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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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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).

 

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New faces at Oliver Russell

Word is that Oliver Russell has added a couple new members to their team recently. A little poking around online revealed two new additions:

Jenai Jasper, Finance Manager

Jenai joined Oliver Russell in May, according to her LinkedIn profile. Prior to that, she was with Idaho Timber as a Financial Analyst/Special Project Manager, and with KPMG US as a Senior Auditor before that. Jenai is a graduate of the University of Idaho.

Ashley Hollenbeck, Producer

Before joining Oliver Russell, Ashley spent the past five years at Bodybuilding.com, most recently as Ecommerce Program Manager. She’s a graduate of Linfield College.

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Job openings at Oliver Russell

Oliver Russell in Boise has a handful of openings at the moment, including:

Producer

We’re looking to hire a purpose-oriented all-star to complement and strengthen our team as we grow our roster of clients that currently stretches from Silicon Valley to Singapore to the Smithsonian. We’re on the hunt for a Producer to join our team and to provide a necessary conduit between the account group and the rest of the agency. Along with having a passion for all things creative, we expect you to have an outgoing, motivated personality and be willing to bring your unique style to the table.

Your primary responsibilities:

  • Guiding projects from initial client conversations through completion and ensuring projects are delivered on time and on budget
  • Managing the day-to-day account relationship with clients
  • Developing and managing production schedules and estimates for client projects
  • Gathering and assembling background information for strategic planning, creative brief development, etc.
  • Helping provide project strategy
  • Providing logistical support for, running, and documenting client meetings and calls
  • Trafficking projects between account and creative teams
  • Proofreading copy and artwork
  • Compiling and relaying client feedback to the creative team
  • Assisting with proposals

Senior Designer / Art Director

You’ll need to be strong in developing a concept and able to implement it as well—we are a small and flat organization. (You should also be comfortable getting dirty on a volunteer project to rebuild trails in the Boise Foothills or helping rearrange furniture to accommodate a speaker’s event in the office. We’re a collaborative place, we work hard, and there’s no job too big or small for anyone.)

Note: We previously wrote about this opening here.

And while not mentioned on the Oliver Russell website, we’ve heard they’re working with a recruiting firm to find a Creative Director.

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2018 Rockie Awards Show

The 2018 Rockie Awards Show was a raucous and rowdy affair as usual, and good times were had all around.

A few notables from Saturday night’s event:

The Silver Medal Award went to Sherie Moody-St. Clair from the Idaho Lottery

Drake Cooper took home Best of Show for their J. A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation work.

Oliver Russell and Scentsy both won at the regional level as well — a Gold regional ADDY for Oliver Russell and a Silver for Scentsy. Oliver Russell’s submission has since been forwarded to the national competition.

Congratulations to all the winners.

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Job opening – Senior Designer / Art Director

Oliver Russell in Boise has an opening for a Senior Designer / Art Director. From the job listing on their website:

Here’s the person we’re looking for:

You’re a team-oriented individual with a bent toward strategy and a strong identity skill set, but you should have outstanding design chops across all media, from packaging through digital.

You’ll need to be strong in developing a concept and able to implement it as well—we are a small and flat organization. (You should also be comfortable getting dirty on a volunteer project to rebuild trails in the Boise Foothills or helping rearrange furniture to accommodate a speaker’s event in the office. We’re a collaborative place, we work hard, and there’s no job too big or small for anyone.)

You’ll have a strong desire to change the world and will have demonstrated an active pursuit of social purpose in your career, which could come to life through volunteering, advocacy, past work for social enterprises, or perhaps even something else. Tell us about it!

You must have strong communication and presentation skills. Emphasis on presentation—you will need to present your ideas at the same high level of quality as the work you have created.

You’ll likely have 10+ years professional experience. While an agency or professional services background is preferred, it’s not a must.

Full details about the position and how to apply can be found on Oliver Russell’s website.

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Reunited

A few months ago we got word that Carew Co. was on the hunt for a Relationship Manager to join their team, and recently we discovered that they found the person they were looking for in Pat Brubaker.

