We believe your marketing should be
as innovative as your products.PJA likes to figure out the hard stuff. We find the hidden truths your competitors are ignoring and that your buyer cares about. Those insights drive marketing programs that go beyond advertising, winning attention at key decision moments to keep your product and services in demand. So you can gain an unfair advantage in tough markets.
work
Bio-Rad
New Product Pre-Launch
Preparative chromatography. Ever hear of it? You're not alone. It's a complex, but essential part of the scientific research process. So how do you introduce a new product (that does not yet exist) to an extremely targeted audience in a category that is dominated by a behemoth? You empower scientists to demand something better. And prove to them that you're it.
Brother
No More Compromises
Until recently, if you wanted a color printer for your business, you had to compromise. Want it to be fast and deliver great features? You’ll have to pay more. Want something more affordable? Forget about it being fast. Want it to have a smaller footprint? Say goodbye to 11x17 printing. But the new, compromise-free color inkjet from Brother changes all of that. Following our brand awareness campaign for them last year, we launched a product-specific campaign including national and direct response TV spots, customer case study videos, POP units and online display ads that had a CTR more than 1.5 times a typical B2B campaign.
FIS
Vision & Capabilities Video
Banking is becoming ubiquitous, as companies around the world integrate innovative payment solutions and financial services seamlessly into everyday experiences. And FIS, the world leader in financial technology, makes it possible. In this video, PJA helped showcase this new world of possibilities, as imagined during a day where financial services move with the moment.
Cambridge Trust Company
Consumer Brand Awareness
Certain financial transactions are easy. But then life comes up — your kids leave for college, the trip of a lifetime comes up, you plan for your retirement — and you need help, have a question, or want advice. That’s where Cambridge Trust Company comes in. With personalized service and advanced products designed to make your life easier. A series of mini stories was created to highlight this commitment and introduce people to a different kind of bank — Life’s Bank.
GE
Build a Better Practice
As healthcare reform puts payers, providers, and hospitals on notice, PJA has helped several divisions within GE Healthcare introduce innovations to the market that lay the foundation for anew kind of care delivery.
Westlake ACE
Social Outreach Campaign
There’s a lot of competition in the retail home improvement category. So how does a company sandwiched between big box retailers and the local Mom & Pop break through the clutter? By connecting with people’s passions. PJA is helping Westlake ACE Hardware stand out as the destination for people who are serious about birds, barbecue and their yards. But not too serious.
Trizetto
New challenges. New solutions.
Throughout our eight-year relationship, PJA has developed several campaigns to help Trizetto define a new standard of care for a broad constituency of ambulatory care physicians, hospital practices, and accountable care organizations the require strategic counsel as they take on more risk.
Brother
Consumer Brand Awareness Campaign
Small office businesses place high emotional value on their printer output, yet rarely, if ever, do they think about their actual printer. Until there's a problem. Through an integrated advertising campaign that included national TV spots and engaging consideration content, PJA helped Brother tap into this idea by bringing the printer to life, making it so reliable that small businesses didn't even know it was there.
Iron Mountain
Think inside the box
Companies everywhere are looking for ways to improve efficiencies and cut costs. One of the easiest places to start is often the most quickly overlooked: the way paper documents are managed and stored. PJA helped Iron Mountain engage financial leaders in mid-sized businesses, offering them an untapped opportunity to save money.
Limelight
Lead Generation Campaign
The opportunities for marketing with rich media are huge. But many marketers simply aren't aware of what they're capable of doing with video, interactivity and analytics. Using Limelight Networks own best practices and capabilities to showcase the possibilities for in-banner engagement, PJA created an integrated lead-generation program that was truly engaging.
Novell
WorkloadIQ
Just when you think you have virtualization figured out, along comes the “cloud.” Enter WorkloadIQ, a new approach to enterprise computing from Novell. Through innovative online ad units and a series of 30-second videos, PJA helped tell this complex story to show how WorkloadIQ helped businesses leverage technologies like cloud computing while maintaining compliance, security-and a cool demeanor-throughout.
