Emmy Award-winning entertainment company Zoic Studios has expanded its advertising team, adding Jason Cohon as executive producer, advertising, and RJ Peristere as business development strategist in LA, as well as signing with Carolyn Hill and Amanda Rosenberg of Carolyn Reps for East Coast sales representation. Cohon will bolster Zoic’s advertising division, leveraging its success across television, film and experiential to create brand partnerships that capitalize on Zoic’s expertise blending entertainment and technology to create memorable experiences.
Peristere will spearhead in-house business development out of Zoic’s Culver City headquarters, focusing on growth in the agency and brand-direct spaces. Carolyn Reps is a New York-based production consulting company comprised of advertising and film industry executive Carolyn Hill and agent Amanda Rosenberg. Additional roster clients include Greencard, Kaboom Productions, Odd Machine, Pogo Pictures, Production Service Network (PSN), Saville Productions, THEM Media and Two Fresh Creative. Carolyn Reps will also provide West Coast sales coverage for Zoic.
Zoic SVP Ian Unterreiner said, “After steering the advertising division myself for the last nine years, I’m fortunate to have been able to assemble this team to expand our efforts.”
Cohon began his career on the agency side, landing an assistant account executive role at RPA working on the ARCO/ampm account. Craving more on-set experience, he made the transition into production as a freelance producer for shops including Smuggler and Traktor on commercial and music video projects. Expanding his expertise into postproduction, he spent four years with Digital Domain, producing across its live action, VFX and experiential divisions on projects for clients such as Target, Old Spice, Sony, Microsoft, Chrysler and Nintendo. He continued to fine-tune his skill set producing for award-winning VFX and design shops including Buck and Sway Studios, before landing as executive producer at Brand New School. There, he restructured a wide range of company workflows, including bicoastal sales initiatives, in-house VFX pipelines, new talent hires and company branding. As an EP, he won an Emmy for Ad Council’s “Love Has No Labels” while at Brewster Parsons, multiple awards for the eBay “Give a Toy Store” interactive campaign for Brand New School, a Telly Award for Scion’s “Take on the Machine” stereoscopic films and the Cannes VFX Silver Lion for Mini Countryman’s “Flow.”
The growth of Zoic’s advertising division comes on the heels of successful campaigns for brands including Facebook, Lexus, Final Fantasy, Under Armour and Dr. Pepper. This expansion will continue Zoic’s experience at the cross-section of entertainment and technology, bringing a fusion of traditional and new media approaches to experience-driven campaigns, including an AI film with Team One for the Saatchi New Directors Showcase as well as a real-time animation activation with Leo Burnett Chicago for the Cannes Lions opening and closing galas.
