Elevated Futures - Coaching & Consulting

Lead business development initiatives for international clients, focusing on market entry strategies and cross-border partnerships.
Design and implement customized business strategies that align client objectives with sustainable growth opportunities - small business development.
Executive-level coaching and corporate training on international business strategy and operations.

Founder Lead Consultant & Head Coach

Hochschule Heilbronn - Hochschule für Technik, Wirtschaft und Informatik

Full Professor at the Faculty International Business.

Professor - International Business & Tourism Management 

Lauren Ugur CC

Provided consultancy to corporates, government bodies, and international organizations on strategic economic and social development, urban planning, and marketing.
Notable clients include the German Convention Bureau, Royal Caribbean Cruises, KfW Development Bank, UN-Habitat, and GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit).

Independent Development Consultant and Coach

International School of Management (ISM)

Courses taught (English and German):
- Tourism Management / Event Management
- Tourism Marketing / Event Marketing
- Tourism Markets and Policy
- Pricing and Revenue Management
- Quality Management and CRM
- Business Planning and Financial Management
- Market Research
- Intercultural Management
- Scientific Research / Academic writing

Professor Tourism and Event Management

Technische Universität Darmstadt

Consortium management for the Erasmus Mundus MSc programme "Mundus Urbano" in International Cooperation in Urban Development hosted by the TU Darmstadt in collaboration with three european partner universities. 

Key tasks:
- Consortium contract drafting and management
- Co-author and data collection for Erasmus Mundus renewal grant (approved, ca. €2,5 million)
- Management of the Erasmus Mundus scholarship application process, selection and awards
- EU annual technical and financial reporting 
- Lecturing

Consortium manager - Erasmus Mundus Master of Science International Cooperation in Urban Development

Entitled "Beyond the Pilot Project, towards broad-based integrated violence prevention in South Africa" 
this research focuses on the institutionalisation of integrated planning approaches for violence prevention and explores the question of transferability so as to conceptualise how successful pilot programmes may be scaled up beyond their initial sites of implementation.

Doctoral Researcher

I have been involved with the Erasmus Mundus funded International Masters Programme in International Cooperation and Urban Development since 2007, first as a student and from 2009 to 2011 as the programme manager. Overall this position encompassed many aspects related to the day-to-day management and overall strategic development of the programme. 

Main tasks included:
- Application and scholarship award management
- EU financial and technical annual report writing 
- European consortium partner/relationship management
- Strategic development and programme marketing 
- Curriculum planning and organisation of international guest lecturers
- Guest lecturer liaison

Programme manager - Erasmus Mundus Master of Science International Cooperation and Urban Development

I don’t fit neatly into a single box: academic, consultant, strategist.

What I bring is a perspective shaped by deep academic grounding (PhD in Sociology, MBA, MSc in International Cooperation and Urban Development) and over 15 years of experience bridging research, real-world strategy, and business operations.

I don’t teach by the book. I don’t consult from theory. I work at the intersection because today’s most pressing challenges don’t fit into boxes either. They require integrated, multidimensional thinking.

I’ve worked with corporate leaders, government institutions, entrepreneurs, and students to move beyond surface-level success. 

My focus? Making complex ideas actionable and helping people build businesses and careers that actually work, not just look good on paper.

How?

By asking better questions, challenging assumptions, and co-creating strategies that align with your goals, resources, and context. Whether in a boardroom or a classroom, my work is about clarity, alignment, and measurable progress.

As a Professor of International Business, I go beyond textbook theories guiding future leaders to navigate global markets, digital shifts, and social change with confidence and purpose.

In business, my approach is the same: clear, grounded, and forward-thinking. I’ve advised corporates, supported public sector innovation, and helped entrepreneurs define their direction and grow with purpose, without sacrificing profit.