In their words:

He’s a whiz at client and customer management. He’s a master at agency flow and schedules. He’s able to see the big picture and develop processes that work. He figures out people’s best qualities and plays to them. And he’s a smart strategy guy.

In other words: He’s a catch.

This also reunites Brubaker and Carew Co. founder Paul Carew, who worked together at Oliver Russell in the mid-2000s.

You can read more about Carew Co’s new hire here.

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Oliver Russell joins The Purpose Collaborative

Last month, Oliver Russell announced that they’ve joined Carol Cone’s The Purpose Collaborative, a growing collective of the foremost purpose-oriented agencies and consultants created by one of the world’s purpose pioneers, Carol Cone.

Oliver Russell is the first Idaho-based company to join The Purpose Collaborative, and is among more than 37 agencies and subject matter experts with significant experience in–and an authentic commitment to–purpose. The Purpose Collaborative’s services include the discovery and definition of an organization/brand’s purpose, culture development, employee and customer engagement, sustainable product sourcing and innovation, social issue identification and partnerships, storytelling and marketing communications, multimedia and digital activation, and program effectiveness analytics.

Read Oliver Russell’s full announcement about the news here.

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Big boulder in a little pond

You’ve seen it. And probably done it more than once. You’ve picked up that big, heavy rock and heaved it into a pond.

First there’s the big splash.

Then the ripples spread. And spread.

Ripples in water

As we rolled into 2018, the boulder dropped with the seemingly abrupt departure of Ward Duft and Jill Watterson from Stoltz Marketing Group.

Shortly thereafter, a new player emerged in the Boise agency game, and at least two other shops have been pulled into the fray.

The first ripple: Stoltz Marketing Group

The departure of Duft and Watterson left an obvious hole at the top of the agency, as they represented two-thirds of the new leadership announced in the summer of 2017.

The vacancy was short-lived, however, as SMG recently announced that Jaime Ekman has taken the helm of the company as president and COO. This marks Ekman’s second go-around with the company originally founded by her father, Ken Stoltz. She most recently spent the past eight years with Castor & Pollux, now a Nestle Purina brand.

Shortly after taking the reins, Ekman appointed Kate Holgate creative director, and announced that Crissie McDowell will be rejoining the agency as associate creative director. Holgate has been with SMG for 16 years, progressing from art director to associate creative director and now to her current role. McDowell rejoins the agency, having been an art director from 2006 to 2015.

The second ripple: Duft Watterson

Shortly after their departure from Stoltz Marketing Group, Duft Watterson emerged as a new addition to the agency lineup in the Treasure Valley.

According to their website, Duft Watterson is led by Ward Duft as co-founder, CEO and creative director, and Jill Watterson as co-founder, COO and head of client service. Joining them are two other former SMG colleagues, Marc Cowlin as director of content and digital, and Tony Hart as associate creative director.

Rounding out the Duft Watterson team is designer Madeleine Godwin, Kesey Badgett handling branding and digital, accounting specialist Talia Spencer, and Lisa Cloyd as account manager.

Duft Watterson is based in Boise, and also has a presence in the San Francisco bay area.

The Oliver Russell connection

How does Oliver Russell factor into all of this, you ask? The answer, of course, lies in the moves outlined above. At the end of her first stint with Stoltz Marketing Group in 2015, Crissie McDowell departed to join Oliver Russell, where she’s spent the past three years as a senior art director.

The DaviesMoore association

Similarly, DaviesMoore factors into the drama, as Lisa Cloyd spent a short stint with them as director of client services, before joining Duft Watterson in January.

The rest

Time will tell what — if any — other fallout there will be as a result this shakeup in the Boise-area agency scene. Is there more to the story? Most definitely. But those are details that are best left to the parties involved to share (or not share) as they see fit.

On a personal note:
As some may know, I spent several years at Stoltz Marketing Group, and have worked with many of the people mentioned here. That being said, I’ve done my best to be as impartial an unbiased as it relates to these changes. Hopefully it came across that way.