Meet the team

The people behind Undertow.

When you work with us, you work with us. No hand-offs, no account managers. We're always happy to meet in person, at your space or over coffee.

Portrait of Maddy Barreto, co-founder of Undertow Marketing

Maddy Barreto

Co-Founder

Maddy Barreto co-founded Undertow Marketing in Santa Cruz. She has built social media strategies, written email campaigns, and filmed and edited video for a diverse range of businesses, working directly with owners to capture how each brand looks and sounds. Today she leads social media and email marketing for local Santa Cruz brands.

Maddy comes to marketing with a background in social and behavioral science, creative work, and world travel, which gives her a people-first approach to understanding what makes each business unique. She also runs Wild Frame Creative, her own videography and content studio.

When she’s not working, you’ll usually find her surfing, snowboarding, hiking, or planning her next adventure, ideally with a matcha in hand.

Zack Bailey

Co-Founder

Zack Bailey co-founded Undertow Marketing in Santa Cruz. He started in marketing in 2018 and has led email, social media, influencer, retail partner, print, and event marketing for brands like CAKE Motorbikes and Gazelle Bikes. Today he does that same work, along with SEO and website design, for local Santa Cruz businesses.

Zack is also a working musician. He plays guitar and banjo, performs live looping sets as Greentide, and plays in a few bands around town.

When he's not working or playing music, he's usually surfing, mountain biking, or out on a bikepacking trip.

Portrait of Zack Bailey, co-founder of Undertow Marketing
Our approach

Real is what works here.

We're based in Santa Cruz and work closely with every client we take on.

Undertow is a small marketing collective in Santa Cruz. You deal directly with the people doing the work: strategy, creative, video, all in one place. We keep our client list short on purpose, so every project gets real attention, and we bring in the right artists for what each one needs, whether that’s a photographer, an editor, or a designer.

We start by learning what’s already true about your business: the people behind it, the way you do things, why your customers keep coming back. Then we turn it into marketing that feels like you.

How we work

Four steps, no mystery.

  1. 01

    Discover

    We get to know you, your customers, and what makes your business yours. Usually over coffee.

  2. 02

    Strategize

    We turn what we learned into a simple plan: who to reach, what to say, and where to say it.

  3. 03

    Create

    We make the posts, videos, emails, pages and ads, and check in with you along the way.

  4. 04

    Grow

    We watch what's working, tell you what we're seeing in plain language, and keep adjusting.