Proof Advertising pays tribute to its CCO

Craig Markus, a longtime creative veteran and most recently the chief creative officer of Austin-based agency Proof Advertising, died Aug. 7 following a battle with a neurological disorder. His age was not known.

Markus started his career as a studio artist in 1986 and later worked at shops including Ogilvy, Deutsch, DMB&B and Cramer-Krasselt. His longest stint was at McCann-Erickson, where he spent over 10 years and held an executive creative director role.

While at the shop now known as McCann, Markus launched Tag Ideation, which was a way for the agency to help clients target young adult audiences. He also worked with clients including the U.S. Army, Mastercard, Coca-Cola and more. During his free time, Markus worked as an adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

He joined Proof three years ago. 

“It took me three tries and several years to convince him to join Proof, but his kids and relationships in New York were always the reason he said no,” said Proof Founder and CEO Bryan Christian founder in a statement. “Once we committed to virtual working, I was finally able to get him on board. And it has been a wonderful journey for these past three years. Craig brought a joyful and passionate spirit to work each day. He was a great boss to his teams, a great co-worker to all at Proof, and a great friend and mentor for me.”

Markus is survived by his two sons Proof said. 

“We are crushed,” Christian said. “But as Craig often said even when he was battling this monster, ‘There is work to do, so let's do it.’ One of Craig's last decisions before going into the hospital was to promote Claire Jordan to executive creative director. He was so excited to be able to reward her talents and efforts in that way. Claire will take the reigns and, thanks in part to Craig, is more than ready to do so.”

SuperBloom House unveils head of content production and show slate

SuperBloom House, which launched last year, hired Kristin Childers as its head of content production. Childers previously served as a producer at PartyLand and head of production at Just Fix It Productions.

The creative company also released its first branded entertainment slate of content for the year, spearheaded by SuperBloom Head of Branded Entertainment Adam Milano. The slate includes:

• A digital video series about relationships, hosted by Danny Pellegrino, from the podcast “Everything Iconic.”
• “Mystery on the Sea,” an unscripted mystery series in partnership with an undisclosed cruise line.
• “History of Dolls,” a stop motion video series that SuperBloom calls an “enthralling exploration of female ingenuity.”
• “InvestHER,” a competition for female creators and entrepreneurs to help grow their small businesses.

Quantasy + Associates appoints an exec creative director

Los Angeles-based agency Quantasy + Associates appointed Terrence Burrell as its executive creative director. Burrell most recently served as the interim chief creative officer at Burrell Communications (Burrell has no relation to agency founder Tom Burrell). In May 2022, Burrell Communications appointed Hill Holiday veteran Khari Streeter as its chief creative officer.

Burrell spent over 20 years at the multicultural agency, beginning as a copywriter. He created work for McDonald's, Comcast, Coca-Cola, Verizon and Toyota, among others.

Brooks Running’s new media agency

Brooks Running appointed Stagwell’s Assembly as its paid media agency of record in North America following a review. Cincinnati-based media shop Empower Media previously held the account. 

Assembly will oversee Brooks’ programmatic, social, direct partnerships and video strategy and execution across North America.

This is the latest win for Assembly, which picked up business with T. Rowe Price and Carter’s earlier this year. The media agency appointed Valerie Davis as its North America CEO in April this year.

Gravity Global’s first U.S. head of creative

Gravity Global named Bobby Pearce as its U.S. head of creative, a newly created role. The news comes shortly after the agency acquired Houston-based agency 9thWonder, which increased Gravity's overall business by 40% and its U.S. employee count to 300 people.

Pearce previously led creative at agencies such as BBDO, David&Goliath the Wonderful Company. He has also held creative roles at 22squared, Fallon and Goodby Silverstein & Partners.

Pearce will be based in Gravity Global’s Los Angeles office and will work alongside Global Executive Creative Director Paul Anderson, along with teams from the agency’s global offices.

Just briefly

Interpublic Group of Cos.' UM launched a commerce optimization tool called Shoptimizer, which is meant to provide a more efficient way of allocating budgets for retail media buys. The use of Shoptimizer resulted in a 12%-15% increase in incremental sales for several global consumer products brands, UM wrote in a statement.

Work & Co has hired Brian Marr as its managing director of growth marketing, a new global role. He most recently served as VP of marketing for Publicis Sapient.

Milwaukee-based agency Hanson Dodge picked up three new pieces of business, including Lafeber, a family-owned premium pet food company; Potawatomi Business Development Corp., the economic development and income diversification business of the Forest County Potawatomi Community; and Softeon Warehouse Management System, a global provider of supply chain solutions.

Native American beverage company Sacred Beverages appointed InnoVision Marketing Group as its full-service agency of record following a review. The account was previously handled in-house.