings into the CMO seat.
AG-02active
Positioning & Narrative
Message architecture, naming, ladders. Tested against real consumer language.
AG-03active
Creative Studio
Concept, copy, art direction, motion. Human-led, machine-assisted, brand-safe.
AG-04active
Paid Acquisition
Meta, TikTok, YouTube, programmatic. Continuous A/B and creative iteration.
AG-05active
Lifecycle & CRM
Email, SMS, retention flows. Segmented to behavior, not vibes.
AG-06active
Retail & Field
Distribution, on-premise, shopper, activation calendars and POS.
AG-07active
Analytics & Reporting
Dashboards built for the board. Attribution that survives diligence.
AG-08active
Sales Enablement
Decks, one-pagers, buyer outreach. CMO + AE working as one motion.
Agents handle the volume. The CMO handles the verdict. Nothing ships without a human signature — that's how AI work stops looking like AI.
§ 04 · Case Studies
Six engagements, on the record. Pulled directly from operator and client quotes.
Brands we've built, fixed, or scaled.
Case · 01
Automotive · Global performance brand
Garrett Motion
Multi-year retained partner · Brand & creative
Challenge
A legacy turbo and performance technology business needed to feel modern and consumer-facing in a category dominated by tuners and influencers.
What we did
Built the modern Garrett creative system from the ground up — brand language, performance positioning, and an always-on campaign engine, now AI-augmented through KOLAB.
Outcome
Multi-year partnership across global performance markets. Trusted as the creative team behind the rise of the brand.
"Equally responsible for the rise of the Garrett brand. Nimble, fresh, and unique."
Case · 02
Motorsports · Hospitality · 25+ locations
K1 Speed
National social & digital retainer
Challenge
25+ indoor kart racing centers across North America with no dedicated social specialist. Content inconsistent, engagement flat.
What we did
Took over national social and digital end-to-end. Built a content system that worked at corporate brand level and flexed for individual location personalities, now powered by our AI content + paid stack.
Outcome
Engagement and new-racer acquisition lifts across the network. Scope expanded from local to full national + select global pages.
"EMA stepped into the role and did not disappoint. As a trusted partner, we endorse Ernie and his team."
Case · 03
Cycling · Global consumer brand
Giant Bicycles
US + Global social & paid
Challenge
Giant was shifting its mix toward social and paid digital across US and Global accounts, without the in-house capacity to execute.
What we did
Strategic consulting on channel mix plus hands-on tactical execution. Took on US and Global pages, then expanded as performance compounded.
Outcome
Scope and ad budget expanded considerably year-over-year on the back of measurable results.
"Their services were so effective that we expanded responsibility and ad budget considerably."
Case · 04
Automotive · Performance aftermarket
IHI Turbo · SEMA Launch
Brand + creative + web overhaul · 90 days
Challenge
IHI was signed up for SEMA with no cohesive brand, no performance strategy, and no usable web presence. Other agencies wanted a year just for the site.
What we did
SEMA-ready brand approach, new positioning, market-appropriate creative, and full website overhaul shipped in 90 days.
Outcome
Brand, web, and on-floor presence launched on the SEMA timeline. Became the go-to relationship for creative and strategic counsel.
"We executed and launched a new strategy with market-appropriate branding, and completed an entire website overhaul in just three months."
Case · 05
Beverage · Spirits · Premium build
PANDAN Rum
Fractional CMO · Brand strategy
Challenge
A founder-led premium spirits play needed to translate a strong product into a defensible, distribution-ready brand without the budget of a category incumbent.
What we did
Owned positioning, identity direction, and the GTM operating plan. Wired creative, channel mix, and on/off-premise strategy into a single coherent build.
Outcome
Brand system shipped. Live commercial program with a clear position and price-tier across tasting room, on-premise, and DTC.
Case · 06
Financial services · Performance creative
AMF · AdzLabz
Brand approval · Strategic oversight
Challenge
A mortgage funding brand needed AI-augmented performance creative that didn't feel AI-generated, with clear A/B winners to justify spend before launch.
What we did
Reviewed the slate, validated A/B winners, signed off on the launch funnel. Strategic decision-maker between the agency and the brand.
Outcome
Winning ad set approved and pushed live. The creatives that felt least like AI outperformed once bias was stripped from the test data.
"The ads below are the winners from our A/B tests — the only ones that produced meaningful click-throughs."
§ 05 · How we engage
Three ways founders bring us in.
/ 01
Most popular
Fractional CMO Collective
Commitment
2–4 days / week
Term
6-month minimum
Start
Within 30 days
→Dedicated senior CMO in the seat, backed by the collective