San Francisco ad agency Odysseus Arms has tapped Jake Sugarman, Mekanism's managing director, as partner to lead business development at the agency. It said Sugarman’s new role effectively combines Chief Operating Officer and CMO duties.
As head of both account and business development, Sugarman will focus on ways the agency can grow.
At Mekanism, he oversaw new business operations across all four offices, while also leading work for clients Sling TV, Charles Schwab, Meta and cannabis brand PAX.
The appointment comes amid a new business win-streak for OA. Recent client additions include The Body Shop, New Belgium Brewery, SELF Financial, Kinder’s, Clos du Val wine and expanded assignments from Toggle by Farmers Insurance.
“Today, new business takes actual business development, or no one answers your call,” said Libby Brockoff, co-founder-CEO at Odysseus Arms. “We’re giving clients ideas that can put them at the center of people’s lives for years to come. Our job is to bridge business and marketing objectives in all the work we do. Jake’s a master of this new business reality.”
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OA has a proprietary campaign development process it calls Third3ye, which the agency says makes customers and prospects (recruited via social media) advisors and even co-creators on brand strategy, messaging and media. It’s a little like real-time focus groups designed to help make campaigns and brands as relevant as possible to targeted consumers.
“We’re building the agency for the modern brand, and we need client leadership that’s as bold, foresighted and inclusive as our creative approach,” said Franklin Tipton, co-founder-CCO at Odysseus Arms. “Jake will help us scale by bringing live thinking on brands and real-time thought leadership to clients.”