CAA Marketing Relaunches As Observatory Marketing

The relaunch marks a new chapter in the firm's evolution as it continues to work with longstanding clients and expands its roster with several new relationships, including Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch League, fashion brand ESPRIT, recent Walmart acquisitions Bonobos and ModCloth, and a range of additional projects. Observatory is the successor to CAA Marketing, long-established as one of the world's most-awarded and effective brand content creators and a leading entertainment consultancy.

"Over the last decade, CAA Marketing steadily moved from the outer edges of the marketing services ecosystem toward the center, growing with our brand clients as the roles of content and culture have become increasingly important to marketers," said Observatory CEO Jae Goodman, CAA Marketing's Co-Head and Chief Creative Officer since 2006. "Observatory now serves as a lead agency for long-established and next-generation brands, acting as a strategic consultant to define brand purpose, then developing content-led brand platforms and fully-integrated campaigns." 

As part of the agency relaunch, Observatory announced a new leadership team which, as a group, will drive agency management, culture and evolution, including:

• Longtime CAA Marketing executive Amia Lazarus is now Head of Strategy & Entertainment Consulting
• Content Manager Judy Kreiter is now the agency's Head of Operations
• Executive Content Manager Chris Totushek will become Head of Production & Development
• Content Manager Carly Allen is now Senior Producer
• Decade-long creative team and Executive Creative Directors Todd Hunter and Tony Fur will become Co-Chief Creative Officers
• Brendan Shields-Shimizu is now Group Brand Director leading all LA brand teams
• Erin Heyns-Stern is now Senior Brand Director and will lead the agency's New York office
• Andrew Kootman has joined as Director of Finance
• Brian Dunbar has joined Observatory as President, having most recently been President of David&Goliath with past leadership roles including Goodby Silverstein and DDB

Observatory's work for a new client, the men's fashion brand Bonobos, provides an example of Observatory's culturally-attuned, purpose-driven and content-led approach. The campaign suggests an appeal to a broad range of male "Role Models" to express their mission "Fit for Every Man" and features former astronaut and NFL player Leland Melvin, social justice advocate Jason Flom and transgender athlete and activist Chris Mosier.

"A decade ago, when I was at eBay, we hired CAA Marketing to create compelling brand entertainment alongside our ad agency," said Micky Onvural, Co-President & Chief Marketing Officer of ‎Bonobos. "Today, we work with Observatory as our lead creative agency, developing Bonobos' strategic brand platform, creative campaigns, content and experiences. We're excited to continue our work together as they enter this next chapter, taking advantage of not only their deep advertising experience, but also their partnerships with CAA and Stagwell."

Mark Shambura, Executive Director of Marketing at Chipotle, had the following to say; "I have a unique point of view, having enjoyed eight years as an executive at CAA Marketing and more than four years as a CAA Marketing client. Over the past seven years, our collaborative efforts for Chipotle have been not only some of the most awarded creative work in the world, but also the most rewarding of my career. From our music-driven animated shorts, live events, video games, digital experiences, iTunes mini-series to fully-integrated ad campaigns, the team at Observatory has pushed the boundaries of brand storytelling to create business and cultural impact for Chipotle. I'm excited to see what the next chapter holds."

Goodman said, "We are a new model for agency of record and high-impact projects. As people demand more from brands, brands should demand more from their agencies. Don't expect Observatory to deliver old-school interruptive campaigns. We deliver breakthrough strategy, content and experiences that attract and engage people rather than distract them, and thereby drive brand and business results for our clients." 

The LA group will move to new offices on Culver City's bLAckwelder Creative Campus, and the New York team will move to new offices in One World Trade.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Haley Perrin
Wye Communications
[email protected]
630-473-8148

About Observatory Marketing
Observatory, formerly CAA Marketing, is a globally recognized strategic partner, marketing agency, brand content creator, and entertainment consultancy, jointly owned by Stagwell Media and Creative Artists Agency. Observatory's work for clients including AB/InBev, Bonobos, Chipotle, Coca-Cola, Diageo and dozens more of the world's leading companies builds brands and drives business results through brand strategies and content-centric campaigns that attract and engage consumers rather than distract them. In its 17 years as CAA Marketing, Observatory has earned four Grand Prix awards in four different categories and more than thirty Lions in total at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, 11 Emmy nominations with four wins, 10 Webby Awards, the Grand CLIO, Gold Effie, and the first and second brand films ever accepted to the Sundance Film Festival. Observatory can be reached at [email protected].

About The Stagwell Group
The Stagwell Group LLC is a registered investment advisory company formed by Mark Penn who serves as the Managing Partner of Stagwell Media LLC, a private equity fund. The Stagwell Group portfolio includes more than a dozen collaborative, digital-first agencies. The fund previously announced it has raised $250 million in capital and may leverage that to make up to $750 million in acquisitions. Online at www.stagwellgroup.com.

About Creative Artists Agency (CAA)
Leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA) represents many of the most successful professionals working in film, television, music, theatre, video games, sports, and digital content, and provides a range of strategic marketing and consulting services to corporate clients. CAA is also a leader in sports, representing more than 1,700 of the world's top athletes in football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, tennis, Olympics and action sports, and golf, and works in the areas of broadcast rights, corporate marketing initiatives, licensing, and sports properties for sales and sponsorship opportunities.

SOURCE Observatory Marketing

Related Links

http://www.observatoryagency.com