Visionkit Studios is executing on their vision for growth

That vision started coming to life earlier this year, with the addition of Stephani Norell as Executive Producer, and Isabel Sarhad as Creative Lead.

Stephanie and Isabel both joined Visionkit back in April (yes, I know I’m horribly tardy on that front). From the release about the hiring of these two talented individuals:

Stephani, with nearly two decades of experience in the industry, has joined Visionkit to lead the expansion of their services to include video production. During her tenure at Drake Cooper and North by Northwest Productions, she has successfully managed numerous campaigns and has gained extensive knowledge and expertise in producing high-quality photo and video content. In her new role at Visionkit, Stephani will be responsible for overseeing the entire production process, from planning and organizing client feedback to final delivery, ensuring every project is executed with precision and excellence.

Isabel’s journey in the field of design started during her time as a Marketing student at Boise State. She was able to leverage internships, coursework and her own personal pursuits in order to immerse herself in the fundamentals of design, internships, elective courses, and personal pursuits, she learned the fundamentals of design. After a two-year stint with the National Student Advertising Competition team, she discovered her passion for the creative side of advertising. Isabel then spent over three years at 116 and West, honing her skills in the ad industry before venturing into a marketing-centric role at Hummel Architects. With her vast experience in creative design, brand design, visual aesthetics, social media design, as well as marketing strategy and brand development, Isabel has now joined the team at Visionkit to offer her expertise.

Learn more about Visionkit, and see what they’ve been up to recently here.

Closing the loop

Things have come full circle for Morgan Lord.

Morgan recently rejoined CLM as a Senior Account Manager, according to a LinkedIn update. For those with long memories, you may recall that she began her agency career as a Media Buyer with the same shop, when it was known as Closed Loop Marketing & Advertising.

Prior to her CLM return, Morgan was with Mitchell + Palmer, most recently as Account & Media Director. She also spent time on the client side with Truckstop.com.

Congratulations to Morgan on the new role and return to the old stomping grounds.

And in related news, Mitchell + Palmer is looking for a new Media Director.

New Co-Presidents at the helm of Drake Cooper

Drake Cooper recently announced an update to their agency leadership with the appointment of Co-Presidents John Drake and Mindy Stomp.

From the post on their Reverb site:

John Drake will add the title of Co-President to his current role as Chief Strategy Officer, which he assumed in 2019. Since his teenage years, John has been around the agency, with his first role being the somewhat less-prestigious “Runner.” His official career began in Los Angeles at Deutsch, then moving to senior positions with WongDoody and leading his own agency, FourStories, in Portland before joining Drake Cooper fifteen years ago. That journey involved working on brands that included Disney, Carl’s Jr., Tillamook, DIRECTV, Nestlé, Baskin-Robbins, UCLA, and more. John’s role will be to oversee the agency’s work product. His teams will include planning & strategy, creative, media, and analytics.

The other Co-President is a new addition to Drake Cooper. After an extensive search process inside the industry, the agency is excited to welcome Mindy Stomp as Co-President, General Manager. Mindy will oversee the agency’s business operations, client success, and business development teams. She most recently held leadership positions with VMLY&R and brings to Drake Cooper a deep background built at agencies large and small. Her significant digital experience ranges from complex website build projects to leading digital AOR relationships. Her teams have led efforts for clients such as Facebook/Meta, SKYY Vodka, Carnival Cruise Lines, Crystal Cruises, Driscoll’s, Haas Automation, and Mazda.

Jamie Cooper will remain in the CEO role through 2022, and will continue after as chair of Drake Cooper’s ESOP Board of Directors.

Additional coverage at Adweek and Mediapost.

Arrivals and departures

What can I say, I’ve seen way too many planes overhead the last few months.

There’s been a lot of movement at shops in the past several months. Here’s an undoubtedly incomplete snapshot of things we’ve seen.

At 116 & West:

In: Creative Director Kelly Knopp (who returns to the shop after a period of freelance work that included the launch of Boise OG).

Out: Adam Rosenlund, to a new role outside the agency.


At CLM:

In: Copywriter Cameron Stewart, Account Coordinator Antonio Gallegos, Video Producer Laura Munsil, Digital Media Coordinator Vanessa Almaraz, and Media Planner & Buyer Oscar Mariscal (who returns for a second stint with the agency).

Out: Joelle Alexander (to the Navy), per CLM’s Instagram post.


At Duft Watterson:

In: Account Manager Alyssa Mayer, Account Manager Mckenzie Halling, Content and Digital Manager Cody Howard, Full-Stack Developer and Software Engineer Isaac Borup, Videographer and Photographer Michael Bonocore, and Growth Strategist Jack Loop.


At Foerstel:

In: Junior Web Developer Nathan Montgomery, and Art Director Ricci Gertz, according to recent updates to Foerstel’s website.

Out: Janell Count (Happy Retirement!) and Kaylee Wells (to relocation), per Foerstel’s Instagram post.


At Reynolds + Myers:

In: Director of Partnerships Chris Blanchard.


At Stoltz Marketing Group:

In: Senior Account Manager Kirstin Delp, Senior Account Manager Genny Heikka, Account Coordinator Paige Johndrow, Senior Digital Producer Jeff Mensch, Graphic Designer Deanna Scherrer, and Graphic Designer Clara Thamke.

Out: Katherine Johnson, Jake Smith, and Kyle Fountain, to new roles outside the agency.


Again, this is certain to be an incomplete list of comings and goings. There’s always more happening just under the surface…

Hoopes, there he is

Yeah, I went there

Drake Cooper recently announced that Patrick Hoopes has joined the team as their newest Creative Director.

Hoopes began his career as a copywriter at Sponge in Chicago, and rose through the ranks to become Associate Creative Director before jumping to GTB, formerly Team Detroit. He then ventured client-side for a stint before returning to the agency world, as a Creative Director at 90Octane in Denver.

Read more about Patrick on Drake Cooper’s Reverb.