I partner with:
➠ Corporate leaders ready to cut through the noise and lead meaningful innovation.
➠ Entrepreneurs seeking smart, scalable strategies and a business that reflects their values.
➠ Public sector teams needing fresh, actionable approaches to strategy and implementation.
➠ Students and professionals ready to lead with purpose in a complex, global economy.

Challenging the status quo isn’t about being edgy. It’s about designing something better intentionally and with impact. It’s about creating progress through sharper thinking, stronger systems, and more courageous leadership.

Curious about a different way to lead and grow?
Let’s connect. I’d love to hear what you're working on.

Dr. Lauren Uğur, PhD, MBA🧩

SUSANCK

Going remote was the best decision we ever made for scaling our agency.

Not because it’s trendy.
Not because it cuts costs.
But because it removed limits.

No more talent pool defined by ZIP codes.
No more 9-to-5 bottlenecks that slowed decisions down.

We built a team that runs around the clock, brings global perspectives to every strategy, and operates with more focus and ownership than we ever had in-office.

Yes, it takes stronger systems. 
Clearer communication. 
More trust.

But the trade-off?

A business that scales without borders.
And a team truly built for growth.

If you’re still in-office, what’s holding you back from going remote?

Susan Coelius Keplinger

CEO at Force of Nature | Performance Marketing at Scale

No alternative text description for this image

We honor those who’ve served — and continue to serve. 🇺🇸

The strength.
The discipline.
The quiet commitment that never wavers.

Today’s a reminder that leadership starts with service.

Thank you, veterans!

force-o-nature

susanck

(62) Notifications | LinkedIn

li_at

JSESSIONID

I am Susan Coelius Keplinger, a San Francisco Entrepreneur and avid athlete.

I help companies use data to tell stories and grow their business through quantitative marketing.

Previously I was Founder and President of Triggit, an ad technology company.  Triggit helped big brands like Booking.com, Home Depot, and Walmart leverage customer data to serve personalized ads.  Triggit was sold to Gravity4 in 2015. Prior to Triggit, I co-founded Votes For Students, a Pew Charitable Trusts funded non-profit dedicated to measuring the efficacy of Internet and Email marketing as a Get-out-the-Vote technique.

I earned my BA from Northwestern University, where the USA Today named me one of the nations top college students in 2004.   The Fortune Most Powerful Women Community recently named me a top emerging entrepreneur.

Beyond my entrepreneurial forays I love to sport and can be found chasing the wind and waves while kitesurfing or hurling down the sides mountains on skis or downhill bike.

I used to think intent only showed up once someone clicked.

AI proved me wrong.

We started spotting patterns before people ever took action (hover time, scroll rhythm, return visits), and most of those turned into sales.

It changed how we market — now we retarget earlier, personalize sooner, and shift budgets before making a decision.

Crazy how much clarity you get when you stop chasing clicks... and start noticing what happens before them.

Here’s the thing: your customers are already telling you what they want! 

We ran a search intent analysis for a retail brand, and the pattern was clear:

See for these keywords..

“Family matching PJs” 

→ Searches spike every year right before the holidays — a repeatable signal brands can plan around.

“Organic baby clothes” & “neutral baby clothes” 

→ Consistent interest month afte r month, showing steady demand beyond the seasonal rush.

🌱 “Organic kids clothes” 

→ Smaller fluctuations but strong year-round engagement.

This is why we treat search intent as free market research.

Search intent gives a real-time view of what people care about, when they start shopping, and how those behaviors repeat over time.

When brands use those signals, they can:
→ Launch campaigns right before demand peaks.
→ Keep evergreen products visible and relevant all year.
→ Shift ad spend toward moments when interest is highest.

Do you check search trends before building campaigns?

Apple’s “Share Your Gifts” ad is one of my favorite holiday campaigns — and it barely shows a single Apple product.

No flashy features.
No tech specs.
No hard pitch.

Just a story about creativity, connection, and putting your work into the world.

That’s the genius of it.

Apple doesn’t sell you the gadget — they sell you the feeling of being creative. The device just happens to be the bridge.