TE
Brand Re-launch
Look around. If you see something that uses electricity, chances are TE Connectivity's technology or thinking is inside making it work. PJA helped rebrand this $14B company and rally its global workforce around a new name, a new vision for engaging customers, and a new way of thinking about themselves.
Trend Micro
Consumer Brand Awareness Campaign
No one really thinks about their internet security-until they realize they've been hit by malware. Or worse. Following the successful consumer launch of Trend Micro Titanium, PJA continued to raise awareness of just how fast, powerful, and seamless internet security can be with a highly emotional appeal to consumers, on a level that just about everyone can understand.
Trend Micro
Titanium Launch
Slow, burdensome internet security is a fact of life. It's just something we have to live with, right? That's just the type of mindset Trend Micro wanted consumers to re-think with the launch of their new consumer internet security product, Titanium. And PJA delivered with a highly integrated campaign centered around a very simple, very big truth.
Extreme Networks
Brand Awareness Campaign
Extreme Networks was a pioneer in Ethernet networking solutions. PJA was asked to help reclaim that status by repositioning the company as the only solution provider truly prepared to deliver against the challenges of network mobility. We created a full suite of branding assets to bring their new tagline "Make Your Network Mobile" to life.
with small businesses.
Turning document management into an untapped source of savings and efficiency.
Helping to make rich media advertising deliver real, measurable results.
Helping an enterprise collaboration tool break into the social networks.
Launching a new approach to enterprise computing.
Worldwide campaign to rebrand
Tyco Electronics as TE Connectivity.
Helping a networking technology pioneer reclaim their reputation for innovation.
approach
Competitors outspend you. Market perceptions can be outdated, inaccurate, and frustratingly hard to change. Buyers are elusive. And the channels, content, and devices they care about are changing constantly. Our mission is to turn the tables. To win you the attention and credit you deserve. To give you, in other words, an unfair advantage. Put simply, our promise is a more predictable return on your spend.
How? Click that arrow over there to see more.
The PJA way is equal parts investigation, creativity, and invention. Here are the four strategies we use to get you more than your fair share.
Market to humans
Your buyer is a person who reacts to messages rationally and emotionally. Our mission is to know your buyer better, so we know what channels he cares about and what content moves him to action. Go Human
Truth over imitation
Creative and media that imitate are only ads for your competitors. Standing out means skirting conventional wisdom, and tapping the hidden truths that actually move your buyer. View a Truth
Build brand and demand
Your buyer doesn't separate the two, so neither should your marketing. Watch Case
Read between the hype
In-between the hype of marketing technologies and their commodification is advantage. It is our job to find this advantage and make it work for you. Numbers that Matter
about
Phil Johnson
CEO
Phil wants to make PJA Advertising + Marketing great. That leads him to ask a lot of questions. How can we find and develop people so that we're better than we were yesterday? How can we make our agency a valuable destination for our clients? How can we improve on what agencies do?
He sees the ultimate role of agency CEO as a never-ending quest for undiscovered talent. He is a firm believer in hiring better and smarter than himself and is often in awe of the people at PJA. He's fascinated by the technologies that are changing the art and science of marketing, but still believes most answers can be found in understanding what makes people tick. He's relentlessly curious, and spends time writing for AdAge and running a speaker series for the Business Marketing Association of New York. He's frequently overbooked serving on the boards of the Boston Museum of Science, Partners in Health, and the Cambridge Community Foundation. He lives in Cambridge with his wife and two sons, although he needs to be reminded that one son is actually away at college.
Mike O'Toole
President and Partner
I feel privileged to live in these most interesting of times for marketing. While the ends haven't changed at all (make me famous, help me sell), all the means (channels, content, devices, who's in control) are changing constantly. Which means it's a great time to be an agency helping clients figure all this out.
