Jennifer Severns Joins Zocalo Group from Harpo Productions

CHICAGO, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Zocalo Group, Omnicom Group's premier word-of-mouth marketing agency and a unit of Ketchum, today announced that Jennifer Severns has joined the organization as creative director of Zocalo Studios. In this new role, Severns leads a team in developing content, interactive and consumer experiences to help ensure the agency's clients are the most talked about and most recommended brands in their respective categories.

"Jennifer's background and expertise in digital and creative is a huge asset to our growing team and the expanded work Zocalo Group is executing for our clients," said Paul M. Rand, president and CEO of Zocalo Group.  

Severns joins Zocalo Group from Harpo Productions Inc., where she spent nine years leading and executing design and digital strategy for Harpo and the Oprah Winfrey Network. Her portfolio includes work with O, The Oprah Magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah's Book Club, Harpo Films, Oprah Radio, the Oprah Store, Oprah's Angel Network and the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Prior to her role with Harpo Productions, Severns worked for a number of organizations in the entertainment industry including Thoughtbubble Productions, BigBad Inc., LoConte Goldman, and Atmosphere Pictures, where she helped lead and design innovative experiences for clients across both online and offline channels and media. Projects include those for ESPN, Wrigley, Sony Entertainment, New Line Cinema, A&E Network, Women's Entertainment Network, HGTV, Motorola, Dove, Levi Strauss & Co., Amazon, Best Buy, Kodak, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, Walgreens, and Target.

"I'm excited to become part of the Zocalo team – a team of smart people delivering refreshingly progressive and effective strategies for amazing brands," Severns said. "The agency is a standout in the marketing industry."

Zocalo Group's creative and interactive group, Zocalo Studios, capitalizes on the best elements of today's marketing disciplines, both online and offline, to create consumer experiences in relevant and compelling ways. "Zocalo Studios is, in effect, turning the prism on how digital, social and mobile marketing tools are used to connect consumers with brands, with an emphasis on creating experiences that spark, enable and measure how consumers talk about and recommend a brand," said Patrick Rooney, partner and team lead, Zocalo Studios.  

Severns graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a B.F.A. in graphic design. She also attended the Memphis College of Art and Loyola University Chicago's Executive Education Leadership Certificate Program.

About Zocalo Group

Zocalo Group is a full-service word-of-mouth marketing agency, helping clients become the most recommended brands in their category. Based in Chicago, Zocalo Group was named the Holmes Report's 2009 New Media Agency of the Year for its work in social media, and has been recognized for its innovation in measurement by the Society of New Communications Research and Public Relations Society of America's Silver Anvil awards, in addition to being honored as the 2009 Best Social Media Program by the Business Marketing Association. Zocalo Group is a unit of Omnicom Group  (NYSE: OMC) and Ketchum. For more information, please visit www.zocalogroup.com.

SOURCE Ketchum