Organic Expands Creative Team

A flurry of client wins and increasing online ad spends from existing clients led Organic to create a new group-wide creative director position for Christian Haas, who had been creative director in Organic’s San Francisco office. New client wins in 2004 include SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Autodesk, and Harrisdirect.

“In the second half of 2004, we saw several large clients step back and rethink their marketing mix,” said Organic’s CEO Mark Kingdon. “In past years, budget increases were incremental, but this time they’re reallocating their budgets to increase their online spend.”

For example, in Organic’s campaign for Daimler-Chrysler’s Jeep brand, traditional media buys were supported by online ads, an online game, and keyword purchases in search engines. Ads across all media had a call to online action, a strategy that is becoming more common among advertisers.

Haas has served as creative director in San Francisco for three years. He originally joined the firm in 1998 to start the Sao Paulo, Brazil, office. Prior to that, he was president and creative director of Vizio Interativa, an agency he founded in Brazil to serve clients like BMW and Nestle.

Replacing Haas as creative director in San Francisco will be newly-hired Guthrie Dolin. The 14-year industry veteran founded the Brand A and Department 3 design studios, and helped launch a music label, a restaurant, and a sporting goods manufacturer.

Organic also announced that it has opened an office in Los Angeles, led by Quentin George, VP and managing director of Organic’s San Francisco office, to serve Southern California clients.

“We have experienced significant traction in the Southern California market and now is the right time for Organic to put a stake in the ground,” Kingdon said. “This expansion also positions us well to aggressively pursue media and entertainment clients based in this region.”