Meryll Firmacion

Relocation and career transition to the U.S. focused on developing a professional media portfolio, strengthening practical and responsible AI use, and preparing for full-time roles in the U.S. market. Now based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

• Built a professional portfolio website using AI-assisted plain-language coding, featuring sanitized case studies showcasing work across integrated media, acquisition, lead generation, measurement and business reviews.
• Increased tailored job application output by approximately 167% and reduced manual tracking effort by 60% to 80% by developing AI-assisted application workflows, including a custom GPT, tracker automation and a prototype job-fit tool built in Google AI Studio.
• Completed 7 AI upskilling courses focused on AI-assisted workflows, prompting techniques and applied use cases across planning, research, writing, content creation, data analysis and app building.

Led integrated media strategy across a cross-channel portfolio spanning digital, TV, CTV and OOH, partnering with cross-functional teams across planning, execution, optimization and reporting.

• Owned investment planning and budget allocation for a $10M+ annual cross-channel media portfolio spanning digital, TV, CTV and OOH.
• Led 6+ cross-functional and agency partner workstreams monthly across media activation, strategy, creative, influencer/KOL and third-party vendor teams.
• Led integrated media strategy across advocacy, hero-product and skincare campaigns, delivering outcomes including 14.2M impressions, Digital OOH reach 170% above target, a 5.5% lift in consideration and 68% cross-media reach.
• Translated regional media standards into local activation and moved a national QSR brand from campaign-by-campaign planning toward annualized, integrated media planning.
• Improved ad viewability by 6% and brand safety scores by 7% through campaign optimization, while reducing reporting synthesis and preparation time by approximately 50% using AI-assisted workflows.

Progressed through five promotions over eight years, ultimately leading the agency's media practice across a 12-account portfolio spanning multiple industries.

• Managed $150K to $200K in monthly paid media investments across paid social, paid search/PPC and video campaigns tied to CAC, CPA, CPL, ROAS, lead volume and conversion goals.
• Owned end-to-end paid media strategy for a global nonprofit's donor acquisition program, growing digital revenue by 28.21%, new-donor acquisition by 30.06% and blended ROAS from 1.16x to 1.45x.
• Led full-funnel lead-generation strategy for a higher-education client, reaching 113.36% of the lead-volume target and lifting conversion rate to 9.46% against a 1% historical benchmark.
• Led the media practice across a 12-account portfolio and managed and mentored up to 7 direct reports.
• Reduced campaign setup and trafficking errors across 5 to 8 active accounts by implementing mandatory campaign QA workflows.

Built a strong foundation in media planning, buying, campaign execution and performance tracking while supporting healthcare and pharmaceutical brands.

• Supported end-to-end media planning and buying for a leading pharmaceutical and healthcare company in the Philippines.
• Improved inventory value, cost efficiency and campaign delivery by negotiating media packages and placements with publishers and media vendors.
• Translated competitor activity and market-trend findings into planning inputs and campaign recommendations.
• Promoted from Media Trainee to Media Planner/Buyer within six months.