Audio postproduction studio Sound Lounge has promoted Matt Smith to producer and hired Hannah Simpson as assistant producer in its commercial division, which is under the aegis of executive producer Dana Villarreal.
Beginning his career as a receptionist at the NYC-based Sound Lounge, Smith became a production coordinator, helping with sessions and learning the ropes that eventually led to his promotion. In his new role as producer, Smith will be responsible for organizing, recording and mixing sessions, while communicating with clients to meet their needs and manage expectations. He holds a BA in Music Industry and Audio Production from SUNY Oneonta and has worked with clients including Bank of America, Puma, Little Caesars and AT&T.
Simpson graduated from The New School with a BA in Culture and Media and most recently worked as a producer at PLUSHnyc, a boutique audio post studio offering a range of services. As assistant producer, Simpson will handle client audio needs from start to finish. Simpson has previously worked for beauty clients Clinique, Jo Malone, and La Mer and has worked on spots for Eggo and Sargento.
The commercial division at Sound Lounge has provided audio mixing for TV, radio and digital media, securing hundreds of Super Bowl spots and winning awards including Cannes Lions, Clios, Yellow Pencils and AICP Awards.
Forsman & Bodenfors Shifts Its Singapore Group Creative Director Ivan Guerra to Its NYC Hub
Forsman & Bodenfors (F&B) has expanded its creative leadership in New York by relocating longtime group creative director Ivan Guerra from the Singapore office to the Big Apple to support a quickly growing list of new client wins.
As a group creative director in Singapore, Guerra racked up numerous accolades and participated in a myriad of new business wins that fueled the agency’s growth year over year. He explained why now was the right time to come back to the states, adding more nuance in the process. ”Singapore is the business hub of Asia, New York is the business hub of the world,” he said. “Our office in Singapore was small when I arrived. Since then, we’ve more than tripled in size, and became the [number one] most creative agency in the country, and work with more and bigger clients than ever before. There’s always more to be done, but the agency I’m leaving behind is in fantastic shape and ready to take on the world, as I know they will.”
For Guerra, there’s an opportunity to replicate in New York the success he had in Singapore. During his career, he repositioned and promoted businesses and products across a wide variety of markets and industries including P&G, Coca-Cola and Booking.com. Some of his well-known work includes a campaign that increased Samsung’s sales in the Middle East by almost 200%, one of the most iconic films in the history of Converse, Verizon’s most successful sports partnership program “Data Dunk” with the NBA, and a “Proud Whopper” campaign in 2014 that reignited Burger King and garnered 13 Cannes Lions and a Grand Clio.
Coming back to New York after 15 years in the business, including a stint where he spent time at the likes of top-shelf agencies like R/GA,... Read More