- Atomic Ideas - Helping You Sell More Stuff!

Laura’s made a career out of climbing mountains. Beginning as a Traffic Coordinator, she steadily rose through the agency ranks to become President of her own agency. Her experience includes stints at Goldfarb Hoff & Co. Advertising, Doner and Yaffe & Co. in the areas of retailing, manufacturer co-op, QSR and more. She also spent five years as Belle Tire’s acting Director of Marketing while also maintaining her agency duties at Atomic Ideas.

Over the years she has been responsible for developing consumer promotions, marketing plans, media strategies & planning, broadcast budgeting and anything else her clients required of her. On top of that, her organizational skills and ability to respond to deadline pressure would make a good self-help book.

Laura’s diverse skills, commitment to client service and grace under pressure have resulted in lasting client relationships and outstanding results where it counts... at the cash register. In her spare time she likes to hike, bike, listen to good music and teach her two young children the fine art of multi-tasking.

Brand Experience Snapshot:

Little Caesars Pizza, Mr. Pita, Papa Romano’s, Hot ‘n Now Hamburgers, Art Van Furniture, Belle Tire, Carl’s Golfland, Grand Home Furnishings, Detroit Newspapers, Detroit Institute of Arts, Futorian, Hagopian World of Rugs, Kane’s Furniture, Kitchen Aid Home Appliances, Kenmore Home Appliances, Kronheims, Marketplacedetroit.com, Preferred Solutions, Sanyo Electronics, Harlem Furniture, Whirlpool National Co-op

• Skillset: Account & Strategic planning, media strategy & planning, retail promotion, broadcast
production, gourmet cooking, helping companies sell more stuff!

Russ has spent over twenty-five years involved in almost all aspects of the advertising, marketing and brand-building business. He started his career as an art director at W. B. Doner working on major brands including Vlasic and Chiquita, as well as regional retailers. He then moved on to the far east working at Ogilvy & Mather Results, Hong Kong on American Express. Returning to the states, he joined Goldfarb Hoff & Company and rose through the ranks to become VP Associate Creative Director on the AT&T, Whirlpool and Monroe Auto Equipment accounts.

In 1995 Russ left the company to start his own agency, Flashpoint! Creative, Ltd. Prior to his departure in 2001, the agency had grown substantially with a diverse client list including Lucent Technologies, The Detroit Newspaper Partnership, Carl's Golfland and Belle Tire. During this time the Agency helped take Belle Tire from 26 stores to over 60 by creating iconic brand positioning and advertising that led to a 30% share of the retail tire market in Michigan. Today Belle Tire has over 80 locations.

Since leaving Flashpoint! Creative, Russ co-founded Atomic Ink Idea Factory (now Atomic Ideas) and worked concurrently as the Executive Creative Director for Michigan agency Fresh Fuel. At Fresh Fuel, he was instrumental in helping to re-brand Kar’s Nuts and bd’s Mongolian Grill. Through it all, he has focused on developing extensive knowledge of the Internet and digital marketing opportunities and strategies.

A Brit and ardent fan of English Premier League Football, Russ mollifies his American wife by pretending to like baseball and apple pie.

Brand Experience Snapshot:

bd’s Mongolian Grill, Zoup!, Hot ‘n Now Hamburgers, American Express, AT&T Consumer Products,
AT&T Phone Centers, Belle Tire, Carl’s Golfland, Kar’s Nuts, Detroit Newspapers, Hagopian World of Rugs, Highland Appliance, Jet U.S., Kitchen Aid, Kodak Corporation, Lucent Technologies, Michigan Credit Union, Modernistic Carpet Cleaning, Powerhouse Gyms, Paint ‘n stuff, Sanyo Corporation, Sears Brand Central, Voyager.net, Whirlpool Corporation, Marketplacedetroit.com

•Skillset: Internal & external brand strategy development, Internet/digital brand strategies, copywriting,
art direction, broadcast production, guitar, photography, helping companies sell more stuff!

Greg contributes to the creative firepower that ignites strategically sound platforms into blazingly successful creative executions. With a degree in communications, his baptism of fire began at a small agency where, as a writer/producer/coffee-maker, he learned the fine art of cost-effective advertising. Moving on to Ross Roy (no relation) he honed his writing skills on numerous local and national clients. Gaining attention for his work, he was soon recruited by W.B. Doner, and quickly rose through the ranks to Vice President.

Later as Creative Director for DP & Company and award-winning Associate Creative Director for World Wide Wadio, Greg has created highly effective advertising for an impressively long list of clients. From Brand to Retail, TV to Web, Strategy to Implementation, Greg specializes in creating messages that not only get clients noticed, but also brings them desired results. Oh, and he still makes a great cup of coffee.

