The first Christmas ad started rolling before trick or treaters knocked on your door, and before you know it we’ll be reviewing Super Bowl campaigns. While the seasonal spots seem to drop earlier and earlier, the revolving door is a constant, giving you the latest agency new hires, promotions, client signings and product launches every week.
Without furthering any ado, here are this week’s moves.
9Rooftops
9Rooftops has brought on Leah Matoney as the company’s director of field marketing and events. Matoney is responsible for overseeing special events and field team marketing efforts across the 9Rooftops portfolio of clients.
Prior to joining the 9Rooftops team, Matoney was responsible for program planning, promotions, and coordinating effective sales blitzes at Breakthru Beverage.
Above+Beyond
Above+Beyond has named Laura Graham as head of production to lead the agency’s multi-channel production capabilities. Graham joins from Uncommon, where she was executive producer.
Previously, she was executive producer at AMV, where she oversaw the ASDA account and led on major projects including Bombay Sapphire’s Cannes Lions award-winning Design Museum installation. Graham also spent seven years in production roles at BBH, where she worked with Above+Beyond’s ecd Dom Goldman.
Ambassadors
Ambassadors has partnered with Amp.Amsterdam to take care of all the creative production studio’s sound, music, and sonic branding needs. Ambassadors and Amp.Amsterdam teams will share studio spaces as a one-stop house of craft across three locations.
Avrett Free Ginsburg
Avrett Free Ginsberg (afg&) has expanded its relationship with Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. by being named creative agency of record for newly acquired TheraTears brand of therapeutic dry eye relief products. Afg& will be responsible for all consumer communications, from strategy through final production. All work will be developed out of afg&’s New York office.
BMB
Breast Cancer Now, a leading breast cancer charity in the U.K., has appointed BMB as its first brand marketing agency partner following a competitive pitching process. The Breast Cancer Now brand launched in October 2019 following the merger of two charities, Breast Cancer Now and Breast Cancer Care.
BMB will embark on a long-term relationship with Breast Cancer Now to help grow brand awareness and engagement, supporting the charity to deliver its new “Turning the Tide” strategy.
Crosby Marketing
Crosby Marketing Communications has been named agency of record for the Peace Corps. The agency won a five-year blanket purchase agreement with an estimated amount of $20 million to provide brand strategy and integrated marketing services to the Peace Corps, and Crosby will develop national awareness and recruitment campaigns attracting diverse candidates with a wide variety of experience, ages and backgrounds to become Peace Corps Volunteers.
Curious Jane
Kumon North America, a top-ranked education franchise, has partnered with Curious Jane, a national franchise ad agency, to develop and implement the brand’s consumer and franchise recruitment advertising and marketing strategy in the U.S. and Canada.
The partnership will build on Kumon’s success among education franchises to increase brand awareness, welcome new students to Kumon Centers and grow the franchise in existing and developing markets.
DDB
Sandra Alfaro has joined DDB Chicago as head of business leadership. Alfaro will oversee leadership and growth for the region’s largest office. Alfaro’s appointment follows the addition of Milo Chao, who joined as chief strategy officer in September.
Alfaro joins DDB Chicago from Horizon Media, where she was the first leader of the creative agency 305 Worldwide, a joint venture with global artist Pitbull. Prior to Horizon Media, she was the managing director of Grey Wing.
Alfaro began her career at Saatchi & Saatchi’s Conill Advertising, where she discovered her passion for advertising and business leadership. After Conill, she spent over a decade at The Vidal Partnership (TVP), reaching the role of managing partner of the agency before she turned 30.
Deloitte Digital
Experience consultancy Deloitte Digital has brought on Lauren Lavalle as head of client engagement and Brooks Day as managing director and studios leader for the West Coast.
Prior to joining Deloitte Digital, Lavalle served as the co-head of accounts at Accenture Interactive’s Droga5. Day most recently led the IBM iX team in San Francisco. In his newly created role, he is tasked with connecting the region’s existing creative capabilities with the organization’s wider experience design, data, innovation and technology functions.
Doner
Audio equipment manufacturer JBL, part of international electronics company Harman has named full-service advertising agency Doner as its lead U.S. brand agency lead, following a competitive review.
Previously, Doner served as the global strategy and creative content lead and will continue in that role while adding U.S. strategic and creative duties. Doner’s new U.S. market work will debut this winter.
Doner also recently launched a new Chicago Talent Hub, expanding the agency’s footprint into another top market. This official expansion comes after a year that saw the addition of 12 Chicago-based agency talent. The Doner Chicago Talent Hub is currently operating out of the Stagwell space in downtown Chicago.
Famecast Media
Famecast Media, an intelligent audience monetization platform and network, has made a strategic partnership with HipHopTV and the launch of HipHopTV.com, a new artist ecosystem built around hip-hop music, lifestyle, sports, and culture, powered by Famecast’s FAME (Fan Amplification Monetization Engagement) platform. FAME helps content creators, including hip-hop musical artists, turn their creations, passions, and hobbies into a professional, monetized business.
FINN Partners
Global independent marketing and communications firm FINN Partners has acquired Anthology Marketing Group, Inc., an 86-person Hawaii-based agency with deep travel and tourism expertise. Dennis Christianson, founder and CEO of Anthology Marketing Group, will join FINN as a managing partner. Mary Fastenau, Nathan Kam, David Pettinger and Wenona Harris will join FINN as senior partners.
Fusion 92
Fusion92, a Chicago-based marketing innovation company, has named Liz Murnin svp of client development and will lead the firm’s business development efforts.
Murnin comes to Fusion92 after serving in a dual role of chief growth officer at The Nitrous Effect, an independent agency collective, and the svp of sales and marketing for CPG Agency.