As President, I oversee operations on both coasts, and advise clients on marketing strategy. I'm an occasional speaker and blogger for MarketingProfs, the BMA, and at SXSW. I thoroughly enjoy hosting PJA Radio's "This Week In Digital Media," a two-year old thought experiment where I get to discuss topics ranging from the impact of HTML 5, why humor matters in B2B marketing, and Social Media and the Middle Class Musician.
When it comes to PJA, I'm most proud of the agency's culture, and its collection of people who genuinely like each other, and work exceedingly hard to get clients the credit they deserve.
When it comes to home, I spend my free time coaching soccer, driving around my four kids, and hoping for a Notre Dame football return to glory. Ask me about my family's deep dive into the analog world, the Summer of 72 books.
Hugh Kennedy
EVP, Planning and Partner
Demographic
- 46-year-old male, 20 years marketing experience
- BA from Yale, but don't hold that against him
Work Life
- Works closely with C-level clients on marketing strategy and with Office Manager to ensure Nespresso capsules are stocked in kitchen
- Travels frequently between US cities and between desk and Wakefield schools to drop off and pick up children
Online Media Consumption
- Reads The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CIO, eWeek, Wallpaper and International Wine Cellar
Signature Quote
- "I'm working toward the day when every client is as daring in their marketing as their favorite campaign out in the world."
Doug Powell
Media Director
Doug's first lunch in advertising was at the legendary Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago (cheeseburger and chips-no Pepsi). Although he never went back, he did go on to work on many other iconic brands including Levis Jeans, Taco Bell, Pillsbury, MTV, Amazon.com, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, and Cisco. His curious nature for discovering how media can drive business growth and brand success makes him an asset beyond his profession. Meanwhile, he's also raised the bar significantly on where to go for a good lunch.
Greg Straface
VP, Business Development
As head of Business Development for PJA Advertising + Marketing, Greg leads the agency's efforts to identify and secure strategic partnerships, while expanding PJA's footprint from BtoB to BtoC. Greg brings extensive strategic marketing and business development expertise to PJA having worked with global agencies including Ogilvy & Mather, Publicis, BBDO and most recently Doremus where he helped launch the San Francisco outpost of that Omicom agency. Greg has a driving passion for building relationships and has been able to connect the strategic vision of PJA with innovative brands like Yahoo, Trend Micro, Brother International, CA Technologies, EMC, Boston Scientific, Novell and TE Connectivity.
Greg is most proud of his involvement in PJA being named Agency of the Year by AdAge's BtoB Magazine in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011.
Aaron DaSilva
VP, Executive Creative Director
For more than fifteen years, Aaron has driven creative thinking for numerous companies including Novell, Trend Micro, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Brother International, Chase Sapphire, State Street Bank, TE Connectivity, GE Healthcare, Juniper Networks, VH1 Classic, Jet Blue and Boston Scientific. His work has been honored numerous times by the One Show, Creativity, the Effies, the Telly Awards, The Hatch Awards, ANDY, Print, MITX, and the BMA Awards. In addition to providing creative leadership and direction across all client accounts, Aaron's role is to push the agency to create new experiences that disrupt category conventions and influence audience behavior. His trademarks include his booming laugh, impeccable haircut, and, more recently, white sneakers—which frankly, just isn't normal.
Robert Davis
SVP, Digital Marketing
I love working in an era that I see as defined by an interesting paradox: on the one hand, we have the bandwidth and development chops to rapidly create all kinds of digital content and functionality-from sites and social media content to QR codes, cheap video, mobile apps, and on and on. On the other hand, the relative ease with which we can make these things should be the thing that frees us to almost forget about the technology and to think very freely about how brands can behave-in the context of peoples lives-so that we can remove friction from the things they want to get done. So we can identify and suggest connections between things they didn't know to connect, or so we can be engaging enough to compete for their scarce attention or even their affection. It's this idea of finding ways to enable brand behavior that makes me think this is a great time to be a marketer.
