Rec Room, a branded entertainment company that launched in January, has just hired Jan Livingston, formerly of 72andSunny, as partner and ECD. Jan is a creative director and writer who spent four years at 72andSunny and headed up the Samsung and Target global accounts, among others.
Jan joins a team with a strong entertainment background. Her partners are Jonathan Helfgot, a creative and strategic exec from 20th Century Fox, and Mike George, a film director who was most recently Creative Director at 20th Century Fox Marketing. Jan is the first of several planned new hires as Rec Room expands its offering.
“I’m excited to join the team at Rec Room.” Jan says. “By bringing together talent from both the entertainment world and the brand marketing world we can solve one of the sticking points in creating branded content right now – agencies struggling to navigate the entertainment world, and the entertainment industry snubbing its nose at the ad world. The consumer doesn’t see any delineation between both worlds, and neither do we. They just want great entertainment.”
In its short existence, Rec Room has been creating everything from original online videos promoting feature films to episodic series for television networks to branded online films. Because Rec Room has strategy, creative and production capabilities all in house, it can also solve another challenge brands have faced: finding budget for content experimentation while still delivering on ROI. The time and cost efficiencies alone help make branded content creation less of a gamble. For instance, Rec Room is currently developing an eight-episode series for a network for a budget that many brands would often spend on just one :30 commercial.
Rec Room partner Jonathan Helfgot says, “This is an exciting step in our growth as an agency to welcome the creative talent Jan brings to our partnership. Her passion and ingenuity are unparalleled and we look forward to having her as an integral part of the Rec Room team.”
In 2013 Jan was named the 15th Most Creative Woman in Advertising by Business Insider. For over 16 years, as a veteran of Leo Burnett and 72andSunny, she has led brand building campaigns for companies like Coke, Samsung and Target. In 2011 she won a storytelling award from Glamour Magazine and Eva Longoria later developed the story into a short film. Jan's unique work experience in marketing, entertainment, and technology help her create compelling brand driven content that has impact on commerce and culture.
About Rec Room
Launched in January 2015 in partnership with Big Picture Entertainment, Rec Room is an original and branded Entertainment Company serving film studios, television networks, and brands looking to connect with audiences beyond the limits of traditional advertising. Current clients include Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Netflix, LinkedIn, Fox Sports, Red Bull, E!, Google/YouTube and the New York Knicks. http://www.wearerecroom.com/
