Former Mindshare CEO Take Reins of One of the Fastest-Growing Agencies In Country as Major Advertisers Turn to Independent Digital Shops For Thought Leadership; Marks Enhanced Significance of New York Office

SAN FRANCISCO (January 11, 2010)

Scott Neslund, who has been CEO of WPP Group’s Mindshare and President of Publicis Groupe/Starcom MediaVest Group’s StarLink, has been named Chief Executive Officer of Red Bricks Media, one of the fastest-growing independent agencies in the country, with over 600% revenue growth from 2005 through 2009 based largely on its highly successful search marketing operations.

Mr. Neslund will split time between the company’s San Francisco headquarters and its fast-growing New York office. He comes aboard the agency as both a significant equity holder and a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Neslund replaces Red Bricks Media’s cofounder Elliott Easterling, who becomes Chairman of the Board.

“Scott is an experienced media and marketing leader with a substantial background in agency management having led media agencies in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia,” says Mr. Easterling. “He has a proven track record in leading digital communications and growing revenue. We are very pleased to tap into Scott’s media innovation and ability to successfully communicate a vision and manage people. He is exactly who I need to hand the baton off to in order to lead Red Bricks Media into its next great phase of success.”

“As a next career step I was looking for opportunities purely in the digital space and an entrepreneurial environment that could capitalize on the change occurring in the industry right now. Red Bricks Media provides me with that opportunity and it will allow me to merge my media agency background with the cutting edge advances in today’s digital marketing world,” says Mr. Neslund. “There is an industry trend of major advertisers starting to turn to independent digital shops for thought leadership on their business.  Red Bricks Media represents the kind of digital leadership advertisers are looking for in this constantly changing media environment where consumers are searching for what they want versus accepting the traditional ads that are being placed in front of them.” 

“Red Bricks Media is a great example of a digital agency that is taking its business to the next level by hiring a known leader who has helped build a Madison Avenue media agency. It is clear they intend to direct strategy beyond the digital marketing realm. says Sarah Fay, the former CEO of Carat NA. “I think this is a great move for both Scott and for Red Bricks.”

From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Neslund was with WPP Group’s Mindshare North America mostly recently as CEO (New York) since 2007, and before that, Managing Director Mindshare (Chicago). As CEO, he led all agency activities in the U.S. and Canada including five regional offices, 800 employees and approximately $10 billion in media billings. Mr. Neslund launched a reinvention program to transform the agency from a basic media buying and planning operation to a full service marketing partner for advertisers by establishing business planning, content development and consolidated implementation services. During this time Mr. Neslund integrated the agency’s digital capabilities with its traditional media services and expanded Mindshare’s search business. He restructured regional office leadership and WPP agency partnerships which led to $500 million in new business account wins and an increase in organic growth from current clients within 12 months.

When Mr. Neslund was Managing Director of Mindshare (Chicago) from 2005 to 2007, he turned around a business decline within 12 months by restructuring the office to better compete for new business, delivering  diversified  media services to clients and introducing  a proprietary planning model to create more innovative and effective media plans .

As President of Publicis Groupe Starcom MediaVest Group’s StarLink, (Chicago) from (2003 to 2005), Mr. Neslund re-launched the agency positioning and capabilities to better capitalize on the growing mid-size media marketplace which resulted in a doubling of agency revenues in two years. Earlier he served extensively overseas including as Senior Vice President, Managing Director for Starcom (Toronto) and before that Vice President, International Media Director for Leo Burnett (Tokyo) from 1997 to 1999. Prior to that, he was AOR Media Director for Leo Burnett (Milan). Mr. Neslund began his career in the media department of Leo Burnett U.S.A., (Chicago) first as a Media Buyer/Planner and later as a Media Supervisor.

Mr. Neslund has been recognized as an industry leader in media innovation being named as a 2008 AdAge Media Maven; to 2008 Min Magazine’s Most Intriguing People; and to the 2008 AdAge Agency A-List. He served on the 2009 Effie Grand Jury, the 2007 Cannes Media Jury, the 2008 Young Media Lions Juries and on the 4A’s Media Policy Committee from 2007 through 2009. He holds an MBA with a double major Marketing and International Business from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and an undergraduate BA in Telecommunications and Marketing from Indiana University.