Oh, yeah- the details: The list includes Think New Ideas, Ingalls, Chiat/Day, Lintas. Started out as a creative, jumped to strategy and am vain enough to say that's what makes creatives love me. American Express, AOL, AT&T, Capital One, CVS/pharmacy, Dell, EMC, GE, IBM, Infor, Mars, SAP, TE Connectivity. Green vehicles, heirloom tomatoes, assorted pets, my wife and two boys—all in reverse order.
Nicole Ciacciarelli
VP, Finance
Nicole is responsible for the financial operations of PJA, focusing on financial strategy and planning for the company. She sees to it that both our Cambridge and San Francisco operations practice fiscal responsibility in business dealings and ensures the agency is on track for profitability. A 12-year veteran of PJA, Nicole and her administrative team are also responsible for managing pretty much all things infrastructure at PJA including human resources, legal and our famous bottom-less snack bowls—salty and sweet.
Janet Carlisle
VP, Client Services
If you’re looking for someone who can think on her feet, articulate any marketing situation in human terms, or just make you laugh, few compare. Janet began her career over 20 years ago in New York working on consumer brands such as General Mills, Fisher-Price, Perrier, and Gillette. Since that time she's worked at agencies big and small, honing her skills in marketing strategy to deliver results-oriented programs domestically and globally. Most recently, she’s been serving as our trusted advisor to the brand leaders to clients such as Infor, GE Healthcare, Limelight, Iron Mountain, Brother Printers, and TE Connectivity.
When she's not running the client service department or tweeting like a rock star, she keeps us all honest and makes sure we're having a blast while we're at it.
Frank Schumacher
SVP, Managing Director, PJA West
SVP, Managing Director, PJA West
Frank leads PJA's San Francisco office and has more than twenty-five years' experience building global brands and delivering B2B and B2C marketing results, both as a former client and as a strategic agency leader.
In his early career, Frank worked at Apple, directing field marketing, product introductions, and worldwide advertising. His agency experience includes leading the Kodak business at Ogilvy, the global HP business at Publicis and, more recently, a diverse list of innovative clients including Cisco, Yahoo!, Trend Micro, Juniper Networks, Life Technologies, eBay, PayPal, Jamba Juice, SanDisk, Bio-Rad, and Hitachi.
Frank's strategic work has earned three EFFIE Awards (the American Marketing Association's award for marketing effectiveness), but he is arguably most effective at enjoying life in San Francisco.
Creating an unfair advantage isn’t easy.
A full service agency with a wide range of services and capabilities, we’ll conceive, develop, and deploy a deeply integrated campaign based on a core truth or idea that will help you win the credit you deserve.
Core Capabilities
- Positioning and messaging
- Branding
- Advertising
- Media strategy, planning & buying
- Digital marketing
- Content marketing
- Experiential marketing
- Integrated marketing
- Social media marketing
- Mobile marketing
- Marketing and customer analytics
Specialized Skills
- Demand generation
- Product marketing
- Thought leadership
- Audience insight programs
- Channel programs
- Employee engagement
- Video production
Latin3
Sao Paulo, Brazil
The leading digital marketing firm for global corporations catering to Latinos in the United States and Latin America, Latin3 creates, develops, and optimizes digital experiences across multiple channels. Latin3 has offices in Miami, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, and Mexico City. Visit Site
The NetworkOne
London, UK
The NetworkOne is an international network of 270 independent agencies in 156 cities across 64 countries. Our relationship gives us the opportunity to custom build PJA's agency partner network using best-in-class specialist agencies in both the technology and health science segments. Visit Site
Chugai
Tokyo, Japan; Shanghai, China
Founded in 1938, Chugai is Japan's oldest B-to-B agency as well as the first Japanese B-to-B agency officially licensed in China. Visit Site
Phil
Johnson
Mike
O'Toole
Hugh
Kennedy
Doug
Powell
Greg
Straface
Aaron
DaSilva
Robert
Davis
Nicole
Ciacciarelli
Janet
Carlisle
Frank
Schumacher
news & ideas
Bow & Arrow Blog
Ramblings of an Ad Man: How I Really Look at Ads
Jun 18, 2013 by Doug Parrish
I tend to read into things a lot more than usual. It’s just how I’m wired. And being an advertising creative, well, you could say I dwell on that stuff just a bit more. So I thought I’d perform a little experiment on myself, and show just what goes through my head when I see an ad. I apologize in advance.
