Red Lion is beefing up its staff. On Tuesday the Toronto agency announced seven hires including both creative and account positions.
The hires were sparked by several new business wins, including the digital rewards program Paymi and Havergal College, as well as growth on current accounts, according to Red Lion president and CCO Matthew Litzinger.
Among the new staffers is Lauren Brown, who joins Red Lion via Cossette in the newly created role of solutions director. Because many clients are coming to Red Lion for non-traditional advertising, Litzinger said the agency added the new role to arm clients with a strategic thinker as they decide what the solution to their business need is.
Brown has experience working as a senior project manager with a number of big name brands including Telus, McDonald’s and General Mills.
On the creative side, Pepe Bratanov has been brought on as an associate creative director. Prior to Red Lion, Bratanov was an art director at KBS, where he worked on The Keg, BMO and Target. He also previously worked at Cossette, where he collaborated with Litzinger on a campaign for the Toronto Silent Film Festival.
Kelly O’Neill also joined the agency as a copywriter via The Tite Group.
On the account side, Red Lion hired Greg Telford and Grace Johnson as account coordinators and Amanda McMillan as an account supervisor.
This spring, the agency also brought on former Taxi staffer Nicole Spinner as an account director. Litzinger called Spinner a “rising superstar,” saying, “I think she’s that correct balance of treating our client’s money like it’s her own, but also treating the agency’s creativity like it’s her own. That’s a hard balance to find, and I think she’s got it in spades.”
