BBDO Atlanta appointed two new employees to head their planning and training programs. Kevin Kolbe will assume the role of Senior Vice President, Director of Consumer Insight and Planning. Franklin Pridgen joins the firm as Director of Agency Learning and Development. Unconventional titles, with traditional objectives to strengthen your employees is to strengthen your clients.
Kolbe will head BBDO Atlanta’s planning group. He brings 12 years of experience as a brand planner and consumer anthropologist with agencies including TBWA-Chiat/Day (New York, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Toronto), Mullen Advertising (Boston) and Fallon Worldwide (Minneapolis). He has worked with clients such as BMW, Jim Beam, Rolling Stone Magazine, and Mead Paper.
Pridgen, head of the agency’s training program, brings nearly a decade of experience in teaching, coaching and mentoring.
The agency recently launched a new division, Spin Promotion Marketing, as an adjunct to their more traditional offerings. Managing the group’s activities are Susan Chittum, Senior Vice President/Managing Director in a Los Angeles satellite office and Maribeth Molina, Vice President/Associate Director in the Atlanta office. The division prom ises to create programs and negotiate additional airtime to extend a client’s media buy with localized promotions and on-air mentions with events, contests, giveaways and merchandise.
Making utilities a winning prospect, BBDO Atlanta won a silver award at the 7th annual Advertising Marketing Effectiveness (AME) International Awards for a campaign created for Progress Energy. The agency also was named a finalist in the public service not for profit category, for The American Red Cross "Color bars" spot. The Process Energy campaign also garnered praise from the 17th annual "BusinessWeek" Awards for corporate advertising. Winners will be featured in the May 13 issue of the magazine.
BBDO Atlanta in conjunction with Cingular Wireless recently broke a new spot. Named "Spider-man" the spot broke on cable TV in April during primetime on VH1, Fox Sports, MTV, BET, E!, Comedy Central, ESPN2, USA, Sci-Fi, and TBS. Network premiere ran during Survivor (CBS). Creative Directors for the spot were BBDO Atlanta’s Bill Pauls and Rich Wakefield.