TYPICAL REACTION:
Wow, that’s really cool.
MY REACTION:
Wow, that’s really cool.
Car insurance, hmm, that’s clever.
More cars covered would have been cool.
What if a car just moved spots and it was covered somewhere else in the lot.
What if they spilled more colors, and it was a lot more frenetic.
That looks expensive.
That looks like it took forever.
Eh, maybe if a lot of people were working on it.
How many people did it take?
How did they decide on the building?
That must have been fun to pitch.
A parking garage would have been fun.
Maybe a car dealership?
No, that would be ridiculous.
I wonder what happens to the van afterwards.
What if it was an ad for a charcoal grill, and it spilled and the whole parking lot was charred including the cars. That’d be cool.
They could do them both, in the same city, whoa.
How did they match the green on the printed piece to the paint on the ground?
What green is that? 382? Maybe 381. Yup.
I want to cover a building in paint.
“Like a good neighbor… oh wait,
“Nationwide is on your side…”
All caps, I love all caps.
The leading is pretty tight too.
What kind of van is that?
Is this fake? I hope not.
I wonder how long it took to paint?
You think they just spilled it freeform?
Did they have a template?
Can you still park there?
They should put ads on the windshields of people who park there.
What if there was a guy walking down the street covered in green?
Oh, and he could hand out local Nationwide agents’ business cards.
I wonder if they did a time-lapse video of it.
I love time-lapse videos.
What’s that typeface?
The paint splash on the right panel, that’s a nice touch.
Do you think they needed insurance to make this? Haha.
Helvetica? I bet it’s Helvetica.
Just a blue square for a logo, hmm.
“Nationwide is on your side…”
Wow, that’s really cool.
I could keep going, but you get the picture. It’s easy to look at advertising and not think twice. That’s kind of the point. It shouldn’t take long to get—that means it’s good. But it takes a 1,000 questions and probably 1,000 more answers to get the idea there, and that’s what I love about it.
Maybe it’s Helvetica Neue. Nah.
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PJA News
PJA Recognized by BtoB Magazine as A Top Midsize Agency for 2013
April 22, 2013, Cambridge, MA
PJA's CEO Phil Johnson Recognized as Industry Thought Leader by BtoB Magazine
July 19, 2012, Boston, MA
PJA Named Agency of Record for Country’s Largest Ace Hardware Dealer
March 7, 2012,
Brother International Taps PJA Advertising + Marketing As Agency of Record for Printer Business
August 1, 2011, Boston, MA
PJA Advertising + Marketing Unveils Latest Interactive Ad Campaign Creative for Limelight Networks
July 6, 2011, Boston, MA
PJA Blogs
CMO Network Blog
A Fundraiser Goes Off The Tracks When The Fashion World Tries To Raise Money For The Homeless
Jun 18, 2013 by Phil Johnson
The road to marketing hell is often paved with good intentions. When a business decides to support a nonprofit cause, it needs to emphasize the right values, or the effort will backfire. That's what happened when a group from the fashion world set out to raise money for a homeless shelter.
