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OUR PEOPLE
Through our dedicated nucleus of principal strategists, managing consultants and project directors, we provide our clients with integrated marketing communications solutions that grow the business. Our clients also benefit from a broad pool of experienced independent professionals across multiple disciplines as well as talented specialists in a variety of artistic, creative and managerial capacities. Our primary consultants have been instrumental in designing, developing and delivering successful strategic marketing communications initiatives. These executives have overall responsibility for managing and maintaining the client relationships and driving the strategies we create for our customers. They will be actively involved in your project, but only as needed. We strongly believe that people truly are our most valuable resource. Founding Principal As founding principal and president of ClearBlue Brand Solutions, Seth Kerr is responsible for setting the company's strategic direction, as well as evangelizing its unique value proposition to the marketplace. Since its inception in 2002, Seth has guided the organization through its evolution as a customer-centric, innovative and dedicated enterprise. Seth brings twenty-five years of insight and experience in corporate business communication, multi-media production and strategic marketing to every assignment, making certain that all of ClearBlue's clients receive the best the creative community has to offer. Upon moving to Texas in 1982, Seth began his communications career in the commercial advertising industry, working with Keller-Crescent/Southwest and then DBG&H on a variety of campaigns for both local and national advertisers, including Muse Airlines, El Chico Restaurants and Justin Boots. Growing more interested in the creative process, he joined a small, yet highly-specialized, Dallas-based corporate video production company in 1985 and spent seven years honing his writing, directing, editing and producing skills, while traveling the world over for clients such as Kimberly-Clark, Mazda Motors, Shell Chemical, Kemper Insurance and AT&T. His extensive foreign travel itinerary featured stops in Africa, Australia, China, Mexico, Singapore, Thailand, and numerous points throughout Europe, including Austria, Denmark, England, France, Hungary, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland. Sensing a shift in corporate priorities and recognizing the evolving marketplace, Seth became actively involved in the message development and delivery process by joining CorporateMAGIC in late 1991, turning his attention and focus to business event communication and multi-media production. Through the balance of the decade, his responsibilities included executive sales management, marketing, business development, account management and production direction-supervision responsibilities for a diverse group of results-driven Fortune 500 clients, including Texaco, MCI, Nortel Networks, Lennox Industries, Kawasaki, Ericsson, CompUSA, Etonic, Pier 1 and Verizon. Seth was recruited to PGI, Inc. in early 1999, where he helped build the corporate production portfolio of the international event and communications agency, adding destination management, logistics and operations knowledge to his resume. In 2001, Seth was tapped by TBA Entertainment to aid in growing its multi-media and music sponsorship business, selling corporate clients on the benefits of live event, promotion and cross-marketing opportunities in branded entertainment. Born just east of Zurich, Switzerland and adopted by an American couple, Seth grew up in Cookeville, Tennessee (near Nashville) and holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing from Tennessee Tech (1980) as well as a Masters degree in Communications (1984) from The University of Tennessee. A published singer/songwriter, Seth has performed in a wide variety of theater and stage productions, raised champion Tennessee walking horses and is actively involved in numerous church, civic, social and humanitarian causes. Most recently, Seth received the 2003 National Leadership Award and currently serves as Texas' Honorary Chairman to the NRCC's Business Advisory Council. He was a founding Board Member of the Sanderson Foundation Benefiting Alzheimer's Research, is an active member of the American Marketing Association (AMA), serves as Treasurer for the Dallas class of Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) and, in January 2005, was named vice-president, legislative affairs for the Dallas Council of the United States Navy League. Managing Consultants/LLC Members Managing consultants partnering with ClearBlue work directly with our principals across all deliverables and share client relationship management responsibility. Our managing consultants are also knowledge experts in the clients' respective business and often act as the principal with smaller client assignments, supervising our creative resource teams and protecting P&L objectives.
