"By building lasting customer relationships and creating cutting-edge interactive Web sites, Critical Mass is proving it can take the right strategic steps to stay on top."
- Norma Ramage
Marketing Magazine
CMers in Calgary, Toronto and Chicago gathered for our annual summer event
CMers in Calgary, Toronto and Chicago gathered for our annual summer event, which included updates from our company leadership, followed by a Stampede Party in Calgary , a Scavenger Hunt in Toronto and a Lake Michigan Boat Cruise and Harry Caray's party at Navy Pier in Chicago.
CRITICAL MASS ADDS CREATIVE FIREPOWER TO SERVICE KEY CLIENT ACCOUNTS
CRITICAL MASS ADDS CREATIVE FIREPOWER TO SERVICE KEY CLIENT ACCOUNTS
With the addition of new clients and growth on existing accounts, Critical Mass (www.criticalmass.com), an Omnicom digital marketing agency, today announced the hire of seven new Creative Directors culled from some of the industry's top interactive firms.
“The competition for talent is continuing to heat up,” said Dianne Wilkins, Chief Executive Officer for Critical Mass. "In the same way, our clients' challenges are only getting more complex. At Critical Mass, we have always believed that our ability to deliver extraordinary work begins and ends with our people—so that means hiring the best creative talent to lead the charge," said Wilkins.
Critical Mass Toronto Hires
The three new Creative leads in the Critical Mass Toronto office include Clare Meridew, Adam Jackson and Alison Garnett. Meridew joins as Group Creative Director, bringing 20 years' experience in marketing and advertising at Grey, McLaren McCann, Organic and IBM. She has worked on a breadth of clients including automotive (GM, Chrysler), financial (Trimark, CIBC, PCF) and many other brands such as RIM, Four Seasons, Glad, Hostess, Frito Lay and Lee Jeans.
Adam Jackson joins Critical Mass as Creative Director, and previously worked with Publicis Modem, R/GA, Euro RSCG, and most recently, Victoria's Secret. His digital work spans the gamut from automotive to sports to electronics initiatives for such clients as Nike, Volvo, Sharp and LG.
Alison Garnett also joins as Creative Director from TAXI, where she produced award-winning creative for clients such as MINI, LCBO and Cadillac Fairview. With a proven ability to develop and deliver compelling brand stories across all mediums, she led to the most successful student campaign in the history of TELUS, in addition to winning Gold at the One Show for Mini Canada.
Critical Mass Chicago Hires
The Critical Mass Chicago office adds four additional Creative Directors, including Christine Bridger, Todd Donohue, Amy Haiar and Jim Kim. With more than 12 years' experience, Bridger has built and led creative teams at some of the top digital agencies including Razorfish, Digitas and now Critical Mass. She has led brand initiatives for such clients as Best Buy, AT&T, JC Penney, Nestle, Kraft, 20th Century Fox and Proctor & Gamble.
Todd Donohue was Creative Director at iCrossing prior to joining Critical Mass. He helped to establish the agency's Creative group in Chicago and led a diverse array of accounts including Vail Resorts, Mercedes-Benz, GMAC, Purina, Kohler and FedEx. Before that, Donohue was creative lead at Agency.com working with HP, Energizer, ABN AMRO, Kay Jewelers and Del Monte.
Amy Haiar also joins Critical Mass from her previous post as Creative Director at iCrossing. She has delivered thought leadership and creative solutions that strengthen brands and fulfill strategic business objectives. Her extensive portfolio includes award-winning work for such brands as United, HP, Nike, Vail Resorts, Bermuda, Energizer, 3M, ULTA, Allsteel, Upromise and Starkist.
Finally, Jim Kim joins Critical Mass bringing 15 years experience in digital marketing—from email programs to e-commerce solutions, branded site experiences to display campaigns. He has won numerous awards serving clients such as Lowe’s, Gatorade, State Farm, Best Buy, 3Com, and Kraft Foods. Prior to Critical Mass, Jim also lead creative teams at Tribal DDB, Arc Worldwide, Modem Media, Four Points Digital and Digitas.
“There's no doubt that budgets are tighter and marketers and agencies alike are being held accountable to not only execute campaigns but prove their value. We're fortunate that despite the tough economic times, we've continued to experience growth in terms of both new and existing accounts," said Wilkins. "I think the strength of our business plus the unique 'CM' culture are the reasons why we've been successful in attracting top talent to our agency," she added.
