Allen is the associate content director at Gorilla 76, where he has spent the last six years helping develop the content products that power client programs and helping the agency's writers sharpen their craft. He also leads Gorilla's AI Council — an internal effort to responsibly adopt new tools and tactics that make the agency's work more efficient without losing what makes the work meaningful for clients and fulfilling for the team. His favorite part of the work is finding the companies and people quietly keeping the world turning — and helping them tell their stories. He gets to do exactly that for clients like The Korte Company, writing everything from punchy paid social ads to long-form personal narratives.
Before joining Gorilla, Allen built his storytelling instincts as a news reporter and editor, covering everyone from teenage migrants in Washington, D.C., to rural farmers in mid-Missouri and, most recently, the St. Louis courts for Missouri Lawyers Media. That reporting background still shapes how he approaches marketing today. He's particularly interested in the intersection of behavioral psychology and narrative storytelling. Understanding how people think, he believes, is the key to understanding what moves them to act.
Allen also co-hosts Industrial Marketing Collective Live, bringing together B2B marketers for shared learning and community. He's been invited to speak at industry events including the Midwest Manufacturers Trade Show & Conference, where he returned in both 2025 and 2026 to present on AI Search, GEO and AEO, and Industrial Marketing Summit, where he presented on building full-funnel paid social campaigns that align messaging, channels and offers with buyer intent. He shares what he's learning regularly on LinkedIn.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in English with a creative writing emphasis and a master's degree in journalism, both from the University of Missouri. He grew up on a farm in rural Audrain County, Missouri, and has since returned there with his wife Lia, their dog Dawson and their cat Nixina. In his off time, he plays Halo with his wife, makes music with his friends and writes fiction.