Red Bricks Media (www.redbricksmedia.com) is a full-service global performance marketing agency specializing in search engine marketing, interactive media planning, email campaign management, award-winning creative services and emerging forms of media including buzz and social marketing.  One of the fastest-growing agencies in the country, Red Bricks Media has worked with over 100 major brands including Academy of Art University, Scottrade, Hearst Corporation, Microsoft, THQ, Sunset Magazine and the Los Angeles Times. Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, and Hong Kong, the independent agency with more than seventy employees, was founded in 2004 by Elliott Easterling and Craig Hordlow.  In 2009 Red Bricks Media earned the ranking of #354 on Inc. Magazine’s annual Inc. 500 listing by achieving 698% revenue growth from 2005 through 2008. The agency also ranked #33 in the advertising and marketing category.

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We’ve been recognized as a Gold Winner in the 38th Annual Creativity Awards for our PayPal Email creative design!

The Creativity Awards showcase “the best in global graphic design and advertising” each year, and have chosen Red Bricks Media to be among this year’s top agencies.

The Gold winners are among the top 10% of agencies awarded a Creativity Award, and are judged by groups of peers in the advertising industry, including Creative Directors, CEOs, partners and other high-level executives.

Check out creative samples below!

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We may never be in the rock and roll hall of fame, but we’ll settle for the next best thing – the viral marketing hall of fame. Each year Marketing Sherpa honors the year’s top ten viral marketing campaigns, and Red Bricks Media’s campaign for client THQ joined the ranks of the top ten for 2008. Other winners this year include General Mills and Columbia Sportswear.

According to Marketing Sherpa’s article on the competition, “these top 10 campaigns leveraged peer-to-peer pass-along to achieve amazing results in a range of demographics and audiences – hip-hop music fans, hardcore gamers, breast cancer survivors and activists, philanthropists, Portuguese soccer fans and more. Some campaigns mixed big budgets, great strategy and wide exposure. Others created entertaining content and watched it sail.”

This competition, which is free to enter, awards winners with a write-up in Marketing Sherpa and the eyes of thousands of marketing professionals who read this publication on a weekly basis.

“The rise of social networking and user-generated content is feeding and enhancing viral marketing. Many marketers want to take advantage of these new trends but aren’t sure how,” said our CEO Ed Kim. “At Red Bricks Media, our approach is to have a solid strategy in place and really understand your target audience before you try to launch a viral campaign.”

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Performance marketing agency takes home top honors for creative work with Wells Fargo Advantage Funds and THQ.

San Francisco, CA – June 26, 2008 – Performance marketing agency Red Bricks Media recently won Gold and Silver Addys in the San Francisco Bay Area’s Addy Award competition. The agency won the Gold award for work with Wells Fargo Advantage Funds and the Silver award for work with THQ.

Wells Fargo Advantage Funds commissioned Red Bricks Media to design an informational media kit that educated consumers about identity theft. This kit supplemented Wells Fargo’s campaign entitled “Unlock the Facts About Identity Theft.” Red Bricks Media’s Creative Director, Theresa Lee, came up with the innovative design: an embossed, rectangular foldout in the style of an old Wells Fargo lockbox, which contained a sales letter and three tri-fold pamphlets. “We wanted to capture the legacy and heritage of the Wells Fargo Brand,” said Ms. Lee, explaining her design.

The media kit won in the “direct mail – flat” category. This category includes any and all marketing materials (brochures, etc) that are not three-dimensional in shape. Red Bricks Media has also won Creativity and Mutual Fund Education Alliance Star Awards for its creative work on this campaign.

Additionally, Red Bricks Media’s buzz marketing campaign for THQ was honored with a Silver Addy. In order to build interest in advance of the official release of Frontlines: Fuel of War, THQ contracted Red Bricks Media to concept, design and manage an alternate reality game allowing players to experience the frontlines of tomorrow, today. Red Bricks Media’s strategy included spreading awareness through emerging media channels, like blogs, social networks and YouTube, that allowed people to interact with the brand and explore the world of the game. This campaign won in the “Web/Online Campaign” category.

Ed Kim, CEO of Red Bricks Media, said “we’re so excited and honored by our wins. We have some of the brightest, most talented creative minds in the business, and their work deserves to be recognized. The recognition of our work in both offline and online channels is great validation of our full-service capabilities and integrated approach to marketing. This inspires us to continue to innovate and produce top-notch creative work.”