Most brands already know emotion matters.
Few have the patience to build it.

What’s your favorite emotional campaign of all time?

It’s officially campaign crunch time.

Some teams locked plans in back in August.

Others are still finalizing ad creatives this week. 😅

There’s no single “right” answer — but the brands that win seasonal traffic usually do one thing well:

→ Some hunt for gifts before Halloween.
→ Others wait for Black Friday madness.
→ And plenty don’t shop until mid-December.

So, I’m curious:

How early do you start planning your holiday campaigns?

🗓️ 3+ months out
🗓️ 1-2 months out
🗓️ Just before Black Friday
🗓️ Still pulling it together now

Fun fact: The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days back in 1621.

Proof that some things are just worth taking time to celebrate.

Here’s to good food, good company, and the kind of gratitude that lasts all year long.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 🍁

Nike’s “You Can’t Stop Us” hit in all the right places.

You didn’t need to love sports to get it.

That split screen of people pushing through?
It really got everyone.

It wasn’t selling sneakers.
It was reminding us what we’re made of.

Even when the world hit pause, people didn’t.
We still showed up. We still moved.

That’s why it stuck.

Because the best ads don’t talk AT you, they talk TO you.

What’s a campaign that still gives you chills when you see it?

LinkedIn

Talks about #dtc, #startups, #marketing, #mediabuying, and #performancemarketing

Same problem.
Different day.

You can switch clients, jobs, even cities..
But the lesson follows you until you face it head-on.

It’s not bad luck. 
It’s the universe on repeat.

The loop doesn’t break on its own.
You break it.
By doing something different this time.

The loop breaks when you do.
Until then, it just wears a new mask.

What loop are you breaking this week?

Every year, it sneaks up on us.

You’re scrolling through YouTube or watching TV...

And then you hear it — that “Holidays are coming…” jingle 

The Coca-Cola trucks roll in, and suddenly it feels like the holidays.

No big reveal. 
No surprise offer.
Just that familiar red glow that says, “It’s time!”

That’s the power of showing up the same way, year after year.

You don’t need to shout when people are already listening to you.

Some ads grab attention.
Others build tradition.

Coca-Cola did the latter — and it worked for decades! ❤️

What brand triggers your holiday nostalgia?

BFCM is coming to a close, and hopefully, your numbers crushed it! People are still shopping online though, so don't stop now. 

Keep up the good work and finish strong! BFCM has been a great opportunity for businesses to SCALE. 

What did you do differently this year that you'll continue next year? The coming weeks are a perfect time to try new things and see what works.

In the meantime, congrats on surviving another one 🍻

Gucci doesn’t do “flash sales”

Every holiday season, they drop their “Gucci Gift” stories — cinematic mini-films that feel more like art than ads.

No flash discounts. 
No panic countdowns.

Just beautiful storytelling and design that remind people why the brand matters.

Here’s why it works — and why your brand should reflect, not copy:
✨ Gucci is Gucci — they’ve earned that space.
✨ Their audience cares about identity more than deals.
✨ They’ve built desire first, so demand follows naturally.

If you’re leading a brand this BFCM, this is your cue:
Use emotion to elevate value.

Match storytelling to your brand’s identity, not someone else’s.

Your strength may not be the boldest sale — but it could be the strongest message.

Who does emotion-driven marketing best?

5 competitor signals worth watching 👀
(and what to actually do with them)

Watching is easy. 
Winning means acting on what you see.

Here’s what to watch:

1️⃣ When they launch campaigns

→ Are they always early? Try going live before them (or right after) to grab attention they miss.

2️⃣ New product drops

→ See what gets traction. If something takes off, think about how your next offer can solve the next problem.

3️⃣ How their messaging changes

→ New words = new direction. Use it as a hint to update your own story.

4️⃣ Price changes

→ Discounts, bundles, premium moves: they all show how they’re positioning value. Check if your pricing still makes sense.

