Hi, i'm Karen

Editorial portrait of Karen Lai in an almond milk tailored blazer

Senior marketing leadership across brand, digital growth, CRM, customer experience and commercial performance.

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15+ yearsAcross NZ, China and international markets
Global BrandsDENZA, leading German automotive brands and premium mobility marques
Web OptimisationCar brand website growth through optimisation
Lead growthGenerated through online platform rollout
Multi-millionMarketing budgets, agencies and OEM stakeholders
Beacon winsGold and Silver campaign recognition
BYD-DENZANZ launch, dealership rollout and premium experiences
1M+ viewsOrganic post reach through creative content
PlatformsAEM, Contentful, GA4, Adobe Analytics, Hotjar and Power BI
AI toolsCodex, Claude Code, Canva, Midjourney, Seedance and Marketo
BrandsGroupon, Mobile Mentor, Nitecore and premium NZ businesses
Trade shows18 events across 13 countries and regions
AI & Automation
NZ
AI
CX

About me

I build the marketing systems that sit between brand interest and commercial action. My work spans senior brand leadership, digital transformation, CRM, performance marketing, customer journey design, agency leadership, premium launch moments, AI-enabled workflow and cross-cultural growth.

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Expertise

01

Digital Growth

Website performance, SEO, SEM, paid media, analytics, content governance, organic reach and conversion improvement across complex brand portfolios.

02

Customer Journey

CRM, automation, lifecycle communication, reservation, stock search, configurators, e-shops, trade-in valuation and dealer enquiry pathways.

03

Brand Transformation

Brand positioning, major CI change, launch planning, premium storytelling and customer-facing digital rollout across New Zealand.

04

Commercial Leadership

Agency management, supplier relationships, budget ownership, OEM stakeholder alignment, reporting and executive-level recommendations.

05

AI & Automation

Codex, Claude Code, Marketo, Canva, Midjourney, Seedance and practical workflow systems that make marketing faster without losing judgement.

Work

01

Leading German automotive brands / Digital leadership

Multi-brand digital growth and customer journey systems

120% Leads supported by online platform rollout
Karen Lai reviewing marketing strategy in an almond milk tailored blazer
Lead growth Stock search Reservation Configurator
02

Brand transformation / Launch delivery

Brand CI, launch planning and premium customer experience

CI Global standards translated for NZ execution
NZ BYD-DENZA launch and dealership rollout
Identity Launch Events Experience
03

Business owner / Cross-market growth

Digital advisory, luxury retail and Asian consumer channels

Karen Lai in a creative studio setting
Demand

Find the audience signal, sharpen the offer and turn attention into better enquiries.

Creative testing Lead paths Market entry
Channel mix Search, websites and lead journeys Automotive
Asian social Content cues and audience behaviour Asian Marketing
Premium retail Story, trust and purchase confidence Luxury bridal
Owned platforms Online stores, content and conversion E-commerce

Digital advisory shaped around audience behaviour, search demand, creative testing and practical conversion paths.

Experience

2025-now

National Marketing Manager

BYD-DENZA / Harmony Auto New Zealand

  • Leading DENZA marketing across launch strategy, dealership marketing, PR, events, CRM nurturing and lead generation.
  • Building local market plans for a high-consideration premium brand in New Zealand.
  • Managing agencies, digital suppliers, media partners, event vendors and OEM stakeholders.
2024-2025

Managing Director

Mapview Media / Rednote Marketing / Harper Malone / Adored Again

  • Led digital marketing, website development, luxury bridal, e-commerce and Asian social media activity.
  • Worked with New Zealand SMEs and premium brands across SEO, Google Ads, Meta Ads, WeChat and Rednote.
  • Used AI tools to improve workflow, segmentation, messaging, reporting and decision-making.
2019-2024

Digital Marketing Manager

Multi-brand premium automotive group, New Zealand

  • Led digital strategy across a portfolio of leading German and European automotive brands.
  • Managed AEM, Contentful, Dynamics, Marketo, website performance, CRM, automation and dealer lead generation.
  • Delivered digital roadmaps, agency management, reporting frameworks and board-level recommendations.
Earlier

International and operational marketing foundation

Sit & Blake / Nitecore / Groupon / Mobile Mentor

  • Built experience across insurance, finance, consumer technology, e-commerce, merchant partnerships and operations.
  • Coordinated 18 trade shows across 13 countries and regions and managed global campaign partnerships.
  • Improved business efficiency, customer satisfaction, team capability and recurring revenue in earlier roles.
Karen Lai in an ivory shirt and cream denim jeans lifestyle setting

Beyond work

Curious by nature.

Away from the dashboard, I am usually in the garden, on a yoga mat, in the water, cooking something comforting, travelling somewhere new, or pulling apart a brilliant creative idea to understand why it worked.

That curiosity follows me back into marketing. I like finding the pattern behind success, then turning it into something useful, repeatable and human.

Gardening Yoga Swimming Cooking Travel Creative decoding

Let's talk

For senior marketing roles, brand growth projects, digital transformation work or strategic consulting conversations in the New Zealand market.

karen.lqs@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/karen-lai-nz