Independent Digital Marketing Consultant

About Sam Frost

I help business owners and marketing teams work out whether their digital marketing is delivering worthwhile results - and what to change when it isn’t.

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Independent digital marketing consultant, based in Christchurch

I’ve worked in digital marketing since 2007, across agency roles, in-house marketing, my own online businesses and independent consulting.

Along the way, I’ve managed advertising budgets of tens of thousands of dollars a month for a major New Zealand retailer, built and sold a website, and helped hundreds of businesses understand where their marketing money is going.

Today, my work centres on independent audits, practical advice and solving the problems that leave business owners thinking: “Something here doesn’t quite add up.”

When you work with me, you deal directly with me. I investigate the accounts, explain the findings and help you decide what to do next.

I’m also an adviser in New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s (NZTE) Beachheads programme, where I help New Zealand export businesses work through specific technical digital marketing challenges.

Discuss your digital marketing with me by booking a no-obligation, introductory call.

It started with a cheap guitar and an old iMac

In early 2007, I was in Year 11 at high school, learning guitar and wishing my rather terrible electric guitar was a Fender Stratocaster.
Using an old iMac my parents had given me for homework, I searched Google for “how to make money online”.
Predictably, this led to several months of hare-brained schemes. Eventually, I found something that worked: writing articles that linked to products sold through an affiliate marketplace called ClickBank. My chosen subject was Xbox 360 repairs, which was an unexpectedly popular niche at the time due to the frequent ‘Red Ring of Death’ failures those consoles experienced.
I spent an hour or two each evening after school writing and publishing articles. About a month in, I made my first sale.
That got me hooked. Over the following two years, I learned about search engines, website traffic, analytics and turning visitors into customers. Just before returning to school in 2009, I bought the Stratocaster.
I still own it (I just don’t have so much time to play it).
From affiliate websites to managing retail advertising budgets

That early experience helped me land a role with Christchurch-based Doubledot Media, which developed training products and tools for online marketers. I worked there part-time during university before moving into agency roles.
Working at both a larger and a smaller agency gave me experience with different clients, budgets and ways of delivering marketing services.
I then joined The Warehouse Group as Digital Marketing Manager for Torpedo7 Fitness, which operated No1 Fitness and Shotgun Supplements. By my early twenties, I was responsible for tens of thousands of dollars a month in digital advertising spend within one of New Zealand’s leading retail groups.
A role with B2B startup Numerik followed (also assisting with sister company, Formance).
Those experiences let me see marketing from several sides: delivering work for clients, managing it from inside a business, and being accountable for the budget and results.
I’ve also continued building projects of my own. These include 3D Printer Plans, a website I grew and sold, and Garage Dreams, a Japanese-car-focused motoring website I ran with my brother. At its peak, Garage Dreams reached hundreds of thousands of readers a month.
Spending my own time and money on projects has taught me plenty - including how quickly an apparently promising idea can become an expensive distraction.
Why I became an independent consultant

I established Ace Digital Marketing in 2016 to handle freelance work alongside my employment.
The move to working for myself full-time in 2018 was less a grand entrepreneurial masterplan and more a practical decision. A job ended after the company changed direction, and I couldn’t find another role that felt right at the time.
My now-wife encouraged me to give the business six months (as we had some savings) and see where I could get to.
Initially, I focused on services such as Google Ads management and SEO. Over time, more businesses started asking me to review existing activity, investigate disappointing results or provide a second opinion on advice they’d received.
That became the work I was increasingly known for - and the work I most enjoyed.
Since 2018, I’ve worked with several hundred businesses across New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.
Supporting New Zealand exporters through NZTE

In 2020, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) invited me to join its Digital Coaching programme. A few years later, I was invited to become an adviser in its Beachheads programme, where I remain involved today.
NZTE calls on me to help New Zealand export businesses with specific technical digital marketing challenges. This fits closely with the work I enjoy most: investigating a defined problem, explaining what is happening and helping a business identify practical next steps.

The problems I help businesses untangle

My clients operate in different industries, but their concerns are often remarkably similar:

“Our agency or freelancer charges a lot, but we’re not sure what value we’re getting.”

“The advertising reports look great, but our sales and bottom line tell a different story.”