5️⃣ Spikes in engagement

→ Big jumps in likes or shares mean something worked. Break it down and see what part you can learn from.

It’s not about copying.

It’s about seeing the patterns they’re showing you — and making smarter moves because of it.

Which of these signals do you watch most closely? 💭

5 competitor signals worth watching

Over 80% of brand discovery now happens through AI-powered feeds.

And here’s the kicker: if the platforms don’t get what you do, they’re not going to put you in front of the right people.

Think of it like this:

AI is like a friend recommending you to someone new. But if you keep changing your story every time you talk, they’re never sure who to introduce you to.

✅ Keep your messaging consistent.
✅ Repeat what you stand for across every channel.
✅ Make it easy for the AI to connect you with the right people.

Clear signals = better reach. 
Better reach = better revenue.

How consistent is your messaging across platforms right now?

💭

Timing is everything. 

The product can be solid.
The offer can be great.
The creative can hit.

But if you show up at the wrong time... it all lands flat.

Right now:
People are searching, scrolling, and adding to carts.

They’re not just browsing. 
They’re buying.

Hitting that window makes everything you’re doing work harder.

So before you launch anything this season, ask yourself:
👉 Are we showing up when people are actually in “buy” mode?
👉 Are we syncing our drops with peak search and spending windows?

Because in Q4… timing is the multiplier.

How are you timing your campaigns this Q4?

In 2025, AI is at the center of how we run performance marketing.

We predict winning campaigns before launch.
We personalize messaging based on real behavior.
We build new creative variations automatically.
We shift budgets in real time as signals change.

The edge comes from how well we teach it — with our data, our insights, and our goals.

That’s how we scale faster, waste less, and make smarter moves.

Humans still steer the ship. 
We set the direction. 
We show the machine what “great” looks like.

The real question now: 
Are we letting AI drive growth — o r just letting it ride shotgun?

When was the last time you checked your search trends? 👀

We track revenue.
We track CAC.
We track every KPI under the sun.

But do we know if people are looking for us?

Search trends are early signals!

They show when curiosity is growing.
When awareness is fading.
When it’s time to get louder.

Example:
→ A spike after a podcast mention = brand buzz building.
→ A dip after a product launch = messaging missed.
→ A rise in searches from a new region = expansion clue.

If you’re only measuring after the click...
You’re missing what happens before it.

Be honest: how often do you check yours? 💭 

Weekly? 
Monthly? 
Almost never?

Everyone talks about growth. But not enough people talk about what makes that growth sustainable.

Most teams think scaling means more:
More tools.
More hires.
More meetings.

But real scale happens when the engine runs without you watching every move.

It’s when:
→ Campaigns launch smoothly — no 2 AM fire drills.
→ Decisions are driven by data, not hunches.
→ The team moves fast and stays in sync.

The truth is, ideas rarely hold companies back.
Messy operations do.

Tighten the backend, and growth stops feeling like luck.. it starts feeling like a system.
 
Drop the first thing you’d optimize below 👇

If you’re throwing money at ads and hoping for the best... this is for you.

If results feel off, here’s what’s probably happening:

🚩 You’re spending the same amount every month — even when buyer behavior changes.
🚩 You’re ignoring November search spikes and gifting season.
🚩 You’re splitting budget evenly — even for products no one’s looking for.

Here’s how smart brands are moving now:

→ Shifting spend week by w eek based on demand.
→ Leaning into seasonal momentum instead of guessing.
→ Fueling top-performing products instead of spreading too thin.

Brands that do this cut wasted spend by up to 30% before BFCM.

How will you stretch your ad dollars in this kind of season? 💭

Dear Founders: reward yourself for surviving this weekend, you did a great job! 👀

taplio

The Battle

Dr. Lauren Uğur, PhD, MBA🧩

SUSANCK

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taplio

The Battle

Dr. Lauren Uğur, PhD, MBA🧩

SUSANCK

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}SUSANCK's LinkedIn Performance

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