Advertising Industry Veteran to Lead Pittsburgh Expansion
As part of a Pittsburgh expansion, Odato Marketing Group, Inc., a Sarasota, Florida-based advertising, public relations and Internet marketing agency, appointed Pittsburgh advertising executive Bruce Downing vice president/general manager of the Pittsburgh operation.
Downing has successfully consulted for top national brands including AIG, Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Stouffers, General Electric, PPG and many more. He has held various leadership roles including vice president at Della Femina (HBM Creamer), vice president/partner at the St. George Group, and vice president at MARC-USA and Pipitone Group.
Downing’s responsibilities are to develop the Pittsburgh Odato Marketing Group office, duplicating the firm’s successful Sarasota model. Additional Pittsburgh staff will be hired as needed to complement and add dimension to the Florida team.
The firm’s principal, Rich Odato, a Pittsburgh native now living in Sarasota, says he sees a great deal of synergy between the two cities. He says both are strong in areas where the agency has a successful track record of helping clients grow. “Our best success stories are with clients in healthcare, manufacturing, education and consumer brands,” he said. “Pittsburgh has many organizations in those sectors that can benefit from our approach.”
Realizing the evolution of the Web toward multimedia content, Odato Marketing added a full multimedia production studio to its Sarasota office in 2009, allowing the firm to provide sophisticated photography, audio and broadcast-quality HD video services in-house. “We provide multimedia services in synch with the economics and speed of the Web,” said Odato, who also teaches Internet marketing and social media at State College of Florida’s Small Business Development Center.
Downing says the firm’s forward-thinking approach to online advertising was one of the main things that attracted him to Odato Marketing. “This agency is on top of the latest digital and social media opportunities, but is rooted in sound strategic thinking and proven advertising methods.”
“We’re excited about the convergence of video and other dynamic content from regular media advertising, to online advertising, to social marketing. Today, we give customers multiple ways to interact with other potential customers and the brands we represent,” Downing said.
Rich Odato moved to Sarasota in 1997 and founded Odato Marketing in 2004 after working for the area’s largest ad agency. Odato Marketing’s client list includes top regional and national clients, including several large Pittsburgh projects the firm handled before deciding in 2009 to establish a formal presence in western Pennsylvania.
“Our firm’s philosophy, Outsmart, Not Outspend™, has been part of our culture since day one,” said Odato. “Now that approach is critical to every company’s strategy. Our clients are more interested in our PR, SEO, digital, multimedia and social media services than ever before.
