The Shipyard, a Columbus, Ohio-based marketing agency that recently added the San Diego Zoo to its client roster, has announced the hiring of Nigel Carr as chief strategy officer.
Carr will work with The Shipyard’s staff at its California offices in San Diego, Newport Beach and Sacramento, as well as the Ohio headquarters. Carr will report to The Shipyard CEO Rick Milenthal, who oversees strategy, brand planning and insights at the agency.
The Shipyard is believed to be one of the nation’s fastest-growing independent advertising agencies with a reported 150% growth in the past four years. During the past year, it has been named the agency-of-record for several new clients, including Consumer Healthcare with 22 consumer brands, San Diego Zoo, American Freight, San Francisco Ballet and Snowbird, a Utah ski resort.
“We grow our client’s business with superior strategy and insights, and that is why we pursued the best strategic leader in our industry,” said Milenthal. “Nigel is a tremendous talent, passionate about finding the differentiating white space for brands across practically every category. His expertise in strategy, planning, and insights will be invaluable as we continue our growth trajectory.”
During his 40-year career in the advertising business, Carr has worked with some of the industry’s most notable agencies, including Chiat/Day, Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners, Ogilvy in New York City and Cramer Krasselt in Chicago. He was previously with The Tombras Group, where he served as chief strategy officer for eight years and helped triple agency revenue.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the talented team at The Shipyard, whose superpower is ‘engineering brand love,’” said Carr. “This (motto) resonates with me deeply as analytics, empathy, insights and storytelling are so integral to inspiring work that creates brand love and drives business success. I look forward to contributing to the agency’s already impressive momentum.”
Carr succeeds David Grzelak who will continue to lead strategic growth initiatives for the agency.
The Shipyard opened its San Diego office in December 2020 with the acquisition of Mering, a San Diego-based advertising agency that had operated since 1985.
Religious Broadcasters Honor El Cajon’s Dr. David Jeremiah
The National Religious Broadcasters recently presented Dr. David Jeremiah, senior pastor of the Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon and founder and host of Turning Point Ministries, with its Milestone award for exemplary service in Christian broadcasting.
In addition, NRB presented Jeremiah’s Turning Point Ministries with its Best Digital Campaign award for his annual “Why The Nativity?” program. The digital award is presented to an organization that engages people through a digital campaign initiative with multichannel online measures.
According to a statement, a recent Nativity campaign resulted in: 140 television broadcasts, 17 million YouTube views, 150,300 Spanish streams, 4,280 Church Outreach Kits requested, 103,655 new people reached out to Turning Point, and 91,000 new believer requests.
“Almighty God married my love of the Bible and radio over 50 years ago, and we could not have possibly envisioned where that would lead,” said Jeremiah when accepting the Milestone award. “Daily radio and television can be unforgiving, and there are no days off, but what wonderful experiences we’ve had along the way. With God’s help and guidance, we take it one day at a time, trying to do everything better than the day before. I see all that God has done and continues to do, and I am so grateful. How blessed we are to be in this wonderful ministry.”
Jeremiah has served at the Shadow Mountain Community Church since 1981. The church typically draws about 10,000 attendees to its weekend services.
Founded in 1982, Turning Point Ministries is a multimedia ministry featuring radio, television, online programming, magazines and books.
NRB is a nonpartisan, international association of Christian communicators whose member organizations represent millions of listeners, viewers and readers. NRB presented the awards at its recent 2024 convention held in late February in Nashville. The convention is regarded as the world’s largest gathering of Christian communicators.
Gestalt Brand Lab’s New Client is Celebrity Jeweler
Gestalt Brand Lab, a San Diego branding and marketing agency, reports it has been named by celebrity jewelry designer Martin Katz of Beverly Hills as his first-ever branding agency.
A statement said Gestalt will develop an overall brand expression and a variety of campaign elements, including a new website, social media content, advertising, experiences and photography and video content.
Katz made a name for himself starting in 1982, after becoming one of the first independent designers to equip celebrities with his jewelry creations. He has reportedly adorned more than 500 celebrities and influential global figures, including Sharon Stone, Salma Hayek, Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Christina Ricci, Zoe Kravitz, Sterling K. Brown, Kieran Culkin, Sofia Richie, Kylie Minogue and Nicole Kidman with his work appearing at the world’s biggest award shows, red carpets and celebrations.
Last year, Katz relocated his Beverly Hills offices from a boutique outlet on Brighton Way to the penthouse suite on the top floor of the famous yellow-colored Fred Hayman building on Canon Drive. The building is painted yellow as a tribute to the golden era of Beverly Hills.
Katz made his selection of Gestalt based on the agency’s experience at crafting brand and creative campaigns for some of the most iconic names in both the jewelry and luxury industries, including Tacori, SLS Hotels, artist Johnathan Schultz, Gaggenau, Cunard and others, a Gestalt statement said.
“My work always begins with a unique stone and inspiration, leading eventually to a design that showcases the brilliance of each piece individually,” said Katz. “The Gestalt team fully grasped this concept and I am looking forward to a collaboration that communicates that vision and holistic approach to visual storytelling across a variety of media.”
According to Brian Munce, Gestalt’s managing director, “Martin’s unique pieces are nothing short of brilliant and our new work will showcase the artistry and quality of the jewelry he creates, as well as his inspired legacy of his 30-plus years as a master designer and innovator.”
Gestalt said it will release the new brand expression and creative elements for Katz sometime later this spring.
“Martin is truly the auteur of modern Hollywood glamour, with each incomparable piece either being one-of-a-kind or produced in limited edition, meticulously signed and numbered,” said Chad Farmer, creative director, Gestalt. “We are honored to help tell the stories of these pieces and bring them to life in a clear and distinct way for Martin, bringing his brand image up to the level matching his stunning creations.”
Founded in 2019, Gestalt Brand Lab’s other clients include Best Day Brewing, Luna Grill Restaurants, Gemological Institute of America and Jamba.
Local PRSA Chapter Announces 2024 Board
The Public Relations Society of America’s San Diego-Imperial Counties chapter has announced its 2024 board of directors. Arturo Garcia Sierra, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, will serve as chapter president. Other executive committee members include: Monica Gil dos Santos, Katz & Associates, as president-elect; Barbara Cosio Moreno, office of California Senator Toni Atkins, as secretary; Jenny Mehlow, Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine, as treasurer; and Blake Nelson, My Sage PR, as past president.
Directors include: Cheryl Robinson, UC San Diego; Paulina Sierra, Southwest Strategies; Janet Farala, Southwest Strategies; Adriana Villa, Nuffer, Smith, Tucker; Jerralyn Davis, Berlin Rosen; William Lopez, Alternative Strategies; Anne Flanagan, Getty Images; Edna Gutierrez, San Diego Tourism Authority; Anthony King, UC San Diego; Alexis Cortes, J Public Relations; and Elena Gomez, University of San Diego.
PRSA-SDIC chapter, founded in 1959, is one of more than 100 chapters within the Public Relations Society of America, the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals. For more chapter information, visit prsasdic.org.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.