Chip Martens

Experience

I've been doing this since 2008, almost always on small teams with big targets. Here's where, and what came out of it.

mode40

Head of Brand Marketing January 2026 to now

The only marketer at mode40, which builds the Singularity: Canadian software for running manufacturing, aerospace, and defence operations, with every customer's data kept in its own country. What I've built in the first nine months:

  • A new website in under four monthsThe first version went live May 1, six days ahead of its deadline.
  • A full rebuild, 82 pagesThe second version of mode40.com, designed around the product itself and moving onto WordPress.
  • Positioning for the whole companyAbout 70 documents covering the platform, five industries, and 22 buyer roles, finished in June.
  • One sales deck that bendsA master deck cut from 64 slides to 41, tailored for each industry and each send.
  • A brand systemA brand book, design tokens, and ready‑made templates, plus a product screenshot system used on every surface.
  • PressCoverage in BetaKit, Canadian Defence Review, Skies, and Canadian Manufacturing for an aerospace project announced with Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters.
  • Sales supportProposals, one‑pagers, and sales sheets for aerospace, defence, and government deals, including a 38‑page government proposal.
  • 36 articlesWritten for search and AI answers, launching with the new site.
  • SEDCPositioning for southeast Manitoba's economic development corporation, with the direction approved by its board in June after a 34‑slide findings deck.

ConvergX

Brand and launch for XPND, through mode40 2026

ConvergX runs the Global Congress, and XPND is its new platform, built on mode40's Singularity.

  • Launched on stageXPND went public at the ConvergX Global Congress in Calgary.
  • Brand system48 pages of guidelines that keep the name, look, and words consistent everywhere XPND shows up.
  • Launch filmThe video that introduced the platform at the Congress.
  • Platform websiteThe site for the platform, designed and built from the brand system.
  • PressThe joint release that announced the launch, sent to 22 reporters.

CleanTrace

Former board advisor

A livestock traceability startup.

  • $2.5M seed roundThe positioning, brand, and go‑to‑market strategy behind it.
  • Brand from day oneBuilt the brand from its first version.
  • Targeted campaignsMarketing operations aimed at decision makers at a short list of companies, which opened meetings with industry leaders.

Lumbercart

Former brand advisor and partner

A direct‑to‑contractor building supply platform.

  • $15M+In sales in its first year.
  • Brand identity, positioning, and marketing strategyBuilt for the launch.

GrainTracker

Former brand and design advisor

Measurement for agriculture, to cut losses and track grain from farm to table.

  • Positioning and messagingWritten for farmers.
  • App designDesign updates to the GrainTracker app.

WhatBars.com

Founder, designer, and developer 2018 to 2022

A handlebar comparison tool for cyclists that I designed, coded, and marketed on my own. It started as a fix for my own bike: I photographed the bars I was considering, scaled them to the manufacturers' specs in Photoshop, and overlaid them to compare. I put a rough version online, cyclists asked for more bars, and manufacturers started sending me their technical drawings.

  • 1.85MTotal views.
  • 250K+Unique page views a year, with average sessions over two minutes.
  • 11,000+Social followers and 2,500+ email subscribers.
  • Global partnersCycling and outdoor brands as far away as Japan and Korea.

RocketRez

Creative Director, then Director of Brand Marketing 2019 to 2025

Ticketing software for attractions. I led brand and creative, with four people reporting to me.

  • Under $1M to $10M+In recurring revenue, more than 10x in my six years there.
  • $8.4M Series A, then a $35M Series BI led the 2020 rebrand and new website the company took into both raises.
  • 6xCreative output from the same team of four, with no new hires.
  • 75%Rise in unaided brand recall in six months, after the 2023 brand refresh and the campaigns built on its distinctive brand assets.
  • 182%More form submissions from high‑intent leads.
  • 156K new usersFrom a channel mix I built, including LinkedIn and Meta campaigns aimed at well‑defined audiences.
  • Email, built from nothingAbout 39% of all new non‑direct users, and 23K sessions, 64% more than paid search.
  • Demo conversion rate up half a pointWithin a month of rebuilding the product feature pages.
  • New marketsCanada, Mexico, and the UK.
  • We've got your backThe biggest campaign I ran there, carried across everything from team shirts to bus graphics.
  • IAAPA Expo, every yearI ran our presence at the attractions industry's biggest trade show in Orlando. In 2021 that meant our biggest booth to date. In 2022 our TouchPoint magazine ran out on day one and we had to rush a reprint. In 2024 visitors got a custom cartoon and a putting challenge.
  • Agencies and enablementManaged agency partners and built a library of sales material.

Maple Creative

Co‑founder 2019 to 2022

A creative agency I ran with Tylor Reimer, now Creative Director at Chez Koop, alongside my first three years at RocketRez.

E.G. Penner Building Centres

Director of Marketing 2014 to 2019

A family lumber and building supply company in southeast Manitoba.

  • $2MAnnual budget, stretched further with $250K found in co‑op money and $150K+ a year in joint advertising with suppliers.
  • 400%+Higher average order value on our community campaigns and partnership promotions.
  • Community partnershipsThe Steinbach Pistons, local charities, and businesses around town.
  • Quality positioningThe company stood on quality, which justified higher prices.
  • One brandKept consistent across stores and regional markets.

Loewen Drywall

Project Manager 2012 to 2014

Commercial projects, coordinating specialized materials for landmark builds.

  • Canadian Museum for Human RightsCoordinated specialized materials for the build.
  • 8.5%Productivity gain after moving projects onto a digital project management system.
  • Cross‑trade coordinationKept complex projects on schedule.

Golden West Broadcasting

Creative Designer 2008 to 2012

Where I started, at a broadcaster serving communities across Western Canada.

  • Hundreds of clientsAds and creative for local and national businesses.
  • Community news websitesRedesigned for the company's stations.
  • 21 community marketsHelped move local news from print to the web.