Now, working with Atomic Ideas he’s able to do more of what he loves… writing great advertising that sells, without the layers of bureaucracy to slow him down.

Brand Experience Snapshot:

ABC Warehouse, Bennigan’s, BP, (British Petroleum), Murray's Auto Parts, Ponderosa, Builder’s Square, Red Roof Inns, Canadian Tire, Belle Tire, Color Tile, Detroit Edison, Eckerd Drug, Highland Superstores, Hibernia Bank, K-Mart, Kroger, Mazda, MascoTech, Michigan Lottery, Meijer, NBD, Comcast, History Channel, Discovery, Listerine, Nat Geo, Pedia Care, Radio Shack, Steak & Ale, TBS, Yard Man and many more.

•Skillset: Copywriting, strategy development, broadcast production, stand-up comedy, licensed pilot,
voice-over talent

Winner of numerous Clio Awards for projects with the Detroit Zoo, Canadian Tire, Highland Appliance and more, Steve Kidd brings not only an exceptional talent to a creative project, he brings years of experience on hundreds of different accounts.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Drawing from Michigan State University, Steve began his career at W. B. Doner & Company where he created print and broadcast work for retail accounts from around the country. It didn’t take long for Steve to make his mark and soon he was promoted to Vice President/Creative Group Supervisor in charge of a team of copywriters and art directors responsible for creative solutions on multiple agency accounts.

Moving on to Goldfarb & Company as Vice President/Associate Creative Director, Steve worked on national accounts like AT&T, Sears, Kmart, Whirlpool and more. After a two-year stint with Flashpoint! Creative, handling their broadcast responsibilities, Steve landed at Berline, where his multifaceted abilities in design and broadcast have led to a ton of successful results for an exceptionally diverse client base.Throughout his career, Steve has been an innovator in print design and broadcast art direction.

He is a master at stretching the small budget and has earned an incredible reputation for his relentless pursuit of excellence. Most of all, he loves to be part of the creative team at Atomic Ideas where he can use his strong, fresh and insightful creative abilities to conceptualize great, on-strategy ideas and design solutions that translate into all media, online or off.

Steve lives in Farmington Hills with his wife Cindy and two kids, Garrett, a new Eagle Scout and the lovely Miss Madeline.

Brand Experience Snapshot:

Art Van Furniture, Kewadin Casinos, Buffalo Wild Wings, Wendy’s, Grady’s American Grill
Papa Vino’s Restaurants, Total Health Care, CSC Healthcare, Kelly Services, Credit Union One
Michigan Credit Union League, Greektown Casinos, Scott Shuptrine, Marathon Oil, DTE Energy
Pentastar Aviation, Jiffy Lube, Canadian Tire, Belle Tire, AT&T National Co-Marketing
At&T Phone Centers, Whirlpool Appliances Corp., Eckerd Drug, Children’s Palace
Farmer Jack Supermarkets

Skillset: Clio Award winning broadcast art direction, broadcast production, design in all media,
project management, Golf, a memory like an elephant

Rick has over 30 years of market research and strategic planning experience. He has worked for independent market research companies, has been the Market Research Director for Volkswagen of America (Volkswagen, Audi and Bentley) and has worked for Doner Advertising as the Sr. V.P. Research Director. Since 2006, he has been an independent research contractor with domestic and international engagements across a wide variety of industries.

These have included automotive (Volkswagen, Audi, Ford, GM and Suzuki), retail (drug store, supermarkets, restaurants, mass merchants, home centers), package goods (OTC, soft drinks, snack foods), home and garden equipment and service (rental cars, motels). His strength is his ability to take market research and transform it into actionable strategy recommendations, not just hyperbole.

Rick’s background has given him the ability to create synergy between research/marketing objectives, the development of the appropriate research and analytic tools and the integration of knowledge with marketing solutions. He has provided strategic insight that covers a broad range of topics, including tracking, brand image, brand development, advertising/positioning strategy, customer satisfaction, segmentation, loyalty, purchase motivation, product development and web site development.

Rick is a University of Virginia graduate. He looks forward to the day his golf handicap gets under 10. He and his family live in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Brand Experience Snapshot:

B.F. Goodrich, Borden Snack Foods, Bush Brothers, Campbell Soup, Chiquita, Scott Paper, P&G, Iams Pet Foods, John Deere, Fuji Film, Lowe’s, Arby’s, Ponderosa, Bennigan’s, Little Caesars , Longs Drugs, Meijer, 7-Eleven, ABC Warehouse, Michigan Lottery, LPGA, Volkswagen of America (VW, Audi, Bentley), American Suzuki

•Skillset: Strategic planning, market research, analytics, brand development, customer loyalty &
satisfaction, helping companies sell more stuff!