New Creative Director and Digital Media Producer at Stoltz Marketing Group

Ward Duft

Stoltz Marketing Group in Boise recently added two new faces to its staff: Ward Duft as creative director and Bill Doty as digital media producer.

Ward DuftIn his new role at SMG, Duft will oversee the agency’s creative team in the development of campaigns and concepts for clients in a variety of industries, including construction and building materials, insurance, healthcare, foodservice, consumer packaged goods, agribusiness, resort/travel, financial services, higher education, and more.

“Ward brings more to the table than just creative ideas,” says Ken Stoltz, president of SMG. “He delivers a unique blend of strategic insights and creativity and inspires others to do their best work. We’re all looking forward to the growth and success he will help us achieve.”

Prior to joining SMG, Duft served as creative director at Magner Sanborn, located in Spokane and Seattle, where he developed integrated campaigns for national, regional, and local clients and helped the agency earn Ad Age’s 2012 West Coast Small Agency of the Year. He’s also worked for agencies and companies in San Francisco, Atlanta, and Seattle for brands such as Eddie Bauer, Intel, Westin Hotels, Disney, Nordstrom, and Birkenstock. Duft received his undergraduate degree from East Carolina University and studied post baccalaureate at Duke University and Seattle’s School of Visual Concepts.

Bill DotyBill Doty joins the agency as digital media producer. Prior to SMG, he worked for Turner Broadcasting for three years, writing and producing content for digital media and television. During his career he’s been a featured producer for Funny or Die, Adult Swim, Comedy Central, and Fox Network. He’s written for The Onion, Broken Newz, Yahoo!, AOL, and National Lampoon, working in markets such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and New York. Doty studied communications at Fresno State.

Congratulations to both.

Disclosure

New hire at Oliver Russell

Mitch Kuhn

Oliver Russell in Boise continues to add to its staff, little by little. Most recently, graphic designer Mitch Kuhn.

From our friends at Oliver Russell:

As a graphic designer, Kuhn will develop engaging visual solutions for interactive, print, and motion graphics projects. Prior to Oliver Russell, he worked for AHM Brands in Eugene, OR, where he served as the lead designer on U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials and Hop Valley Brewing Company, among others. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, majoring in advertising with a minor in gender studies.

“Mitch is a real find. His work is advanced well beyond his years,” said Russ Stoddard, Oliver Russell President and Founder.

And while we know that he’s been there for a couple of months already, we still say congratulations Mitchel.

IdahoRadioNews: My my, changes are afoot

A number of changes are rolling across the radio dials of Boise and Twin Falls. Stations are changing hands, flipping formats, and getting new competitors.

On October 31st, KSAS/103.3 Kiss FM moved up the dial to 103.5 FM. This was the first, and for the Boise market at least, most visible part of a plan that’s been in the works since 2006.

myShortly after KSAS moved, a brand new station joined the radio dial at 102.7 FM. The station moved in from Elko, NV – getting a prized transmitter on Deer Point with full coverage of the Boise market. It took on the call letters KZMG (the long-time heritage call letters of Magic 93.1, which date back to April of 1990; the new station has no direct relation to Magic).

KZMG signed on playing non-stop music under the name My 102.7 FM — taking aim at KCIX/Mix 106 and to some degree KXLT/107.9 Lite FM.  News came late last week that FM Idaho/Impact Radio would purchase the station from its current owner, giving Impact a new, full-market signal. The station should complement sister KWYD/Wild 101 with female demographics and sales efforts, in much the same way Town Square Media’s (formerly Peak Broadcasting) Kiss FM & Mix 106 do.

With recent shifts at KRVB/94.9 The River, the number of stations playing some version of pop or adult contemporary hits stands at six – KWYD/Wild 101, KSAS/103.5 Kiss FM, KCIX/Mix 106, KZMG/My 102.7, KRVB/94.9 The River and KXLT/107.9 Lite FM. You can visualize the way the stations lay out with this handy little chart:

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La PerronaThe next piece of the puzzle is the purchase of KINF-FM from Impact Radio by Lee Family Broadcasting of Twin Falls. KINF currently serves both the Boise and Twin Falls markets, but soon will shift entirely toward the Magic Valley. Lee Family announced it would buy KINF and flip the format from talk to  Regional Mexican under the name La Perrona 99.1 FM with call letters KPNA.

It’s my understanding a few more things will change up affecting some stations not listed here in coming weeks. We’ll provide an update on that soon.

Update: If it wasn’t clear which station Impact was targeting, this Facebook post makes it so:

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Don Day is the Digital Sales & Product Manager for KTVB, and wrote and edited IdahoRadioNews.com for more than six years.

Tis the season

For holiday ads from the Idaho Lottery, that is. And it looks like the folks over at Drake Cooper had some fun with them this year.