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Oliver Russell branches out into Portland. Again.

Coinciding with the addition of Business Development Director Morgan Rider, Oliver Russell recently announced their expansion into Portland, Oregon. Their Portland office shares space with B-Line Urban Delivery, a fellow B Corp, in the Redd.

In the press release about the expansion, Rider says, “I couldn’t be more excited to be expanding Oliver Russell’s reach beyond Idaho to Oregon, Washington and California,” said Rider. “My focus will be on cultivating new opportunities with businesses and nonprofits that share our vision for positive world change. Portland is home to many purpose-driven brands, and Oliver Russell’s expertise in branding and marketing helps organizations across the Northwest achieve their goals with a strong sense of values and purpose.”

Longtime readers may remember that this is not Oliver Russell’s first foray into the Portland market, as the agency previously had a presence there in the mid-2000s.

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New hires at Oliver Russell

Oliver Russell recently announced that they’ve added a few new folks to their team: Rebecca Mulkey as a studio designer, Morgan Rider as business development director, and Heidy Caruso as an account manager.

Rebecca Mulkey recently relocated to Boise from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has experience creating visual identity for stationary, advertisements and marketing collateral. She honed her eye for design at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design.

Morgan Rider will spearhead Oliver Russell’s new business opportunities from Portland, Oregon, She was previously with Grady Britton, and serves as a board member on both The Climate Trust and The Wetlands Conservancy.

Heidy Caruso returned to the agency world after most recently serving as a client services manager at MarkMonitor. A graduate of University of Idaho, she spent several years with Drake Cooper, and KTVB prior to that.

Congratulations to all.

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Meanwhile, at Oliver Russell

Our friends at Oliver Russell have seen their fair share of changes over the past few months, including new titles, new faces, and new job openings:

In February, Mike Stevens was promoted to Design Director, where he’ll be responsible for oversight over design initiatives within the agency, and management over Oliver Russell’s growing design team.

Also in February, Brian Millar was promoted from public relations intern to Studio Writer. Millar’s background is in journalism, and he also works as a freelance reporter for Boise Weekly.

These changes follow the addition of Rob Osler, who joined Oliver Russell in December as Managing Director. Osler previously held roles including director of brand strategy at Microsoft and senior vice president at Salt Branding.

On the job openings front, Oliver Russell has a couple positions they’re looking to fill:

PR Manager / Director

This individual will lead our PR practice, elevating the impact of organizations striving to do good for people and our planet.

Studio Designer

We’re looking to hire a purpose-oriented design all-star to complement and strengthen our team as we grow our roster of clients, which currently stretches from Silicon Valley to the Smithsonian.

Full details about those two positions and how to apply can be found via their respective links.

We’re also hearing word that a new account manager joined the Oliver Russell team in March. Stay tuned — more details on that down the road.

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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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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.