In Tom’s opinion, there is no more powerful creative force on Earth than that of shared, fervent belief. It’s what bridges divides within organizations; it’s what arms challengers to take the hill; it’s what forges timeless bonds between a company and the various communities it serves.
It’s also what Tom has delivered to world-renowned brands for over 20 years. And continues to champion for wholeheartedly in his role at Friends & Neighbors.
Over the course of his career, Tom and the teams he’s led have been recognized with nearly every major creative accolade. But it’s the outsized success of his work (to the tune of 21 Effies) that gives him the greatest sense of reward.
Mark believes the key to building brands is uncovering brand belief – and for good reason. For more than 27 years, he has used that guiding principle to develop transformational brand strategies and deliver outsized success for some of the world’s biggest, and most beloved, brands, like Nike Bauer, Belvedere Vodka, Anytime Fitness, Boston Scientific, Capital One and Fifth Third Bank.
Before starting Friends & Neighbors, Mark was the Vice President and Director of Strategy and Brand Anthropology at Olson in Minneapolis. There he led the development of Brand Anthropology, a revolutionary holistic strategic planning process that connects people and brands at the core level of shared beliefs. This unique discipline combines traditional agency account planning techniques with the principles and practices of Cultural Anthropology. Mark was also a driving force in helping earn 21 AMA’s Effie awards for effectiveness, and two 4A’s Jay Chiat awards for strategic thinking.
Earlier in his career, Mark worked at Campbell Mithun and Clarity Coverdale Fury. He holds a Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing from the University of Colorado – Boulder and an undergraduate degree in Advertising from the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. He is a contributing writer to Forbes and AdMap.
Creativity in pursuit of a meaningful connection between people and brands—that’s what Scott’s 20 years building brands, campaigns and experiences has made him passionate about. Scott has been agency side, client-side, and independent, working with brands (and budgets) big and small, and believes in smart strategy with a deeply connecting, deeply human central idea that can thrive in any medium and drive conversations beyond paid. Coming from a rich retail background, he also knows that getting people to pay attention (and, sometimes, make that all-important click) can be as critical as anything.
Scott started in direct mail, moved to Target as a writer, and then joined Minneapolis trailblazer Olson and tried the freelance independence life as well. He’s led work on iconic brands like McDonald’s, Target, Andersen Windows and Doors, Pepsico, and Medtronic, and a host of others in the health care, food, retail and nonprofit civic good space as well. Scott is long-time friend of and neighbor to Friends & Neighbors, because he knows creative soul mates when he sees them—and loves getting to see them every day.
Scott is also an award-winning novelist and enjoys cooking and playing sweet, sweet guitar licks that make his tweenage daughter’s eyes roll real hard.
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