“We want an independent second opinion before committing more money.”

“We have a specific problem to solve, but everyone seems to want us to move everything over to them rather than just giving a straight answer on that one question.”

A recurring theme throughout my career has been businesses struggling with the cost of digital marketing while a significant part of their existing spend is being wasted or allocated poorly.

My starting point is to understand what is happening, what can be trusted and where there is a practical opportunity to improve things.

Looking beyond the headline numbers

When reports look impressive but the business owner is unconvinced, I often start by examining attribution and how the results have been presented.

A platform reporting a conversion doesn’t, by itself, establish that the advertising caused an additional sale. Similarly, a campaign attracting people already searching for your business can look very different commercially from one bringing in genuinely new prospects.

I also examine whether reporting gives a balanced picture. Sometimes the information is incomplete or poorly explained. Sometimes the presentation puts a particularly favourable spin on the results.

I investigate those possibilities without assuming that a platform report is the whole story - or that the person managing the account must be doing a bad job.

Examples of what that work can uncover

Client confidentiality matters to me, so these examples leave out identifying details.

Redirecting thousands of dollars a month into better-performing advertising

During a Google Ads audit for an Australian B2B ecommerce business serving several international markets, I identified one setting affecting its UK advertising that was consuming thousands of dollars a month without generating a return.

The client changed the setting and redirected that budget into better-performing activity. The savings exceeded the cost of the entire audit within the first couple of months.

Removing unnecessary spend during the audit debrief

For a New Zealand B2B manufacturer, I identified mobile-app placements and display-related settings that accounted for unnecessary expenditure running into the low five figures annually.

We implemented the setting changes together during the audit debrief call, removing the source of that expenditure immediately.

Confirming that an existing agency was doing a good job

In a recent review for a Christchurch service business, my conclusion was that its agency was doing good work.

My recommendation was to retain the relationship while seeking a more favourable arrangement by removing reporting the business didn’t need.

An independent review should leave room for that answer, too.

What you can expect when working with me

Direct access to the person doing the work

I deal with every client personally and conduct every review myself. You won’t meet me on a sales call and then have your audit handed to someone you’ve never spoken to.

I use tools, including AI where appropriate, to assist with tasks such as analysing large datasets. I personally review the work, interpret the findings and take responsibility for the advice.

For specific implementation tasks, I may involve a specialist subcontractor - for example, to build a testing landing page where a client’s existing website platform makes that difficult. I remain your point of contact.

Explanations you can understand

Clients regularly tell me they appreciate clear explanations of what is happening and why it matters.

My job is to help you understand the issue well enough to make a decision. That includes distinguishing between a confirmed problem, a reasonable concern and something that needs further investigation.

An independent view of your existing providers

If your agency or freelancer is doing a good job, I’ll tell you.

You can use my recommendations with your existing team or provider. An audit does not oblige you to move your accounts or commit to ongoing management with me.

If you want help implementing changes, we can discuss that separately.

Clear boundaries

I’ll also tell you when you need someone with different expertise.

I don’t provide graphic design, branding or brand strategy, and I don’t advise on legal or tax matters. I don’t personally undertake web development, although I work with an experienced developer on suitable client projects.

Where a problem falls outside my expertise, I’ll explain that and help you identify the appropriate next step.

Sam Frost standing with his border collie on a hilltop above a harbour

Outside work

I live in Christchurch with my wife and our three young children, including twin boys. There’s also a rather enthusiastic border collie who doubles as the office dog.

I still play guitar, although these days I spend more time at the piano. Away from music, I enjoy vegetable gardening and working on my classic Citroën AX GT - a fairly uncommon sight on New Zealand roads.

Between the children, dog, garden and an old French car, there is usually something requiring attention.

Sam Frost’s border collie standing on a rocky hilltop

Sam Frost’s dark green Citroën AX GT parked on a lawn

Want a clearer picture of your digital marketing?

If you feel something isn’t adding up, you don’t need to arrive with a diagnosis.

Tell me what you’re doing, what’s concerning you and what you’d like to understand. I’ll give you an honest view on whether I can help and what a sensible next step would look like.

Get in touch

Or email info@samfrost.co.nz.