Chicago-based post house Optimus has inked a deal to buy offline editorial shop Edit Sweet, Chicago. Plans call for Edit Sweet staffers—including partner/editor Jan Maitland, editors Katie Wrobel, Craig Lewandowski, Tim Kloehn and Steve Mach—to work out of the Optimus facility. Optimus president Tom Duff related that his company intends to launch a Santa Monica-based operation to be headed by Edit Sweet partner/editor Jim Staskauskas, who is slated to move to Southern California.….. Backyard Productions, the Venice, Calif.-headquartered production house headed by founders, executive producer Blair Stribley and head of sales Roy Skillicorn, has launched Transistor Studios, a new media group under the aegis of digital producer Damon Meena and creative director Jared Plummer. The new venture will specialize in creating design-oriented Web sites, DVDs, motion graphics and interactive online experiences….Director David Emery has joined bicoastal Treat for spot representation….ARF & Co., Hoboken, N.J., has signed director Ross Whitaker…cccp ny has added director Paul Riccio to its roster…. Los Angeles-based animation house Duck Soup Studios has signed Evil Cat Land, a directing team consisting of Walter Santucci, Pete Doan, Seth Strong and Layron DeJarnette. The directorial ensemble is named after the Evil Cat character, star of several Santucci-directed underground films which toured internationally as part of Spike and Mike’s Sick and Twisted Festival…. Director Cadmo Quintero has joined Metro Pictures, Marina del Rey, Calif….Flame artist Joe Wenkoff has come on board Red Car New York…..Marty Orzio, a co-executive creative director at Merkley Newmam Harty & Partners, New York, on the Mercedes-Benz account has left the agency to pursue other options. His duties will be assumed by Randy Saitta and Andy Hirsch, co-executive creative directors on the Mercedes business…. Minneapolis-headquartered agency Fallon is expanding globally. The shop is set to open offices in São Paulo, Brazil, Singapore and Hong Kong. The agency also has offices in New York and London…. San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk has finalized its deal to acquire Media 100’s software product line for $16 million cash. The streaming media software solutions from Media 100 figure to enhance the content creation product portfolio of Autodesk’s Montreal-headquartered division Discreet, meaning that Discreet customers will be able to create, distribute, re-purpose and publish media content for consumption via the Internet, corporate Intranets and IP-enabled devices such as cell phones and PDAs…..
AD&Co. Launches Studio A; Davida Hall To Head New Venture As Sr. Director of Creative Content
Female-founded and led creative marketing agency AD&Co. has opened Studio A. The new venture will serve as AD&Co.’s in-house social brand content division, focused on developing and producing digital programming for advertising, social media, and influencer marketing campaigns designed to reach today’s audiences on the most popular and pivotal platforms. Davida Hall has been named to head Studio A as sr. director of creative content. She shifts over from AD&Co. where she held the same title since December 2023. Hall’s affiliations prior to AD&Co. include PopSugar and Studio71.
Amy Demas, founder and chief creative officer of AD&Co., said, “We understand content is king-—or queen—and that our clients need to engage their customer communities where they live. That inspired the logical expansion of AD&Co with Studio A, which is committed to producing only the most engaging and authentic brand stories.”
Studio A will harness both AD&Co’s and Hall’s deep expertise in the lifestyle sector, as content creators and avid consumers. Specializing in reaching audiences where they spend their time, the studio is immersed in social media, pop culture, and current trends, expertly crafting visuals, language, and storytelling to reinforce client brand identities and cut through the noise.
Studio A debuts with the “This Is Me” campaign for Love + Craft + Beauty, a brand dedicated to embracing and promoting diversity within the beauty space. “This Is Me” highlights Gen Z’s affinity for radical self-expression that allows individuals to tell their own stories, free from labels, using beauty and fashion as tools of authenticity. The campaign showcases models celebrating their unique qualities to present... Read More