Groove Guild
Sonic branding agency Sonic Lens, strategic consultancy Crossfade Partners and NYC-based creative music agency Groove Guild have formed a strategic alliance to provide sonic branding powered by music intelligence and culturally relevant music and sound to clients. Sonic Lens founder Marco Vitali will serve as a driving force for this symbiotic partnership, teaming up with Jon Vanhala at Crossfade Partners to amplify its existing music intelligence capabilities, and Groove Guild founder Al Risi and creative director/partner Paul Riggio for their premium creative music and audio offerings.
Havas
Havas Media Group in the UK has appointed Kim Peatling to the newly created role of head of growth and marketing. Peatling joins Havas Media Group from Dentsu X, where she was managing partner, business development and marketing.
In her new role, Peatling will develop and lead Havas Media Group’s UK and Ireland growth strategy. Peatling will also oversee marketing, helping to promote and celebrate the work of Havas Media, Havas Entertainment and Havas Market.
Herezie
Herezie Paris has won the business for Unilever mustard and vinegar producer Maille. The independent agency was selected by Unilever to work on the strategic platform and creative amplification of the historical French brand. The new campaign will run in France and internationally.
Material
Material, a fast growing customer intelligence and experience design consultancy, has appointed Bill Kanarick as the company’s president. Kanarick will lead Material’s leadership team and guide its strategists, technologists, researchers, designers and creators to help clients better adapt to the digital marketplace.
In his previous role at EY, Kanarick led the global transformation team and was a central architect in the consulting business’s pivot to transformation market leadership. Prior to EY, Kanarick was the global chief strategy officer of Publicis Sapient.
McCann
McCann Worldgroup today announced that Nicolina O’Rorke has been named global chief financial officer. O’Rorke steps into the role vacated by Gary Lee, who announced his retirement earlier this year and will serve in a transitional role over the next few months.
O’Rorke joins from NBC Sports, where she served as svp, NBC Sports Enterprises and general manager, sports betting and gaming. Previous to that role, she served as CFO, NBC Sports Regional Networks from 2015 to 2019, where she led strategy, business transformation and financial operations.
The Mill
Creative studio The Mill has added four new directors to its roster. Michael Jurkovac, Shaun Leong-Williams and duo Left Shoe Lost (Steve Beck and Dael Oates) have each joined the production studio for global representation.
Motive Creative
Theatrical and streaming advertising agency Motive Creative has acquired Blue Raven, a boutique agency specializing in the marketing of video games, sports, and entertainment. The acquisition allows Motive to diversify into one of the fastest growing media categories.
Blue Raven is a creative agency with deep experience in video gaming, streaming, motion picture and broadcast advertising, offering layered services in brand strategy, creative, design and motion design, print, AV and full live-action/CG production.
Norbella
Independent media agency Norbella has named Norman Guadagno as chief executive officer. Succeeding founder, Steph Noris, Guadagno brings over 20 years of marketing experience in both agency and client roles. Noris will remain involved in key agency initiatives.
Previously, Guadagno served as the CMO of Acoustic, a marketing cloud platform company, and prior to that was the senior vice president of marketing at Carbonite. He also spent five years in a variety of senior leadership roles at independent digital marketing agency Wire Stone.
Omelet
Omelet has hired Zey Taslica as head of production. Taslica spent the last six years as executive producer at 72andSunny, focused on gaming brands, retail and QSR, and she brings extensive gaming experience with Activision / Blizzard into her new role at Omelet. Additionally, she will work across the agency’s full roster of clients, including Google, YouTube, Walmart, Princess Cruise Lines and others.
Ovative Group
Ovative Group, a media and measurement firm, has opened an office location in New York City. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Ovative is expanding to New York to best serve its clients and to continue to recruit the best marketing talent.
Preymaker
Creative and technology studio Preymaker has hired Rune Holst Månsson, Greg Cutler and Hassan Taimur to its growing creative team. The three artists bring over three decades collective experience to Preymaker and are award-winning creative leaders in CGI and compositing.
St Luke’s
SaveMoneyCutCarbon, which helps people make smarter, sustainable choices, has appointed St Luke’s as its lead creative agency to support the next phase of its growth.
St Luke’s will help define the brand’s strategy and agenda setting idea before launching an above the line campaign for the first time in 2022. St Luke’s will be working in partnership with The 7 Stars media to bring the campaign to life.
The Story Lab
The Story Lab, dentsu’s in-house production company, hired Geneva Wasserman as its first evp, head of scripted development and production. In this new role, Wasserman will build and manage The Story Lab’s IP portfolio and content strategy for scripted film and television to develop, finance, produce and distribute globally.
Wasserman comes to The Story Lab from Conde Nast Entertainment, where she developed and produced projects including the feature film Spiderhead.
Two by Four
Independent, full-service agency Two by Four has named Ted Klauber vice president / strategy director in the San Francisco office. Klauber comes from a client-side stint at HP Inc., where he led agencies and research companies to develop marketing strategies for HP’s consumer and commercial line of computers.
Klauber started his career at Chiat\Day in Seattle and moved to Grey in San Francisco where he rose to lead the agency’s high-tech group. Later at FCB New York, his “sensory” strategy launched Samsung’s first ever global advertising. He led strategy for Chevrolet, Campbell Ewald’s largest client, before returning to San Francisco with MRM / McCann.
Vibrant Media
Vibrant Media and Quintesse have appointed Beau Bunch as U.S. West Coast sales director for both entities. Bunch has worked in attention-based media sales for nearly a decade. He has held relevant positions at publishers and advertising companies including Parsec Media, Maven, Say Media and Bloomspot.com. Based in Los Angeles, Bunch will spearhead new relationships with agencies and brands across the west coast.