Debbie Benedek A gifted strategist with a keen business sense, Debbie Benedek is responsible for directing the efforts of our branding team in many of the unique communications solutions that help set ClearBlue apart from its competitors. Working with both technology start-ups (pre-IPO) and blue-chip consumer clients, Debbie brings a wealth of domestic and international brand building experience to each assignment and has proven skills in the areas of brand identity, strategy and development, advertising, sales promotion, media planning and buying supervision and retail concept development in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer environments. Debbie began her career in Dallas with Frito-Lay and Publicis/Bloom, before joining The Promotion Network and devoting her time, energy and enthusiasm to demanding clients, such as Host Marriott, Dr Pepper/Seven-Up, Precision Tune and Luby's Cafeterias. A stint with Leo Burnett Advertising in Chicago took her to Budapest, Hungary, where she drove business and revenues for Amstel, Fiat, Kelloggs, Johnnie Walker Red, Tic-Tac and Red Bull. Debbie's list of accomplishments is impressive, highlighted by the development and implementation of a comprehensive launch branding and communications strategy for United Messaging, a global enterprise messaging solutions provider; the creation of a unique on-line marketing sponsorship for Microsoft's Technology Center; and extensive work (naming, logo, interior design and execution) both domestically and internationally for Host Marriott airport locations Cheers, Premium Stock, Malibu Al's, The Gourmet Bean, Flying Fare, Quick Connection, Stinger Ray's and PS Airpub. Returning to the United States in 2000, she currently serves as senior vice president, brand marketing for MaggieMoo's International and lends her considerable expertise to ClearBlue while also consulting on a variety of independent projects. Debbie holds a Bachelor's degree from SMU and an MBA from The University of Texas, Austin. In his consulting role, Cecil Sharp provides sound counsel to our creative services team by ensuring the satisfaction of existing clients, nurturing relationships with our network of external resources and third-party service providers and managing the internal production staff. Cecil brings a very unique perspective to every assignment, having worked on both the client and agency side of the business. His diverse background includes more than fifteen years of experience as a creator and producer of corporate events, promotional programs, marketing campaigns, public relations initiatives and other business communications instruments, including video and multi-media productions. Cecil's primary responsibility on any given project is to make sure that the message is communicated in a fun, memorable and engaging way. He is also responsible for making sure that the client's objectives are not lost in the art of design and implementation, carefully guiding the finished product so that it jumps off the screen or the page exactly as planned and expected. Beginning his career as a staff writer and features editor for the Shreveport Journal, Cecil moved to Dallas to pursue additional journalistic opportunities. He joined a Dallas public relations firm and worked on many high-profile accounts, including The Dallas Cowboys Football Club, D/FW International Airport and the Dallas Urban League. Relocating to Atlanta, he spent five years as creative director for two nationally-recognized production companies (PGI, Inc. and TBA Entertainment), then spent another five years at MCI Business Services as Executive Scriptwriter, Senior Manager of Marketing and Production Services and Senior Manager of Business Programs. Today, Cecil contributes his insights, skills and talents to ClearBlue while guiding his own company, TSG Creative, to a leadership position in the corporate media production market. A multiple award-winning graphic artist and designer, Scott Lumley brings a special vision to every project. Throughout his career, Scott has participated in the rapid growth and evolution of all things visible, from single image design to full multi-media applications. A thorough working knowledge of both MAC-based and PC-based software makes him extremely versatile when it comes to designing information for consumption on the digital superhighway. On corporate meetings and live events, Scott is primarily responsible for thematic logo treatments, presentation support, speaker visuals and all interactive applications. He understands the delicate balance between a presenting executive and an audience, supervising artists, programmers, animators and special effects designers to see that the overall message is effectively communicated. For corporate branding and marketing projects, Scott focuses his attention not only on the design of a site and the presentation of its content, but also on how the end user will interact with the site and what sensory and tactile experience can best be utilized to deliver a positive impression. Specializing in digital visualization, branding and corporate image, Scott has gained a devoted following among many sophisticated clients, including IBM, Dell, Ericsson, BMC Software, Carlson and PFSWeb for his own company, EPS Studios, while also supporting ClearBlue and its growing customer base. A true visionary in the rapidly-growing field of digital communication, Sam Stanton has been instrumental in the design, development, management and marketing of streaming visual applications and initiatives for corporate clients since the industry's infancy. Whether it's enabling an existing company intranet to support streaming media or streaming a live event to thousands of users, creating an entire streaming courseware with polling and engaging user interaction, or merely interfacing with existing web and marketing initiatives to create a more enticing, effective user experience, Sam's contemporary approach has been integral to the communications solution process. His background includes hands-on production in 17 different countries, as well as numerous awards for music videos, product releases, educational "informationals" and corporate image campaigns. With a solid understanding of traditional video/photography technology and over fourteen years of experience in cutting-edge visual communication, Sam pioneered the concept of integrated multiple media to put together an entire Digital Event Photography (DEP) Experience that encompasses every component of digital photography in meetings, events, incentive programs and corporate brand-building projects. Today, Sam continues to evolve fresh, leading-edge content through his own company, RedButton TV, for clients such as Morgan Stanley, ExxonMobil, Bayer, GE, Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and Mary Kay Inc. while also advising ClearBlue and its customers. Project Directors Our project directors' primary function is to support the team across all phases of the communications development process. The project director acts an account manager, functioning alongside the clients' internal staff, establishing reporting channels, outlining production timetables for all deliverables, assisting in the selling process and preparing presentation materials. |
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