Category: agency news

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From the “Things we missed in 2018” file

While reading CLM’s 2018 reflections, something caught our eye we hadn’t noticed: Early in 2018, Brad Surkamer bought CLM back from Ivie & Associates, which had previously acquired CLM in 2015.

2018 kicked off with Brad buying back the company from the Ivie family. Our time with Ivie was good in providing new experiences and perspectives, but we are thankful for Brad’s desire to focus on CLM and our team and clients. The move breathed a new life back into CLM. We spent time contemplating and developing CLM 3.0, CLM’s strategy for the future, and with that came a new mission, vision and set of values for the company.

The return to local control and decision-making marked the next chapter for the agency, whose roots date back to 1980.

While it appears that CLM still maintains a working relationship with Ivie & Associates, this move also seems to coincide with Quad Graphics’ acquisition of Ivie in 2018.

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An abrupt reversal

In October we wrote about the news of Chad Rea joining Oliver Russell as its new creative director. Well, it appears there’s been an about-face on that front recently.

Chad posted an update on LinkedIn that he would not be moving to Boise, but rather will remain in Austin, Texas.

You can read his full post here: Tomorrow, I’m starting with a clean slate.

Reading between the lines, it sounds like the fit may not have been there, on either side. And as is the case with any shop, the fit and the culture is just as, if not more important, than the job function itself.

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Rob Osler joins Oliver Russell as Managing Director

Oliver Russell recently announced the addition of Rob Osler as Managing Director.

Osler, a Boise native, has held director-level roles in brand strategy and management at both public companies and at top agencies, including Fitch and Landor Associates.

At Oliver Russell, he’ll help manage business development opportunities, as well as provide operational support. Russ Stoddard will remain involved with the strategic direction of the agency and as a senior adviser on client work as needed. The hire comes on the heels of Chad Rea joining in September as Creative Director, and as Stoddard forms a new social impact consulting venture, Humanista.

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Mitchell+Palmer picks up ISU

As first reported by the Idaho State Journal, Idaho State University has selected Mitchell+Palmer for its first comprehensive, statewide marketing and advertising campaign.

According to the article, the school entered into an eight-month, $975,000 contract with Mitchell+Palmer last month, with the majority of that budget allocated to media placement.

The article also mentions that Mitchell+Palmer previously worked on projects for Boise State University for more than a decade, but given the size and scope of this new relationship with ISU, it seems safe to presume that Boise State has been relegated to the “former clients” category.

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Oliver Russell adds Wieden+Kennedy, Mother London veteran as Creative Director

Oliver Russell announced that Chad Rea recently  joined the agency as its new Creative Director.

From their announcement about the addition:

Chad Rea

“We’re thrilled for a creative leader of Chad’s caliber to join our team,” said Oliver Russell’s president and founder, Russ Stoddard. “He’s got the right mix of expertise, experience, and heart to position the agency as among the best in the world.”

“I knew from the first time I visited Oliver Russell that they had something truly special,” said Rea. “Getting the rare opportunity to live and work with purpose and use our collective talents to make the world a better place is a dream come true.”

In addition to consulting for major brands while creating his own art, Rea has been teaching Texas Creative’s portfolio sequence at the University of Texas in Austin for the past 4.5 years. Previously, he built brands with some of the top creative agencies in the world and worked as creative director at Wieden+Kennedy and 86 the onions, an unconventional ad agency he founded in Los Angeles, as well as holding senior copywriter roles at Mother (London), and KesselsKramer (Amsterdam).