A few facts…
Born in the US south; college in Florida
Moved to Chicago at 23
Agencies: Ogilvy (media, accounts), FCB (strategy, accounts), Wells Rich Greene (strategy), DMB&B (strategy) and Blue Chip Marketing (strategy, accounts, learning & development)
Marketing director at Gemstone Hotels and two fintech startups
Chief Strategy Officer at my own agency, dvk marketing
Married and still living in Chicago
Just for fun…Quaker Chewy from FCB. Providing a joyful moment for kids AND moms. (And some anxiety for one CEO.)
Passions
Insight-Driven Work
As would hopefully be obvious, uncovering insights - seeing things in a different way – is my “archeological discovery” moment.
Team Leadership
Enjoy setting the agenda and leading teams, either Internal or external (client + other partners)
Mentor/Skills Development
Love to identify and motivate junior team member skills, confidence, and potential
Client Management
Embrace a role as key contact for all client levels, from most junior to C-Suite
Deep Knowledge
Media research, planning & buying
Account & comms planning
Research: Consumer, shopper, new product development
Content production
Account management
Project management
Marcom IT and operations
Agency compensation and structure change/reorganization
Learning & development systems
Highlights
Presenting a risky campaign to a legendary CEO, and then winning a Gold EFFIE for it (Quaker)
Convincing a room full of CEOs to spend millions on their first national brand image campaign (BlueCross BlueShield)
Starting my own agency (DVK)
Producing the first international campaign for a global brand (Hyatt)
Creating brands – from name & identity to the scent in the lobby – for 2 new hotels (Gemstone Hotels)
Developing a blueprint and leading an agency restructuring, adding planning and learning & development departments (Blue Chip Marketing)
Main Clients / Brands
Client Feedback
“Adam is a blast of fresh strategic, planning and creative air that gives breath to bold ideas large and small. I have personally leveraged his expertise to lead significant consumer primary research and brand identity work AND tapped his ability to consult on smaller, nimble strategic planning projects.”
— Marketing Director, CPG company
“I worked with Adam on a corp branding initiative and he was a true partner throughout the entire journey. He dug in to understand the nuance of our business, pushed us to think differently, listened with empathy, and made adjustments on the fly as our needs changed. He is a joy to work with personally and continues to be a trusted ally for our business. ”
— VP Marketing, global B2B company
“As the leader of a mid-size CPG brand, I don’t have the budgets or internal team size of larger competitors. I appreciate that Adam brings excellent experience with a model that allows for budget, speed, and agility that smaller brands need. Adam was responsive and collaborative throughout our project journeys.”
— VP Marketing, mid-sized CPG company
“Adam’s work played a critical role in driving brand growth across our portfolio, which led to a significant increase in our stock price. He brings "big agency" experience, excelling in brand strategy that drive sales, and creative that communicates a differentiating benefit to consumers. Just as important, he is great to work with – striking the right balance of listening to what we have to say, while also never shrinking from providing his own point of view and perspective.”
— CMO, CPG food brand