Creative marketing agency Compadre has brought Patrick Jones on board as executive creative director, creative. He will work closely with Curtis Doss, executive creative director, design, overseeing projects and campaigns for Compadre’s existing clients, as well as helping expand the agency’s footprint into new verticals and markets with his expertise in social media, Web3/Metaverse, and experiential.
Robert Blatchford, Compadre co-president, said of Jones, “He’s a big-picture conceptual thinker with strong experience in innovative 360 initiatives. That, coupled with Curtis’ beautifully designed storytelling, will lead the way in shaping and elevating the ‘big idea’ for our clients.”
“Compadre has a strong footprint in the world of entertainment marketing–from leading names like ESPN and CBS to tech-forward brands like Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and Meta that have emerged as big players in the space,” added Jones. “I’m excited to help build on that legacy and help break new ground as we harness the exciting things that are happening at the intersection of media, tech, and storytelling today.”
Jones joins Compadre following a tenure at modern marketing agency Known, where, as group creative director for growth & innovation, he spearheaded campaigns and projects for HBO Max, Netflix, Spotify, Paramount Pictures, and CNN, to name just a few.
Another highlight from Known was the Promax-winning, immersive transmedia campaign for the TBS comedy series Chad, which saw Jones develop an in-world cross-platform social campaign where the titular awkward teen attempts to become a social media star. This allowed Jones and his team to collaborate with the show’s creator and star, SNL’s Nasim Pedrad, creating wholly original comedy content that ran parallel to the show’s first season.
“If a fan is going to follow our marketing, we want it to offer a deeper experience that builds on the world of the IP and rewards their investment,” observed Jones. “That’s the sweet spot, especially for Gen Z, who have infinite options to spend their attention and time on.”
Another particularly innovative campaign of Jones’ saw Postmates team up with TikTok for an L.A.-exclusive experience, where local restaurants whipped up the platform’s most popular recipes for delivery, like whipped coffee and pancake cereal. The campaign, launched at the height of COVID-19, helped raise funds for local restaurants during lockdown and led Rolling Stone to comment, “Postmates launching a menu based on TikTok trends is the most 2020 thing ever.”
Originally hailing from New Orleans, Jones studied both advertising and psychology at the University of West Florida–a perspective he sees as key to his marketing perspective. After beginning his career in NYC where he worked on numerous brands like Heineken, Charmin, Reebok, and Verizon, he relocated to Los Angeles in 2015 and transitioned primarily into entertainment marketing. Since making this shift, he has done everything from using bleeding-edge Adobe motion capture tech to host a livestream Q&A with Sherlock Gnomes, to launching the biggest continuous grid takeover in Instagram history for HBO Max, to writing and producing interactive video content with John Cena for Peacemaker (a career highlight for the WWE fan).
“Ultimately, the best creative is all about paying attention to shifts in the ways that audiences consume what you’re putting out there, and really asking yourself why fans care about something in the first place,” concluded Jones. “Once you know that, you can start to figure out where people will be in a few years, and get in on the ground floor. Plant your flag early, so that you’re not trying to play catch-up. Out on the edge is where the coolest stuff is typically done.”
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 year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” 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 Shields’ 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