Two growing Little Rock marketing firms have appointed new creative directors, Chris O’Brien at Mangan Holcomb Partners and Travis Mosler at Agency501.
O’Brien, a former group creative director for Sullivan Branding of Memphis, also has extensive freelance creative and copywriting experience and began his advertising career in Little Rock.
Mosler is a digital filmmaking graduate of the University of Central Arkansas and completed an intensive summer program in directing at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles.
Mangan Holcomb gave O’Brien the crucial job of helping to lead branding, retail and business product line creative strategies for Windstream Holdings Inc., which named Mangan Holcomb and its digital affiliate Team SI as its agency of record in July. O’Brien has done previous work for the digital provider, which is based in Little Rock, and will oversee “creative strategies and executions” for Windstream’s national footprint, the agency said.
Chip Culpepper, Mangan Holcomb’s chief creative officer and principal, said O’Brien will develop creative concepts and execute them, overseeing creative elements and working with the executive suite to develop business. A graduate of Washington & Lee University in Virginia, O’Brien is a former associate creative director at Archer Malmo Inc. of Austin, Texas, and wrote copy for Little Rock’s Stone Ward, Thoma Thoma and CJRW early in his career.
“Chris brings extensive knowledge and tremendous creative skills to this position,” Culpepper said in a statement. “With his proven success in working with creative teams and fast-moving accounts, he will serve in this new capacity with the creativity, professionalism and enthusiasm needed.”
As a freelancer, O’Brien had clients like McDonald’s, Mountain Valley Spring Water, Acxiom, the University of Central Arkansas and the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, according to a Mangan Holcomb news release.
At Agency501, Mosler’s appointment on Aug. 3 coincided with the agency’s sixth anniversary celebration, according to agency co-owner McCabe Reynolds. Mosler was one of the company’s first hires in video production, but he went on hiatus to produce pilots and direct and outdoor television series on the Sportsman Channel, Wild TV and Wild TV Africa.
He returned to the agency in late 2016 and has been “dreaming about our creative possibilities for a while,” he said. “I couldn’t be more fired up about the new role.”
Reynolds said in a news release that he’s excited Mosler will be leading his team. “He has proven, time and time again, that he’s ready to lead,” Reynolds said. He is talented, smart, and an all-around great person.”
Agency501 serves clients in Arkansas, Texas and Tennessee and expanded in the spring to open an office in Memphis, dubbing it Agency901 after that city’s area code. The company has grown into a digital marketing success with 15 employees, the news release said.
