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Meet Sarah

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You don’t need another marketer.
You need someone who knows what to do—and how to get it done.

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I’m Sarah Montague, a marketing leader with over three decades of experience building brands, driving demand, and delivering measurable growth. Most recently, as Chief Marketing Officer at John Anthony Wine & Spirits, I helped scale the business 10x—transforming it from a growing wine company into a multi-brand portfolio with national reach.

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Along the way, we built category leaders, launched into new segments, and created fully integrated marketing ecosystems that connect brand, trade, and consumer—end to end.

What I Bring

I combine strategic clarity with executional depth.

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I’ve built teams from scratch. Scaled them. Streamlined them.
I’ve worked inside high-growth winery environments and across Fortune 500 brands like Nike, eBay, and Volkswagen—where performance, accountability, and innovation aren’t optional.

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I understand how to:

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  • Build demand—and capture it efficiently

  • Turn brands into growth engines

  • Connect marketing directly to revenue

  • Navigate both DTC and complex distribution environments

 

And I know how to do it in a way that actually works inside real organizations—not just on paper.

Experience & Impact

  • Chief Marketing Officer, John Anthony Wine & Spirits (10+ years)
    Built the marketing organization from the ground up across 8 brands and 50+ SKUs, starting lean and scaling strategically—helping grow the business 10x and establish Butter Wines as a category leader
     

  • Built from the Ground Up—Lean by Design
    Built the function with minimal budget and no large agency support, prioritizing working media over overhead and proving impact incrementally—scaling investment only as results were delivered
     

  • Proven Demand & Sell-Through Growth
    Delivered 18X ROAS on retail media (Instacart), built retailer and 4th-tier programs, and drove performance across DTC, retail, and 3-tier channels
     

  • DTC & Customer Growth Engine
    Built integrated ecosystems across email, social, web, PR, and trade—growing 300K+ engaged consumers and driving repeat purchase, club engagement, and lifetime value
     

  • Scaled Brand Visibility & Demand
    Generated 4B+ annual impressions through coordinated press, influencer, retail, and digital campaigns—built to drive both awareness and conversion
     

  • Innovation That Drives Revenue
    Led high-impact product and format innovation launches, including:

    • ButterLight — #1 Best-Tasting Light Wine

    • ButterCans — #1 selling premium canned Chardonnay

    • ButterZero — expansion into non-alc and new consumption occasions
       

  • Trade & Distribution Strategy
    Built sell-in and sell-through programs that support distributor timelines and improve in-market execution—bridging brand, marketing, and sales
     

  • Built for Lean, High-Impact Teams
    Designed and led marketing organizations focused on efficiency, accountability, and measurable results—without unnecessary overhead

Education

  • Executive Wine MBA, Sonoma State University

  • Kellogg Executive Program, Strategic Management for Today’s Media

  • BA (Hons), European Business Administration, Middlesex University (UK & Germany)

Why Put Me To Work?

Most wineries can’t justify a full-time CMO.
But they still need senior-level thinking and leadership.

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That’s where I come in.

 

As a fractional CMO, I plug in where you need it most—bringing experience, perspective, and momentum without adding long-term overhead.

 

No layers. No learning curve. No wasted time.
Just clear direction, focused execution, and measurable results.

Contact Me
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