-By Todd Wasserman, Brandweek

NEW YORK Ad agency R/GA today said it has hired Integer Group veteran Sean Miller to be lead planner on the Nokia account in North America.

Miller, 36, is known for conducting ethnographic consumer-research studies in the U.S. and abroad for various companies. He will report to Anne Benvenuto, evp, strategic services, and will "help drive the insights and digital strategy for [Nokia] in North America," according to a statement from R/GA. Miller's retail promotions knowledge, gleaned from his time at the Integer Group, also aligns with the agency's growing focus on in-store shopping experiences, according to the shop.

"Digital today means more than the Web. It touches everything from mobile and emerging media to retail and beyond," said Benvenuto in a statement. "It's vital to the growth of our business and our clients' businesses that we continue to broaden insights and planning into an offering that is global and diverse. Sean's international experience and multichannel background fit perfectly."

Miller was with the Integer Group, part of the TBWA Marketing Services portfolio, since 2004 and held the title director of insight and strategy. While there, he worked with clients such as Molson Coors Brewing Co. and Procter & Gamble.

Prior to that, Miller worked as an independent planning consultant in the U.S. and Southeast Asia. From 1999-2003, he was a planner at FCB Los Angeles (now DraftFCB), where he worked on the Mattel account and modernized the brand strategy for the public-service icon Smokey Bear.

"It used to be bold for an agency to say that a great idea can come from anywhere, but now the best creative and strategic ideas must come from everywhere. R/GA gets this at its core, and I'm excited to join an agency that's focused on inventing the future of brand interaction," said Miller in a statement.