A fast-growing digital agency helmed by a trio of industry alums continues to add to its leadership team in Cincinnati – this time poaching a Procter & Gamble brand builder for a newly created role.
CourtAvenue, which calls Over-the-Rhine’s Union Hall home, last week named seven-year P&G vet Rory Foster as its new executive director of CPG (consumer packaged goods) and retail.
In the role, Foster will lead commerce growth for those verticals for the firm, including business oversight, go-to-market, business development, capabilities planning and partnerships. He’s spent the past year and a half leading P&G’s oral care e-commerce business as a brand director, and previously founded his own consulting practice working with startups on digital strategies.
The hire pushes Court Avenue’s total headcount past the 110 mark. Locally, the agency has a team of 40.
The position is considered a natural next step for both parties, CEO Michael Stich told me. Last year, CourtAvenue celebrated record numbers – Adweek named it the fastest-growing agency in America with 6,000% three-year growth.
Clients are continually asking for more.
“We've proven with data that we can drive content creation online – and new insights to help improve content performance,” Stich said. “Now it’s about handling all of their shopper marketing capabilities as well. Rory is coming in not only to lead us to new levels of growth, but he brings an enormous wealth of (experience) with his own background both before Procter and during.”
CourtAvenue, founded in 2020, is led by former WPP executives Kenny Tomlin, also the founding CEO of Rockfish; Dan Khabie, the founding CEO of Mirum, a global digital agency; and Stich, a former CEO, CIO and COO at Rockfish. It calls itself a digital transformation agency and works with brands to find new avenues of growth “in today’s digital age.”
It serves as the digital agency of record for automaker Kia – which remains its largest client – while also supporting companies like Taylor Guitars, General Mills, Epson and Holly Hunt, a luxury furnishings brand.
Stich said CourtAvenue operates as a network of companies. Since its launch, it’s added Modifly, a performance marketing agency that works largely with startup CPG brands, like Super Coffee; and Gigantic Playground, an experiential agency that brings new technologies to physical, in-store experiences, among others.
Commerce represents about a third of the business.
Foster said CourtAvenue’s use of bleeding-edge technology – it’s also implementing AI to better serve consumers – and its startup mentality attracted him to the role.
Ad spend in retail media is expected to hit $85 billion this year, Foster said. He considers it “a huge and fast-growing component of investment.”
“Right now, the way most companies are thinking about it is flawed. It's viewed as a marketing expense,” Foster told me. “This is the new merchandising. It’s how you get your products in front of consumers. It's really merging into one omnichannel way (or a shopping experience that spans all channels, including in store, mobile and online), and for us to be able to have those conversations and bring those insights to our clients, it’s hopefully going to help transform the industry.”
Foster’s addition is the latest in a streak of hires CourtAvenue has made to bolster its team. The company is largely distributed, with C-suite executives in Austin, Columbus, Minneapolis and more, but a majority of that team is in Cincinnati, including Jana Roszkowski, the company’s chief operating officer; and Scott Hamm, chief data officer.
Hamm, another Rockfish alum, along with Stich, were among CourtAvenue’s first two hires.
Rosie McGuire, CourtAvenue’s chief creative officer, joined from VMLY&R, where she co-led the firm’s Cincinnati office, in late 2022. Jules Breslin, previously with the Talent Magnet Institute, and a 2021 Courier Forty Under 40 honoree, was named director of people operations in mid-2022.
Its growth locally means the company has reached capacity at its office in OTR. Stich said CourtAvenue is actively looking for new space – a search that includes downtown and Covington.
It could make a move as soon as the first half of this year, he said.
“It's been a crazy ride, and we’re continuing to scale up,” Stich said. “For me, talent is the biggest thing. The fact we've got the people we do, and that people like Rory keep coming into the company – for people to raise their hand and say, ‘I want to be part of something new’ and grow this out with us – it's hugely rewarding.”
