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MINNEAPOLIS — February 23, 2011 — OLSON announces today that it has hired Dennis Ryan to lead its creative efforts as Chief Creative Officer, a new position.
"Dennis emerged quickly as a favorite in OLSON's CCO search. He has a sophisticated and polished creative sensibility, yet he embraces next-generation creativity," says Kevin DiLorenzo, OLSON CEO. "He has done the Super Bowl spots and the high-profile campaigns for blue-chip clients, but he understands the industry is now about much more. Dennis is genuinely excited about where OLSON is playing, where many disciplines are working together to blur the lines of creativity."
The oft-awarded Ryan joins OLSON from Chicago's Element 79, where he was partner and chief creative officer, elevating the agency's national creative reputation. During his illustrious career, he has also served as executive creative director at JWT, working on Dell, Blockbuster and every last variety of Kraft cheese, along with heading JWT's international creative council. Before that, he spent his first 13 working years at DDB, leading major clients like Budweiser, Bud Light, Frito-Lay and Discover Card. Beyond industry awards, Dennis takes great pride that his work, rich in packaged goods and other consumer brands, has been featured on Dick Clark's World's Funniest Commercials (available on Betamax and VHS). He holds a degree in art and English from the University of Notre Dame.
Dennis Ryan will be relocating to Minneapolis, but during the next year, he will be spending one day a week helping to drive integration at OLSON's Chicago office.
"I can't think of a more exciting creative job right now than mashing up really smart marketing specialties into new brand ideas at OLSON," says Dennis Ryan, OLSON's Chief Creative Officer. "In a time of real change in our industry, OLSON is doing so many things right—its focus on connections and emphasis on anthropology perfectly match today's socially networked world."
"Dennis has been a big believer in brand community building all along, so imagine our enthusiasm when we found he is already on board with OLSON's core philosophies," says OLSON CEO Kevin DiLorenzo. "We were lucky to discover him just as he was exploring and writing about what's next in this industry. And having him in Chicago part of the time will help assimilate our agency offices."
OLSON is one of the top 10 independent, full-service agencies in North America. The 400-person-strong agency is dedicated to building and activating brand communities by combining insight, ingenuity and accountability. Holistic by design, OLSON aims to be the leading brand connection agency in the world by providing brand anthropology and strategy, advertising, mobile, interactive, social engagement, public relations, design, media and one-to-one for the world's most respected brands. For more information, visit www.oco.com, join us at facebook.com/OLSONagency and follow us on Twitter @OLSONagency.