Brad McLaughlin has been nominated for the second year in a row as the Best Digital Marketing Executive in Southern California for 2025. It’s a big title. But if you’ve ever worked with him, it’s no surprise. Brad doesn’t just chase awards. He chases results. And this one just caught up to him. There were no press tours or speeches. There was only Brad, back at the whiteboard, probably already testing his next campaign.
He’s not a suit. He’s a builder. The kind of guy who’d rather write code at midnight than sit in a meeting at noon. While other marketers polish their pitches, Brad’s already launched. He skips the fluff, gets to the core, and fixes what’s broken. “Marketing should move the needle,” he said. “If it doesn’t, it’s noise.”
As a leader in digital marketing, Brad leads from the front. He’s the one running the test, writing the script, and building the tool. He doesn’t have time for theory. He’s too busy making sure your campaign works.
One of his biggest wins came from a weird place—Craigslist. An RV dealership needed leads. Brad didn’t suggest ads. He built a machine. Literally. He coded an app that pulled their entire inventory and auto-posted listings across dozens of cities every day without lifting a finger. “Most people try to catch the wave,” Brad said. “I’d rather build the boat.” The result? Leads flew in. Fast. The team had to scramble—not for attention, but for breathing room. The thing didn’t work. It crushed.
Brad doesn’t care how things look. He cares if they sell. That’s the Brad rule. You can show him a beautiful homepage, but if it bounces? It’s gone. He’s ruthless with underperformance. If something isn’t converting, he’ll delete the whole thing and rebuild it from scratch. “Average is dangerous,” he said. “It hides in plain sight.”
E-commerce? He makes it look easy. Funnels, landing pages, email flows—he moves through them like muscle memory. He’s taken stores that were limping and turned them into record-breakers. Not because he’s flashy. Because he’s fast. And sharp. And simple. “You’ve got one second to get a potential customer’s attention,” he said. “Better make it count.”
Trendy? Never. Brad doesn’t follow trends. He tests them, breaks them, builds what works, and then throws the rest out. He’s deep into geofencing now. Imagine walking past a gym and getting a free trial on your phone. That’s Brad’s kind of move. Not creepy. Just smart. Just sharp. “It’s not about stalking,” he said. “It’s about timing.”
Programmatic ads? Brad’s been talking about them for years. Now, the industry’s finally catching on. To him, it’s a no-brainer. No guessing. Just smarter ad buys that hit the right people at the right time. Cheaper. Faster. Cleaner. “Why waste money,” he said, “when data already knows what to do?”
Brad’s got no ego in the game. He doesn’t post wins on LinkedIn. He posts numbers in dashboards. He doesn’t care about attention. He cares about action. That’s why clients keep calling. His work is clean. Loud. And impossible to ignore. You can spot a Brad campaign without even knowing it’s his.
If something isn’t working, he doesn’t defend it. He deletes it. “Kill your darlings,” he said. “Then build something better.” That’s the mindset. And it works. His campaigns don’t just perform. They grow. They multiply. They leave a mark. And then he moves on to the next one without looking back.
He doesn’t use 20 slides to explain a strategy. He uses two sentences. Maybe three. “Speed wins,” he said. “But only if you’re pointed in the right direction.” Brad’s not here to play it safe. He’s here to win. And now the region knows it, too.
This award isn’t a surprise to the people who’ve worked with him. If anything, it’s late. Brad’s been out here setting the bar for years. This isn’t his moment. It’s a checkpoint. He’s already looking ahead. More tools. More systems. More sharp, simple moves that sell without the song and dance.
He doesn’t want to be famous. He wants to be useful. He’s not interested in being a thought leader. He’s too busy leading through action. “I don’t care who gets the credit,” Brad said. “I just want to win the game.” And that’s why he’s the guy.
Brad McLaughlin just took the nomination of Best Digital Marketing Executive in Southern California. And he didn’t even slow down to take the picture. He’s not here for the stage. He’s here for work. Do you want more traffic? More reach? More leads that lead somewhere? He’s your guy. Not officially crowned. Already legendary. Still building. Spartan style.