Read the release in Creativity Magazine: http://creativity-online.com/news/people-news-from-akqa-taxi-crispin-and-more/145098
Check out this selection of great new CM work that has gone live!
Check out this selection of great new CM work that has gone live!
We had 400 people come out for free apps, drinks & networking. It was a great time!
We had 400 people come out for free apps, drinks & networking. It was a great time!
CRITICAL MASS APPOINTS THREE INDUSTRY VETERANS TO LEADERSHIP TEAM
CRITICAL MASS APPOINTS THREE INDUSTRY VETERANS TO LEADERSHIP TEAM
Critical Mass (www.criticalmass.com), an Omnicom digital marketing agency, announces three appointments to its management team to steward the agency's growth on key accounts. In New York, Cindy Nelson, a seasoned digital and financial industry expert, will join the executive team as Senior Vice President, Group Director, along with Aaron Rosenberg as Vice President, Program Planning, while Ray Villares has been named Vice President, Client Partner out of the agency's Chicago office.
Prior to joining Critical Mass, Cindy Nelson served as the VP/Group Director of Strategy & Analysis for Digitas in New York. She was focused on strategy and client relationships for clients like IBM, Samsung, TIAA-CREF and others. As the strategic team lead, Nelson was engaged in brand strategy, new business development, global campaign development, campaign measurement, CRM, site design/redesign, and marketing strategy including advising clients on organizational structure, process improvement and new media. She also led the Learning & Development program for the NY Strategy & Analytics practice at Digitas.
Her four years at Digitas marked Nelson's move on the agency side, after years within the financial services arena for Smith Barney, Kidder Peabody and Morgan Stanley. In her ten years at Morgan Stanley, she moved from an Associate in the Equity Division’s Client Technology Group to the Executive Director of Interactive Marketing. There, she was primarily responsible for client portal strategy and integration of products, services, and content across equity and fixed income web offerings. Her financial background includes technology, marketing and customer experience leadership in a variety of products and segments and an extremely deep understanding of the industry and marketplace.
Aaron Rosenberg joins Critical Mass as VP, Program Planning and is dedicated to developing process and operational excellence across offices. With over 15 years of software development and project management experience in the digital realm, Rosenberg brings a practical focus to delivering results for clients. Prior to Critical Mass, he was Program Manager at Fry, Inc. where he led complex e-commerce initiatives and oversaw professional service operations for major retail clients such as Ann Taylor and Godiva. During his tenure, he sought to improve both design quality and delivery by creating the environment for success—mentoring project teams, developing online strategy with clients, and implementing collaboration-driven work processes. Aaron has managed numerous online campaigns, site redesign projects, loyalty programs, technical integrations, intranets and full-scale e-commerce implementations for a wide array of Fortune 500 companies including VF/Nautica, and Kraft.
Ray Villares will serve as Vice President, Client Partner in the Critical Mass Chicago office. Prior to joining the agency, Villares leveraged his passion for interactive design and innovation to lead the charge in Interactive and Mobile offering development at Symmetri Marketing Group and Acquity Group. He fostered successful relationships with dozens of clients including AT&T, Ben & Jerry’s, Cars.com, Gordon Food Service, McDonald’s, Motorola, Northern Trust, Proctor & Gamble, Sears, Schawk, True Value, Underwriters Laboratories and Yamaha. In addition, Villares is an Organizing Director for the Chicago Chapter of Mobile Monday (http://www.momochicago.org/), a community of mobile industry visionaries, developers and influencers fostering cooperation and cross-border business development through virtual and live networking events to share ideas, mobile best practices and trends.
"We are thrilled to bring these three individuals on board to bolster our management team," said Dianne Wilkins, Chief Executive Officer, Critical Mass. "Cindy’s financial services depth and strategic leadership will enhance our organization and add tremendous value to our clients, while Aaron will be charged with driving operational efficiency as we continue to expand the business. In addition, Ray has a strong track record of embracing new technologies and driving growth throughout his career, and that will prove to be an invaluable asset to the clients he serves," Wilkins added.
Read the release on the New York Times website: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/business/media/12adnewsletter3.html
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Measurement at the PR + Mktg Camp Chicago.
Measurement at the PR + Mktg Camp Chicago.
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