John Gonnella

Current

Creative Director at Studiocom
Principal at Truth & Soul
Freelance Creative Director/Consultant at Mercury-Agency

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Past

Freelance Creative Director/Consultant at Jack Morton Worldwide
S.V.P. Group Creative Director at Digitas
Senior Vice President, Creative Director, Chicago, IL at Digitas

Vice President, Creative Director at Digitas
Senior Art Director at Ingalls, Quinn & Johnson,

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2 more...

Education

New England School of Art and Design
Massachusetts College of Art

Recommended

2 people have recommended John

Connections

500+ connections

Industry

Marketing and Advertising

John Gonnella’s Summary

"If John could be compared to any object it would undoubtedly be a Swiss army knife. We can tell you a million stories about his talent, his determined work ethic, and his accomplishments, but all of that will be forgotten when you first meet him. And when you do, you'll wonder how it's possible for this guy to have 2 kids and no wrinkles. From his wardrobe to his demeanor, John stays on top of trends. And let's face it, in this industry, the last thing you want when looking for a creative shop is someone who thinks Girbaud pants are still cool. We could go on and on, but when you get down to it, all that matters is that John does kick-ass work and laughs with you along the way. Oh yeah, he oil paints too."

Contact Directly at jgonnella@mac.com

John Gonnella’s Specialties:

Creative, Branding, Channel Integration, Digital Media and Customer Relationship Management, Interactive, Experiential

John Gonnella’s Experience

Creative Director

Studiocom

(Public Company; 51-200 employees; Internet industry)

September 2008 — Present (1 year 3 months)
Principal

Truth & Soul

(Partnership; 1-10 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

May 2006 — Present (3 years 7 months)

Creative leader responsible for building brands from the web out. developing and implementing big ideas for brands using an integrated multi-channel approach. Strategy implementation and creative execution for work with Fortune 500 companies. Known for building strong client relationships and providing perspective and strategic context to creative work.
Freelance Creative Director/Consultant

Mercury-Agency

(Marketing and Advertising industry)

2006 — Present (3 years )

Responsible for leading several new business initiatives as well strengthening relationships on exiting accounts.
Brand Development, Creative and Art Direction as well well as Strategic Consulting on Tweeter, Shaws, CIGNA and CVS.
Freelance Creative Director/Consultant

Jack Morton Worldwide

(Public Company; 501-1000 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

May 2007 — August 2007 (4 months)

Responsible for Creative leadership on several new business initiatives as well as strengthening relationships on exiting accounts.
Creative and Art Direction on Subway, Reebok, Rockport Shoes, Virgin and Grant Thornton.
S.V.P. Group Creative Director

Digitas

(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; DTAS; Marketing and Advertising industry)

2004 — 2006 (2 years )

Responsible for leading six full-time creative teams serving several flagship agency accounts.
• Co-led the General Motors (North America), Virgin Life Care and AT&T accounts in strategic development, creative direction and production across print, interactive, direct marketing and promotion programs.
• Key leader in positioning, launch strategy and advertising for six GM model launches.
• Senior Creative Leader for General Motors’ customer retention initiative (CRM)
• Directed brand strategy and development of interactive web-based campaign designed to change perceptions of the GM brand. This included development of the integrated multi-media “Live Green Go Yellow” campaign that positioned GM in a more progressive light with its cars running on “flexible fuel” (ethanol). (www.livegreengoyellow.com).
• Led redesign of GM website (www.OnlyGM.com)
• Senior Creative Lead on Virgin Life Care for fully integrated campaign of interactive, outdoor and print.
Senior Vice President, Creative Director, Chicago, IL

Digitas

(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; DTAS; Marketing and Advertising industry)

2003 — 2004 (1 year )

Creative Lead of Chicago office reporting to the Worldwide Creative Director. Responsible for all creative product out of Chicago office. Successfully restructured the creative department of 25-30 full time employees including the art buying, production and studio groups. Led all creative initiatives, from strategy implementation through creative execution for all clients including Best Buy, Allstate Insurance, Eli Lilly, KitchenAid and Brunswick Boats.
• Established leadership structure in Chicago office. Set up Creative Council. Introduced monthly staff meetings with cross-system/team sharing. Instituted weekly team meetings by account.
• Enhanced efficiency by establishing training in all departments on workflow processes, and improving freelance to fulltime ratio.
• Led and won several key new business pitches (Eli Lilly, Brunswick Boat, KitchenAid).
• Created all online advertising Best Buy and Allstate.
Vice President, Creative Director

Digitas

(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; DTAS; Marketing and Advertising industry)

1996 — 2003 (7 years )

Recruited back to Digitas to lead the launch of American Express Membership Rewards Program, a program that was transformational and unique to the loyalty marketing industry.
• Helped define strategic positioning of American Express Membership Rewards program and its look, feel and language so that a very complex program could be simplified in communication to consumers. This became one of the most successful acquisition, retention and revenue tools at American Express.
• Helped launch a variety of programs for AT&T, including its DSL service, its partnerships with Delta and Continental Airlines, and the AT&T catalog program.
• Led the development of all marketing for Intercontinental Hotels’ Priority Club loyalty program (including print, web, point-of-sale and in-room advertising).
Senior Art Director

Ingalls, Quinn & Johnson,

(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

1992 — 1995 (3 years )

Recruited to help start a new direct response group within this general advertising agency.
• Led creative effort to launch the pioneering “Friends and Family” Plan for MCI Communications.
• Key contributor to company’s model for presenting new business pitches and creative work to clients.

John Gonnella’s Education

New England School of Art and Design

Corporate Design, Graphic design, Advertising Design, Professional Practice 1980 — 1983
Massachusetts College of Art

Digital Media

Additional Information

John Gonnella’s Interests:

Social Media, Online communities, Consumer Generated Media, Digital Influencers, Branding, Surfing, Big Oil Painting, Social Design, Technology,Culture, Graffiti