Siegel+Gale Expands Research Insights Practice with Directors Brian Rafferty and Donna Thacher

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Global strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale, www.siegelgale.com, today announced the appointment of Brian Rafferty as global director, customer insights and Donna Thacher as research director.

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Both with extensive quantitative and qualitative research experience, Rafferty will manage global projects from the New York headquarters, while Thacher manages research initiatives in Siegel+Gale's West Coast offices. Each will be responsible for developing and implementing innovative research techniques that will uncover deep customer insights and inform clear, credible and compelling brand-building programs.

"Adding Donna and Brian to Siegel+Gale's well-respected research capabilities firmly positions the company as a global leader in research," says Lisa Bertelsen, global director, research insights. "Developing world-class branding programs that distinguish our clients from their competitors relies on cutting-edge methods, products and technologies employable from every Siegel+Gale office. Using various methods yields a range of key insights that boost client confidence and validate predictive results."  

Rafferty brings more than 15 years of experience in brand strategy and positioning for both Fortune 500 brands and emerging companies in financial services, professional services, high technology, retail, consumer goods, non-profit, health care and biotechnology. Prior to joining Siegel+Gale, he worked as managing director of research and strategy at The Brand Union, where he led projects for clients, such as Pernod Ricard, BlackRock, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics/Johnson & Johnson, HP, Coca-Cola and Alcatel-Lucent.

"Customers' attitudes and opinions are extremely diverse and the greatest challenge is turning findings into insights that can drive business for brands," says Brian Rafferty, global director customer insights. "By remaining at the forefront of new research techniques, we can help clients deepen their relationships with customers and create a more memorable brand experience."

Rafferty has a math and physics baccalaureate from the Lycee Pasteur in France and is a graduate of Princeton University.

Thacher's career includes 20 years working at Dailey & Associates Advertising. There she designed and managed research processes for clients, including Hilton Hotels, Princess Cruises, Neutrogena, Lawry's Foods, Nestle, Intuit, HealthNet and the California State Lottery.

Thacher graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a bachelor of science in political science.

"I've always respected Siegel+Gale's proprietary research approach to building powerful brands throughout the West Coast region," says Donna Thacher, research director. "From media and entertainment, to high tech and digital, brands today must use both traditional and nontraditional research strategies to understand the audiences they serve. Siegel+Gale sees this as an opportunity to build customer-focused brands that are both locally and globally relevant, and I'm excited to join the team."

Rafferty and Thacher are just two of the newest additions to Siegel+Gale's growing Research Insights practice. Over the past year, the group has doubled in size, extending research and analytics capabilities to Siegel+Gale's global offices.

About Siegel+Gale

Siegel+Gale is one of the world's premier strategic branding companies and a pioneer in simplifying complex customer communications. Since it was founded by Alan Siegel in 1969, the firm has built world-class brands for many of the world's most successful companies through elegantly simple strategies, communications and experiences. Driven by its philosophy of "Simple is Smart," Siegel+Gale has led the way in bringing innovation to the corporate branding field, including transforming complex, incomprehensible customer communications into plain English; helping clients create distinctive brand voices across all their communications; transporting brands onto the Internet; and aligning the brand experience with the brand promise.

The firm's clients include AARP, Aetna, American Express, Bank of America, Dell, The Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, The Internal Revenue Service, Lexus, Merrill Lynch, 3M, Microsoft, Motorola, the National Basketball Association, Pfizer and Sony PlayStation. Siegel+Gale has offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Hamburg, Dubai and Shanghai and strategic partnerships around the world.

Siegel+Gale is part of the Omnicom Group Inc., a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms serve over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

SOURCE Siegel + Gale, LLC