San Francisco has
long been a bastion of youth culture, and now Mr. Youth has moved to the neighborhood. One reason for the expansion, Matt Britton, founder and CEO of the social media agency, told Online Media
Daily is that the Bay area boasts a "much wider talent pool" of creative technologists than can
be found in its current New York base.
The creative technologists that Mr. Youth will be adding at its West Coast office grows to an expected seven to 10 employees by year's end. They will
help the agency's clients meet what Britton calls an ongoing shift from "renting" social media to "owning" it -- as brands move to "build and manage their own communities" by investing and building
equity in their own channels.
Britton defined the creative technologist as "somebody that understands how to use technology in a way that gets ideas out and engages consumers." Leading Mr.
Youth's San Francisco team are two newly hired execs: Christa Patrylak and Tony McRoberts.
Patrylak, joining as senior director, brand development strategist, was formerly digital marketing
manager at Clorox, which is one of Mr. Youth's current San Francisco-based clients, along with Symantec, Gap and HP. She has also worked for San Francisco's AKQA and two London agencies, Dare Digital
and CHI, as well as for Paramount Pictures.
McRoberts, joining as senior director of brand development, was formerly managing director at Hadley Media, a youth marketing and experiential
agency.
San Francisco represents just part of Mr. Youth's expansion plants. Britton said the agency also expects to add 25 employees to its current 115-person New York staff this year.