Hasta La Creative!

Minneapolis-based independent agency Periscope appointed Chris Hiland as executive vice president, director of media and engagement.

Hiland joins Periscope from BPN, where he has served as Chief Growth Officer since February of 2014, following a year and a half as Chief Strategy Officer. Before BPN he served for a year as Chief Client Officer with Geomentum, after two years as Geomentum’s president, media networks. That followed nearly two years as CFO with Ipsos, following over eight years with Jack Morton Wordwide in varying roles including vice president, managing director and vice president, director of finance and operations. 

“Media isn’t about connecting TV to digital anymore; it’s about connecting people to an experience,” said Periscope CEO Liz Ross. “The word ‘digital’ will soon disappear altogether, and clients are looking to visionary media leaders like Chris Hiland to find solutions in this changing media ecosystem. We are thrilled to have Chris’ expertise as one more resource we can use to help our clients succeed.”

Periscope also appointed Kathy Umland as director of creative services. She joins the agency from Martin Williams, where she has served as director of creative operations for ten years. Before Martin Williams she spent 22 years at Carmichael Lynch, as manager of creative resources and then director of creative services. 

Both appointments follow the arrival of Peter Nicholson from McKinney in March as the agency’s first Chief Creative Officer. CEO Liz Ross joined the Minnesota shop four months prior, after serving as global CMO for IPG Mediabrands. 

McKinney New York just launched a new campaign for Samsung Home Appliances, the largest integrated marketing campaign for the brand to date.

At the center of the campaign are two spots, directed by Andrew Douglas, celebrating the “Chef Collection” as an extension of the passionate home cook. The above 30-second spot, for example, highlights Samsung’s range that offers the innovation of being able to cook at two temperatures at once. In “Crock,” it is the “revolutionary Water Wall technology” in Samsung’s dishwasher that gets the spotlight. Just in case you weren’t sure that the “Chef Collection” is for serious home cooks, the voiceover is done by a man with a heavy French accent, so it must legit. In addition to the television spots, the campaign is supported by “three full-page print executions with more than 50 insertions.” We’ve got credits and “Crock” after the jump. continued…

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McKinney just launched a new campaign for Samsung’s Galaxy Pro series called “It Can Do That.” If that sounds a lot like Apple’s “There’s An App For That” 2009 campaign for the iPhone 3G, Samsung would probably welcome the comparison. Their 60-second television spot takes on Samsung’s competitors in a very direct way.

The first spot in the campaign — also called “It Can Do That” — showcases the Galaxy Pro’s multi-functional capabilities, while disgruntled users of the iPad and Kindle ask “It can do that?” They also take on a Microsoft Surface user, making fun of the fact that his “tablet” has a keyboard, battery dock and mouse. The spot concludes with the tagline, “The Next Big Thing Is Here.” While the approach borders on being a little smarmy and self-satisfied, it certainly does make the competition look bad by pointing out situations where Samsung’s product can do things that their competitors just can’t. You just have to wonder, and this always seems to be the problem with this kind of approach, if they could have pulled this off without making Samsung users seem kind of mean about it. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

JWT New York has confirmed that as of today, it’s decided to part ways with co-chief creative officer Ryan Kutscher, who has been with the agency for less than a year. JWT NY would not comment beyond the confirmation, but as a result of its move, the creative leadership at the office now rests in the hands of Kutscher’s now-former partner-in-crime Matt MacDonald and JWT North America CCO, Jeff Benjamin.

Kutscher joined JWT NY as MacDonald’s co-CCO after spending five years at CP+B, where he last served as creative director and worked on VW  as well as the award-winning “Whopper Freakout.” He and MacDonald replaced Peter Nicholson as JWT NY’s top creatives last May.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.