Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Jason
Boucher
Director of Digital Marketing · Digital Strategist · Music Curator
Two decades of turning audiences into communities, from building UNH’s social media program from the ground up, to leading paid and organic campaigns at Cookson. Equally at home in a boardroom and a record store.
About Me
A career built on stories,
strategy & community.
I’m a digital marketer and strategist with over two decades of experience helping brands and institutions connect with the people who matter most. My career has spanned software QA, IT Support, Higher Education, and agency life — giving me a uniquely broad perspective on how technology, communication, and culture intersect.
For eleven years, I built and led the social media program at the University of New Hampshire, growing platforms from scratch, advising on crisis communications, and pioneering #UNHSocial that put the university on the national map for digital engagement.
In 2023 I brought that expertise to Cookson Communications in Manchester, NH, where I now serve as Director of Digital Marketing, developing audience-first strategies, managing paid media across Meta, Google, TikTok, Reddit, programmatic audio, CTV platforms, and helping clients tell stories that drive real results.
A Google Ads and Meta-certified practitioner, I bring deep platform fluency in audience segmentation, budget optimization, and multi-channel attribution — translating complex data into clear, actionable strategy at every stage of the funnel. Clients don’t get a vendor. They get a trusted partner who speaks both the language of performance metrics and the language of their audience.
Off the clock, I’m a lifelong music collector, a regular concert attender, and I’ve visited record shops from Los Angeles to Austin, Montreal to London, and everywhere around New England. I believe the best marketing, like the best music, doesn’t just grab attention. It makes you feel something.
Experience
Career Timeline
From software QA to Higher Ed innovator to agency strategist — a career shaped by curiosity and a genuine love of connecting people.
- Lead strategist for all digital marketing and social media campaigns across a diverse agency client roster.
- Scale multi-platform digital advertising across concurrent client accounts in healthcare, nonprofits, financial services, and higher education — managing combined monthly ad budgets exceeding $50K.
- Develop audience-first strategies using data and insights to inform content calendars, messaging, and ad creative.
- Manage campaign budgets and media plans across Meta, Google, programmatic platforms, CTV, and more.
- Collaborate with design, PR, and digital teams to ensure integrated, multi-platform storytelling.
- Build client relationships through strategic planning, regular reporting, and performance-based recommendations.
- Built UNH’s university-wide social media presence from the ground up establishing strategy, voice, and community across all major platforms.
- Presented “Higher Education Enrollment and Retention is Down. How Can We Better Engage Students?” at national conferences.
- Created the UNH Alumni Tales project — a storytelling platform connecting alumni & prospective students.
- Advised leadership on crisis communications, led student recruitment campaigns, and consulted with alumni relations and donor relations.
- Represented UNH at SXSW Interactive 2013-2015, EDUWeb Conference 2015–2020 and The Social Media Strategies Summit 2017–2022.
- Delivered high-volume technical support with a focus on communication, troubleshooting, and lasting client relationships. Mac specialist.
- Built the interpersonal and institutional knowledge that would later fuel UNH’s social media transformation.
- Conducted software testing and documented UX issues to improve reliability and user satisfaction.
- Partnered with development teams on commercial real estate management applications.
Expertise
Skills & Tools
A full-stack digital marketer — from strategy and storytelling to paid media management, analytics, and cross-functional collaboration.
Strategy & Planning
Paid Media
Analytics & Optimization
Social Platforms
Creative & Collaboration
Project Management
Thought Leadership
Speaking & Conferences
I was a recognized voice in Higher Ed social media marketing, presenting at national conferences, appearing on podcasts, and chairing industry tracks.
A Life in Music
Collector. Curator.
Disc Jockey. True Believer.
It started at age eight. Every week, my dad would buy one LP — and two cassettes so we could record it: one for the boombox, one for the pickup truck. That ritual planted something that never left.
By my teens I was deep into college radio, and spending the majority of my college days DJing at WUNH. I then spent two years working in a record store as an indie buyer. Today my vinyl & CD collection are still growing.
I’ve was a DJ and radio host for nearly 30 years — starting at WUNH 91.3 FM, then WSCA 106.1 FM (Portsmouth Community Radio), where I hosted Nocturnal Radio through 2022, and served as President & Board Chair from 2017–2020.
Now I write and publish Amplified World, a Substack newsletter covering new music discoveries, curated playlists, and the culture around sound.
The skills that make a great music curator — deep listening, audience intuition, finding the story in the signal — are the same ones that make a great digital marketer. For me, they’ve always been the same job.
My Latest Streaming Radio Show
Beyond the Office
More About Me
Education
Academic Background
In the Press
Media & Publications
Let’s Connect
Get in Touch
Whether you’re looking to talk strategy, swap record recommendations, or explore working together — I’d love to hear from you.