Creative agency David&Goliath (D&G) has appointed three senior creative hires to round out the Kia Motors team: Marc Schwarzberg, executive creative director, head of art/design; Mark Koelfgen, ECD/copywriter; and Frauke Tiemann, group creative director. The new hires report to David Angelo, agency founder/chairman, and Bobby Pearce, chief creative officer.
Schwarzberg leads art, design and product innovation for Kia. He will also assist with new business efforts and will work with the agency’s nonprofit organization, Today I’m Brave. He joins D&G from Crispin Porter+Bogusky, where he was creative design director (art, product innovation and new business). He worked with clients including Domino’s, Infiniti (global and USA), American Airlines (US), LetGo Miami, Hershey’s US (Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, Breath Savers), Mondelฤz International (Brazil) and craft beer brand Goose Island.
Since 2004, Schwarzberg has been a freelance creative artistic director at Francis Ford Coppola Presents, the umbrella for all of Francis Ford Coppola’s business ventures including design, product innovation, wineries, resorts, cafes, posters and printing for his films and projects.
Koelfgen joins D&G to oversee creative on Kia Motors. He spent the last three years at Ogilvy (NY) as ECD/copywriter on IBM, Comcast and Ford. While there, he wrote the most viewed IBM commercial ever (for the Academy Awards) starring Carrie Fisher. He also wrote Ford’s “Unstuck” commercial that was ranked #9 by USA Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter.
Before that, Koelfgen spent 11 years at mcgarrybowen (NY) where he eventually rose to chief creative officer of the New York office. During this time, Koelfgen grew the office from 70 people to over 700. He helped pitch and win blue chip accounts including Verizon, Burger King and Maserati. Throughout his career, Koelfgen has received industry accolades from Cannes, Communication Arts, Archive, New York Festivals, Clio, Addy and Effie.
As GCD, Tiemann is responsible for helping create breakthrough work that sets Kia apart from the competition. Prior to joining D&G, Tiemann was GCD at Grey (NY + LA), where she led creative on key clients including DreamWorks, Disney and Hasbro Brands. Before that, she spent four years at mcgarrybowen (NY) as GCD and oversaw creative on Maserati and Verizon. Throughout her career, she’s worked at a number of prestigious agencies–including Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Innocean Worldwide, McCann SF, Y&R LA and Dentsu–across a number of well-known brands like Land Rover, Jaguar, Hyundai, Infinity, Sony, Xbox, Microsoft, Reebok and JPMorgan Chase. She’s been the recipient of numerous awards including The One Show, Cannes, Communication Arts, Archive, Clio, Addy and Effie.
“With the launch of the new Stinger and having won the IQS award over brands like Porsche and BMW, we’ve been given the opportunity to rebrand Kia like never before. So we wanted to make sure we were staffed in a way that brought strong senior leadership to every area of the business that will continue to move it forward; as well, re-introduce the world to Kia that comes from a place of strength and confidence,” said Pearce. “A big part of communicating such strong emotions comes from the look and feel of a campaign. So we hired the incredibly talented designer and leader Marc Schwarzberg as our first ever head of art, in order to ensure the work has a sense of optimism, power and beauty that makes you feel something. And we’re equally thrilled to round out the Kia team with the outstanding talents of ECD Mark Koelfgen and GCD Frauke Tiemann.”
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this yearโs Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa โT-Rexโ Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shieldsโ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More