Welcome Karina – AdShark’s Email & Content Strategist

For years and years, we’ve discussed how we should add “email marketing” to our list of services. And then one day, we met the perfect person to help guide us in this direction! Now, we’re excited to be writing a blog introducing her to our captive audience.

In order to properly introduce you to our newest Shark, we sat down with Karina to learn a bit more about her. Read on to hear her answers to our very in-depth (and sometimes goofy) line of questioning.


Welcome to AdShark! What made you choose a job at this lil’ digital marketing agency?!

When I first moved to Fargo at the end of 2020, I did a quick search for local creative and marketing agencies and AdShark was one that caught my attention. Not only was the work they did awesome, but the team seemed to have an amazing time together.

You have one sentence to describe yourself… GO!

 I truly believe everything is “figureoutable”.

karina acosta figuring it out

Cool! Now let’s see what you can tell us with a few more sentences. Tell us a little bit more about you.

I was born and raised in sunny North Miami Beach, FL and am first-generation Cuban American. I’m a life-long creative, but  always struggled with the idea of pursuing a creative career because I didn’t want my passion to feel transactional. After landing a marketing role at a financial advising firm in South Carolina, the creative part just sort of…happened. Six years into doing marketing and design full-time I decided to pursue my degree in graphic design. I graduated in December of 2020, at the height of the pandemic and just a month after moving to Fargo. My ceremony was virtual, but I had an epic Zoom happy hour with my family and friends to celebrate.

Paint a scene for us of Karina’s life outside of the office. You leave work for the day… what happens next?

It truly depends on the day! Some days I head over to Drekker Brewing if they have a fun, new beer release. Other days I head home to hang out with my dogs and play video games or read a book.

karina and rocky - adshark

You are effectively building our Email department + will be helping run some AdShark content. What has you most excited about the prospect of charting down this path?!

Let’s talk email! There are  more than 306 BILLION emails sent daily, but only 64% of those emails are sent by small businesses. With the average return per $1 spent being a whopping $36 (yes, you read that right), implementing email marketing is a no-brainer for companies looking for brand awareness, customer retention, and growth.

You win the lottery. But it’s a small, local lottery. Just $10,000. Still cool, but cool within reason. What do you spend that $10,000 on?!

I would go on an  epic island-hopping excursion with a few of my favorite people. I love swimming and snorkeling and would love to experience the beauty of some of the more remote parts of the world.

caracoles puerto rico karina

If you could receive a gift card to any 3 stores in the world, which stores would you choose?! Why?

1. Converse | You can never have too many pairs of Converse. It’s a scientific fact.

2. Unglued | They have an entire wall of candy. Made right here in Fargo! Also, they put on some of the coolest local events and are the backbone of the creative community in Fargo. 

3. Zandbroz Variety | I love reading, stationery, stickers. This store has it all! Also, #Local.

If traveling to space became more commercialized, would you do it?! If so, which planet would be most interesting to see?

The Martian by Andy Weir is one of my favorite books of all time, so my answer is Mars. I really want to see if I can grow some potatoes.

You have to choose ONE streaming platform and ONE book to have access to. All other streaming platforms and books go away. Which of each do you choose, and why?!

This question is just rude. My streaming platform of choice would be Netflix because they have tons of stand-up comedy specials and that’s about 50% of what I watch. My book of choice would be Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. Weir has a way of writing about space and physics in a way that even non-science people can understand and I discover something new each time I read this book.

If someone offered to make a movie about your life: (a) what would it be called? (b) who would be the director? And (c) who would be playing the lead role of Karina Acosta?

Failing Upwards. Starring Aubrey Plaza and directed by Judd Apatow.

It’s about the relentless pursuit of  success and always keeping a sense of humor despite all of life’s shenanigans.

And, finally, what’s your favorite type of shark?

Zebra shark. Their little faces are so cute! I can’t handle it.


Want to wish Karina a warm welcome?! Shoot her a note to karina@adsharkmarketing.com.

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