Andrew has one speed: FAST. Fresh out of Radford University with a degree in communications/PR, he was quickly hired as a media planner for Circuit City. Next thing anybody knew, he was leading the media efforts for the company’s South and West Coast markets and its affiliate CarMax. Then it was off to The Martin Agency as media planner for Kellogg’s, Seiko, TV Land, and Alltel. His transition into account management came when he joined The Bergman Group in Richmond, quickly taking the lead in the agency’s efforts for Capital One, Drive Time, Sandler Training, CapTech Ventures, Sports Management International, IMG, Greenway Medical, and Sheltering Arms Physical Rehabilitation Centers. As Initiator-in-chief at the agency he founded in 2011, his sense of urgency, strategic ability and relationship management skills are highly valued by our clients. He’ll be sharing his expertise around the country as a featured presenter at six national conferences in the Digital Summit 2020 Series. The series is designed to provide innovative strategies in digital advertising and marketing from recognized experts in the field. Andrew will be on the speaker lineup at conferences in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York City, Tampa and Kansas City. Wherever he is or whatever needs to be done to ensure success for our agency or our clients, Andrew is always making things happen. Fast.

Give Andrew a quick shout here.

Hailing from the South West of England, Darren brings a breadth and depth of experience from both sides of the Atlantic. An inspiring and passionate leader, Darren knows how brands can leverage creativity and innovation to play a meaningful part of people’s lives. His experience blends industry-renowned brand creativity, leading edge digital innovation, and the fundamentals of driving business impact through modern performance marketing.

Guided by curiosity and the will to make things happen, Darren has helped inject energy and drive impact across a broad range of brands like British Airways, HUMMER, Bank of America, Zipcar, Harley-Davidson, Oreo, Tic-Tac, to name just a few. Moreover, he has done this across a broad range of marketing agencies including fiercely creatively driven agencies like The Martin Agency and Modernista! to industry leading digital agency Digitas and smaller hybrid agency/consulting models like The Variable.

Darren is a business savvy, collaborative partner, who is committed to deploying modern creativity and tools to help businesses thrive; driving real, meaningful value for their customers and the world at large. Also, be warned, he fancies himself as a comedian and finds a way of getting a laugh even in the most pressure filled situations.

Say ‘sup to Darren here.

Anne brings two very different, very strong skill sets to our clients: She’s an experienced account executive as well as an award-winning designer. That means that Anne understands the strategic and creative sides of the business equally well, and can run her projects efficiently and effectively. After attending The Art Institutes, Anne worked for a number of ad agencies, spending six years as creative director for one local agency. She’s also been a business owner, handling everything that goes into running a small marketing firm. Anne’s client list includes Allergan (which developed Botox®), Carpenter (a Fortune 500 consumer products manufacturer), Smithfield Foods, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and Hilldrup Moving and Storage.

Send Anne a message here.

Billy Collins brings a broad range of brand management experience to initiate-it, after leading Mega Brands in the US like Aveeno, Lubriderm and RoC, the global billion dollar brand of Listerine, as well as serving as the CMO of the emerging challenger brand, Soapbox Soaps. Billy is most passionate about having the ability to meet someone, listen and then help solve their core brand and business challenges.

A digital native grounded in consumer behavior fundamentals, Billy approaches each brand individually to identify the best positioning unique to its category with a key focus on what matters to the target consumer. This approach was developed by leveraging traditional marketing strategies combined with emerging digital media tools to grow both retail and eCommerce business, working within both Fortune 100 and startup environments. The results that follow Billy come from leveraging strong communication and interpersonal skills to set a vision for the brand, to develop team members and to partner with all key stakeholders. Billy received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School because at the core, Billy’s about building bridges even though he will always pull for the Blue Devils.

Reach out to Billy here.

Alyssa is passionate about all things digital. She loves developing strategic digital campaigns to help businesses reach their target demographics. Her passion for research helps her stay on top of new platform updates and trends across the digital landscape. She has worked in numerous industries ranging from government to home services. When not in the office you will find Alyssa playing with her pets or making jewelry.

Say hello to Alyssa here.

When you need someone to take care of the tasks that you can’t, or think of the things you don’t, Sarah is already on it. Detail is the name of her game. Sarah has grown with initiate-it from the very beginning and handles all sorts of accounts — large, small, and everywhere in between. She spends most of her time on the Sandler business (an international sales and leadership training organization) providing strategic account direction and project management services for their national lead generation program. Not only does Sarah enjoy the account services side of the business, but she also assists with operations. Every day on the job is different, and that’s why Sarah loves agency life. When she’s not in the office, Sarah likes to spend time outside with friends.

Ask Sarah “what’s up?” here.

A division 1 athlete with a studio art degree, Libby has always had to balance the unique tension between her creative and logistic sides. She is a quick learner who loves big splashes of paint and never missing deadlines. Working with clients like Sandler Training and M&Ms has allowed her to expand her expertise in all creative genres. She finds life at a digital-first agency particularly exciting because of its fast-paced, always-changing, limit-pushing nature. Libby also proudly serves as initiate-it’s self-appointed resident lunch enthusiast.

Give Libby a lil’ buzz here.

Mary Grace has always had a wild imagination and an eye for detail – two characteristics that guide her creative process whether she’s working on graphic design, animation, video production, or photography. Her prior experience as both a digital analyst and account manager provides her a unique perspective on the intricacies of a fast-paced, digital landscape. Mary Grace studied Media Arts & Design, Graphic Design, and Photography at James Madison University, which honed her artistic ambitions into real-world skills and strategies that led her directly to the initiate-it team. On the off chance that she isn’t holed up in the cave (otherwise known as our in-house production studio), you can probably find her teaching barre classes, drinking diet coke, or snuggling with her three pugs.

Chitchat with Mary Grace here.

Simply put, Jason is here to create memorable, effective work. With over 20 years of agency experience he has a growing track record of elevating brands. As a creative director with a copy background, Jason leads teams to make the connection between strategy and concept.

And even though it’s not brain surgery or rocket science, he thinks “cracking the code” to consumers’ hearts and minds is pretty close.

Touch base with Jason here.

While all of initiate-it’s team members are talented and experts in their respective fields, maybe none are more proficient at their assigned tasks than Pearl, initiate-it’s Chief Happiness Pawfficer.

Known for her tenacious attitude and ‘go-get-em” mindset, Pearl fits in well with the rest of the office and has been nothing but a boon to productivity since joining the team. Her presence has contributed to record highs in smiles and use of puppy-voices

Pearl has been a committed advertising specialist since she was just a little pup in the industry, and now, a seasoned professional, spends her days inspiring the office with her charm, honing her technical expertise skills, and after greeting all, sleeping under her mom’s desk.