Edelman Expands Creative Bench in the Pacific Northwest

SEATTLE, Dec. 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Edelman today announced two new additions to its creative and planning leadership teams. Eddie Rehfeldt will serve as regional executive creative director and Chris Carter will serve as senior vice president of strategy and planning. In their new roles, Rehfeldt and Carter will lead creative and planning teams across Edelman's Seattle and Portland offices in conceptualizing and executing integrated communications marketing campaigns.

"As the media landscape shifts, talent like Eddie and Chris are essential to meeting growing client demand around content and storytelling," said Edelman Pacific Northwest general manager Will Ludlam. "This is an important step in helping us realize our communications marketing vision. How brands communicate with customers and constituents has changed – deepening our bench in new ways is critical to meeting that need."

Rehfeldt has spent the last 25 years as a self-identified creative "rodeo clown," leading a diverse team of creatives through a variety of unique projects. His strength is in building complex creative and content teams focused on multi-channel brand identity. Rehfeldt's recent collaborations won both a Gold and Silver Award at the 2015 Cannes Lions Advertising Festival and his prior accolades include more than 28 design and creative awards spanning multiple categories. His personal passion projects include his "Road2Manhood" podcast and upcoming companion book, as well as his graduate class at the University of Washington, called "Digital Storytelling for Social Impact," which empowers students to create powerful social action campaigns that activate community organizations.

"Big brands, organizations and enterprises can't demand to be heard any longer. They've got to earn that trusted engagement," said Rehfeldt. "Edelman is uniquely tooled to bridge that communications marketing divide. My wife tells me that everything I've done in my career has led me to this gig, to this remarkable company, this moment in time in our industry. Our audiences now insist on being interconnected and empowered. Edelman has the qualified chops to help brands and enterprises earn trust, attention and relevance in this constantly-jacked-up world." 

Carter brings more than 20 years of marketing experience to Edelman, spanning digital, direct and CRM, brand, consumer and B2B strategy. He spent the last 10 years at Wunderman Seattle where he led strategic efforts for major brands like T-Mobile, positioning and launching their "Un-carrier" campaign for the customer base, and Microsoft, where he helped to launch Windows 7 globally through a multi-agency, multi-channel campaign.

"I'm thrilled to be joining the Edelman Pacific Northwest team at a time of such incredible change," said Carter. "Edelman is in an ideal position to evolve its myriad services into one integrated communications marketing vision. I'm excited to bring my diverse background, spanning everything from technology and startups to business consultancy and digital marketing, to help drive that vision forward for our clients and our company." 

About Edelman Pacific Northwest

Established in 1992, Edelman's Pacific Northwest offices collectively have more than 250 full-time employees representing global, national and local clients across a range of industries and sectors. Edelman PNW specializes in multi-channel communication campaigns spanning social media, community relations, reputation management, media relations and brand positioning.

About Edelman

Edelman is a leading global communications marketing firm that partners with many of the world's largest and emerging businesses and organizations, helping them evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations. Edelman was awarded the Grand Prix Cannes Lion for PR in 2014; six Cannes Lions in 2015; and the Grand Prix in the Titanium category in 2016. The firm was named "2016 Global Agency of the Year" by the Holmes Report; one of Advertising Age's "Agencies to Watch" in 2014; and one of Forbes' "14 Most Influential Agencies of 2014." In 2015, Edelman was among Glassdoor's "Best Places to Work" for the fourth time. Edelman owns specialty firms Edelman Intelligence (research) and United Entertainment Group (entertainment, sports, experiential), a joint venture with United Talent Agency. Visit http://www.edelman.com for more information.

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SOURCE Edelman