News

Boston, MA (September, 2009) – Holland-Mark, the resurgent independent agency from the nineties, has formed Holland-Mark Digital under the aegis of social media pioneer and brand consultant Mike Troiano. The agency’s return to the Boston marketplace in 2007 has been marked by a steady string of new business and growth despite the challenges of a global economic recession. The creation of Holland-Mark Digital and Troiano’s joining the firm is the latest step in the firm’s march towards regaining largest independent agency status and being able to provide its clients with integrated “best of breed” capabilities across every facet of the marketing and communications spectrum.

“Since our rebirth the digital offering has been a critical part of our success. But we knew that to really step it up we needed to find a partner who had the strategic chops and real-life experience to be able to guide our clients through the maze of digital opportunity while ensuring that whatever we do is part of a holistic approach to driving their business. Our twelve-month search ended abruptly when we met Mike. He is the real deal. He’s a businessman, a brand strategist, and a social media expert. He understands how to produce a tangible return from the digital investment. And that’s what clients seek,” said Chris Colbert, Holland-Mark’s CEO.

A Harvard Business School graduate, Troiano spent his early career at McCann-Erickson and Foote, Cone & Belding and moved on to become the founding CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Interactive in 1995, reporting directly to Martin Sorrell, the WPP CEO. Two years later he co-founded Brandscape, a strategic interactive services firm and in 2002 became the General Manager of m-Qube, a mobile content pioneer that was sold to VeriSign in 2006. In 2007 Mike became CEO of MatchMine, a media discovery start-up funded by The Kraft Group, and he now serves on the advisory board of Crimson Hexagon, a Cambridge-based strategic web analytics firm focused on helping clients extract tangible value from the online conversation. Along the way Troiano has become a recognized pioneer and truth-teller within the social media milieu. His blog, ScalableIntimacy.com, appears on both the AdAgePower150 and Alltop Social Media lists, and his Twitter presence (@miketrap) is among the 1% most influential on the service according to Twinfluence.com.

“Joining Holland-Mark is like coming home for me,” shared Troiano. “It represents an opportunity to apply everything I have learned about brands, technology, and people to create distinct value for our clients and all the constituencies we serve. While my primary focus will be expanding the depth and breadth of Holland-Mark Digital’s offering, I joined the agency to help build one great agency. And that’s what we are doing.”

Holland-Mark, with Holland-Mark Digital and HM Studios, is a full-service agency focused on providing marketing and brand strategy supported by highly effective communications across the offline and online spectrum. The agency’s clients include Gazelle, Grill 23, Hello Health, IHRSA, MassMutual, Mercer, One2One BodyScapes, Pearson Education, Post 390, Scholastic, and Virgin Money.

Boston, MA (July 2009) –One2One BodyScapes, a national fitness and one-to-one personal training franchise headquartered in Newton, MA, has hired Holland-Mark after an agency review to help revamp its branding in an effort to drive franchise opportunities around the country.

One2One BodyScapes is an award-winning personal training franchise helping reconnect clients to fitness through personalized programming and goal setting. One2One BodyScapes also operates two full-service fitness facilities, one in Brookline and one in Southborough. Their expert trainers build their philosophy into their customized workouts and a wholly personal training system, including nutrition plans and activity-based workouts.

Holland-Mark is tasked with helping to homogenize the brand experience across new and existing franchise opportunities. “One2One BodyScapes is changing the way that people approach personal fitness. As consumers we are encouraged to live better, greener, more active lives and with this comes a re-emergence of the health and fitness industry. The product is something that people want, we just need to make sure that they understand how accessible and approachable it is,” says Chris Colbert, the agency’s CEO. Rob Shapiro, One2One BodyScapes’ founder and CEO, states, “In order for us to scale, we need a partner who understands the unique nature of our offering. Holland-Mark understands the potential of our brand and is helping us move strategically forward into the next phase of our growth.”

The brand work and campaign budget have not yet been established.

Boston, May 11, 2009 –The Greater Boston Food Bank has launched a new marketing campaign designed to underscore the increasing presence of hunger in the Commonwealth and motivate the general public to donate what they can to fight the problem. Created by Holland-Mark the, “Hunger is Here” campaign leverages the invasive tone of stenciled street art to announce that hunger is closer than we think—it’s at Fenway, it’s in every neighborhood, it’s sitting next to us on the train.

The campaign appears on bus sides, billboards, newspapers, and according to agency CEO Chris Colbert, may show up in some unexpected places. “The challenge with hunger is that you can’t see it and therefore some don’t believe that it really impacts their world,” says Colbert. “The creative approach allows us to boldly debunk that view in surprising ways.”

“The strong design and equally strong copy of the ‘Hunger is Here’ campaign are critical to The Food Bank’s ongoing efforts to educate the public about the issue of hunger, The Food Bank’s role in providing food to hundreds of hunger-relief organizations, and the role that everyone can play in the fight to end hunger, particularly during these difficult economic times,” says Jennifer Ebisemiju, Director of Marketing at The Greater Boston Food Bank. “We are honored to have been given an opportunity to partner with the dedicated team at Holland-Mark and thrilled with the outcome.” The awareness campaign ultimately directs potential donors to helpfighthunger.org where they are encouraged to donate as little as $5 to help end hunger in Eastern Massachusetts.

The campaign launched in April and will run through the remainder of the year.