The Addy Awards are held annually by the American Advertising Association. In each category, a Gold Addy is “recognition of the highest level of creative excellence and is judged to be superior to all other entries in the competition.” Outstanding entries are awarded a Silver Addy.

About the Addy Awards

Conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation (AAF) the local Addy Awards is the first of a 3-tier, national competition. Concurrently, all across the country, local entrants vie for recognition as the very best in their markets. At the second tier, local winners compete against other winners in district competitions. District winners are then forwarded to the third tier, the national Addy awards competition. Selection of the most creative entry in each category is effected by a scoring process in which a panel of judges evaluates all creative dimensions of each entry. For more information on the Addy Awards, visit http://www.aaf.org/default.asp?id=27.

About Red Bricks Media

Red Bricks Media is a performance marketing agency specializing in search engine marketing, interactive media planning, email marketing and emerging forms of media, including buzz and mobile marketing. We think of ourselves as valuable business partners whose undying dedication to client satisfaction and strict, performance-oriented principles create enduring client relationships. Red Bricks Media provides top-tier marketing services to organizations like Hearst Magazines, THQ, and LA Times. Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York and Hong Kong, Red Bricks Media is one of the fastest-growing agencies in the West. Visit www.redbricksmedia.com
for more information.

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Performance marketing agency wins Creativity and Mutual Fund Education Alliance STAR awards.

San Francisco, CA — December 13, 2007 — Performance marketing agency Red Bricks Media recently took home two honors–from the Creativity Awards and the Mutual Fund Education Alliance STAR Awards–for its creative work on a Wells Fargo Advantage Funds marketing campaign, titled “Unlock the Facts about Identity Theft.”

For the project, Wells Fargo Advantage Funds approached Red Bricks Media to create an identity theft kit that Wells Fargo Advantage Funds advisors would send to existing and prospective clients. These kits would inform clients and prospects about the dangers of identity theft and offer tips for increasing identity safety online and offline, as well the chance to attend a Wells Fargo Advantage Funds identity theft seminar.

Red Bricks Media’s creative director, Theresa Lee, and lead copywriter Bain Smith collaborated on the design and content of the kit. Ms. Lee came up with the innovative design: an embossed, rectangular foldout in the style of an old Wells Fargo lockbox, which contained a sales letter and three tri-fold pamphlets. Mr. Smith came up with the copy messaging and produced the content for the 45-slide identity theft seminar presentation.

Answering questions about her design, Ms. Lee said, “We wanted to capture the legacy and heritage of the Wells Fargo brand. I immediately liked the lockbox/safe idea because it syncs well with the Wells Fargo iron safe, a very identifiable visual in their brand. The “safe” theme also meshed really well with the idea of helping customers protect themselves from the risk of identity theft.”

The Wells Fargo Advantage Funds identity theft kit won the Mutual Fund Education Alliance STAR Award for Best Advisor Communication in the large company category, with a judge stating, “The mail pouch is wonderful. So creative!” The kit won a Silver Award from the 37th Annual Creativity Awards in the marketing collateral category, and will be featured on the Creativity Awards website and in the 400-page Creativity Awards Annual.

About the Mutual Fund Educational Alliance STAR Awards

The annual STAR Awards recognize mutual fund companies for outstanding investor communications, education and support. Each year the Mutual Fund Education Alliance examines the best educational materials, both in print and electronic, in the mutual fund industry, and then asks industry judges to select from the best.

About the Creativity Awards Annual

Creativity Annual Awards is one of the longest running international advertising and graphic design competition for print design, web design, and advertising design. It has categories in Print, Publications, New Media, TV, Radio and others. The categories run from Annual Reports to Sales Films, Magazine Photography to Consumer Websites, Logos and Trademarks to Ambient Media. The entries are judged by a panel of advertising and design professionals who volunteer their time and knowledge without personal agenda or bias. Winning designs, advertisements, websites, and commercials from all over the world are then placed in the 400-page Creativity Awards Annual.

About Red Bricks Media

Red Bricks Media is a full-service performance marketing agency specializing in search marketing, interactive media planning, email marketing and emerging media, including buzz and mobile marketing. Red Bricks Media provides top-tier marketing services to organizations like Hearst Magazines, Blue Shield of California, Adobe Systems and Seagate.

Headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York City and Hong Kong, Red Bricks Media is one of the fastest-growing agencies in the West. Visit www.redbricksmedia.com for more information.

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