Professional Background
Over the past 25 years, I have held the position of Creative Director, Group Creative Director, and Global Creative Director at major agencies in New York and Europe. These include Saatchi & Saatchi, Grey, and Wells, Rich, Greene. Most of my expertise is in consumer-packaged goods with a focus on Procter & Gamble brands such as Tide, Gain, Downy, Pampers, Olay, Herbal Essences, and Pringles. Other brands I have developed campaigns for include E.J. Gallo Wines, Clairol, Total Cereal, N.Y. Lottery, and Toys ‘R Us.
While Global Creative Director for Pringles, I created, supervised, and coordinated advertising that ran in over 30 countries. To keep the creative juices flowing while maintaining a consistent brand voice, I helped develop innovative equity management tools for global use. And to generate news and excitement, I contributed to the development of co-marketing campaigns with Lord of the Rings, Disney, Nickelodeon, Survivor, and the Daytona 500. Pringles went from a local brand to become the #2 snack in the world, and our team won a Global Brand Building award from P&G. I was fortunate to have great clients during that tenure, and most of them went on to become leaders at major CPG companies. They include the current CEO of Estee Lauder, President Americas Wrigley Company, President of Nestle Europe, and CEO of Chipotle.
When I became Creative Director within the inVentiv Health network, I focused on B2B and consumer healthcare clients such as Similac, Ensure, Novo Nordisk, HealthMart, GSK, and P&G FutureWorks. Our campaigns expanded across all touch points from trade exhibits and interactive sales materials to event marketing and consumer mobile. Most recently, I was Creative Director at McGraw-Hill Education, which provided an impressive view of the rapidly changing world of digital-based learning experiences.
Along the way, I’ve been fortunate to have my work recognized by different organizations for its creativity and effectiveness. This includes AICP gold, Effie gold, Top Ten Ad of the Year from AdAge, London International Awards, Clios, Mobius, and admission to the permanent collection at MOMA. While teaching, my students have received multiple national awards and gained positions at top creative industries.
Speaking engagements include the P&G Cannes Seminar, S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University, and the Columbus MBA Innovation Symposium. Consulting includes the P&G/Walmart Healthcare Summit determining their healthcare platform for the next decade and helping P&G FutureWorks develop a new medically supervised weight loss program.
I am continuously tracking the changes influencing our industry through my own academic research and my relationship with the Berlin School of Creative Leadership. I recently returned from Shanghai and Tokyo where we explored Asian culture, the impact of digital platforms in marketing, emerging business structures, and the growing need for creativity in all industries. My academic focus is on marketing structures that optimize corporate creativity.
Academic Background
Columbus College of Art & Design. After moving to Columbus, I discovered my passion for education. Based on my experience working with top brand marketers, I created and taught courses on branding concepts connecting brand equity with contemporary marketing practices at Columbus College of Art & Design. Within my classes, I enjoyed connecting my students with real client projects and involving them in the experiences of professional practice. As a result, my class was chosen to develop the marketing for the Airstream innovation initiative spanning all creative departments. For the Spring 2014 semester, I became the Creative Director of the MindMarket Lab initiative allowing organizations the opportunity to engage CCAD’s top talent in solving design challenges.
McGraw-Hill Education. I expanded my exposure to educational practices and digital learning experiences when I took on the role of Creative Director at McGraw-Hill Education. While there, I led the formation and organization of an in-house marketing services team and gained insight into the evolving pedagogical approaches being developed through digital platforms.
West Virginia University. In addition to my face-to-face instruction, for the past five years, I’ve been an instructor for West Virginia University Reed College of Media’s online graduate program for Integrated Marketing Communications. I currently teach classes in Digital Storytelling and Advanced Creative Concepts. Through their program, I was trained and certified by QM Quality Assurance in Online Education as a peer reviewer.
Western Michigan University. With a focus on cross-disciplinary instruction, I recently taught Graphic Design to non-BFA majors. The course covers the fundamentals of design principles through the exploration of typography, harmony, communication hierarchy and spatial relationships.
Kalamazoo Valley Community College. At the KVCC Center for New Media, I taught a course on Business Practices for Creative Careers. The objective is to prepare creative degree majors with business skills needed for successful careers
My academic research explores the relationships between constraints and creativity with a focus on marketing communications.
Personal Background
I was born into a military family that traveled around the country until my dad left the Navy and we called New Orleans our home. As a boy, I decided I wanted to be an artist, to my father's dismay. I persuaded him to let me pursue a degree in Fine Arts, Painting at Louisiana State University with a minor in Medical Illustration. “It’s like being a doctor, dad, only with a drawing pad”.
I changed courses educationally and career-wise when I connected with ABC Sports to become a production runner for Monday Night Baseball, Wide World of Sports, and the Summer Olympics.
Still restless, I decided to satisfy my creative urges in the field of advertising. Moving to New York, I worked my way up the ladder to become a Creative Director at several large agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi, N.Y. In the process, I also met my future wife, Mary, who was writing and producing promotions at HBO.
Soon after getting married, we took our careers to Frankfurt, Germany, where I created pan-European campaigns for P&G at Saatchi & Saatchi. There we witnessed the restructuring of Eastern Europe, the nuances of different cultures, and the roads less traveled. Two years later, we returned to the Big Apple. It was time to start raising a family, and we spent the next 15 years in New York doing so. We have a son, Harrison, and a daughter, Kate.
An opportunity to move west to Columbus, Ohio and build my own creative department occurred in 2007. There, we learned to enjoy the hospitality and benefits of Middle America, and I discovered my passion for education.
I connect my professional life with volunteer activities and have become active in social entrepreneurship and the support of nonprofit organizations. Marketing professionals can have such a positive impact when we use our skills to benefit others. If we do our job well, we leave this planet a better place than before. I’ve always enjoyed how creativity and education open up your world to new possibilities. And I think my father would agree.
Thank you,
Jim Johnson
email / jim.jamese@gmail.com – mobile / 914-309-4522