Small Agency Diary
The Route to Creative Director Starts With a Passion for New Ideas
May 31, 2013 by Phil Johnson
Phil Johnson
Let me tell you about the perks of writing for Small Agency Diary. There’s no pay, very little fan mail and to date a shortage of six-figure speaking engagements. On the other hand, I’ve met new friends, impressive people from every corner of the advertising industry. Best of all, on rare occasions, someone writ
The Unconventionals
Intel and the Creators Project
Jun 05, 2013
On this episode of The Unconventionals, host Mike O'Toole sits down with Intel's Creative Director, David Haroldsen to discuss The Creators Project: Intel's unique way connecting the future of chip technology with today's modern artist. This revolutionary pa...
culture & careers
Want to work @ PJA?
Maybe you’ve never heard of nanodots. Or know nothing about cloud computing. But you're smart and curious and love a challenge. We set a fast pace. Strive for brutal honesty. And think great creative can make people uncomfortable. Join us and make innovative marketing programs that defy the rules.
Email us at careers@agencypja.com.
Digital. Print. Broadcast. Blog. PJA advertising and marketing is looking for a mid-level copywriter who can thread a story together from headline to CTA, in any medium. Solid understanding of user experiences and all the ingredients required in any communication vehicle to influence behavior, whether they are snapping a QR code or downloading a demo. Inventive, curious, proactive and a quick learner, candidate has to be able to adapt to new technologies and formats. The team is fun, funny and relentless about delivering groundbreaking creative that shakes up culture. There’s a desk with your name on it and room to grow if you are, too.
Must Haves
• 3-5 years experience agency experience
• Strong creative concepting skills
• Long and short form writing experience (can write headlines but can also tackle and lengthy brochure orwebsite
• Knowledge of the difference writing requirements for different media
• Proven integrated experience
- Digital ( banner, website, etc..)
- Print
- Some broadcast
• Social media program development and understanding
• Relentless work ethic, not afraid of hours
• Sense of humor
PJA is looking for a Digital Content Strategist to join our Digital Strategy team. You’ll help us shape and deliver integrated marketing programs for our B2B and B2C clients programs with your expertise in content strategy, curation, creation, publication, activation and management.
Responsibilities
- Define content strategy and content requirements for integrated digital programs. Based on strategies, conduct content audits, gap analyses and prioritized content roadmaps.
- Develop and maintain editorial calendars, style guides, technical specs, inventories and taxonomies
- Manage the development of social and web content lifecycle, including strategy, concepting, identification/curation, writing, editing and publishing.
- Partner with creative team and contract resources for content concepting and execution.
- Ensure all content is integrated with SEO strategies.
- Help us improve our content strategy and delivery operations by recommending and implementing technologies and processes that improve quality and reliability.
- Provide thought leadership by authoring presentations, best practices and case studies about content marketing and strategy.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree
- Minimum 4 years relevant work experience required, with direct involvement creating and managing content for digital and/or social campaigns
- Strong strategy, editorial and writing skills.
- Experience with content management systems and SEO required.
- Good understanding of social and digital platforms and technologies.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with strong attention to detail.
- Able to prioritize effort and multitask among multiple projects. Experience managing contract resources preferred.
- Highly collaborative and entrepreneurial.
PJA is looking for a Target Marketing Campaign Specialist to join our Digital Strategy team as an external consultant. You’ll help us shape and deliver integrated marketing programs for a major wireless telecom client, using your expertise in targeted marketing campaign strategy, design and delivery. The right candidate will have experience developing segmented multi-touch email campaigns, as well as integrating cross-channel campaign treatment through banner retargeting and site content personalization.
Responsibilities
- Develop the cross-channel marketing strategies for engaging and converting prospects in our client’s opted-in email marketing database
- Develop business requirements for digital target marketing platform, including database, email send, cookie matching and data overlay, segmented treatment and campaign automation; validate that platform meets business requirements
- Develop creative and development requirements for email templates and messaging elements, landing pages and other retargeting/personalization creative
- Develop business requirements for campaign reporting, and work with our analytics team to implement analytic capabilities and reporting
- Partner with strategy and account teams to develop a phased roadmap for campaign test & learn opportunities, while also defining quick wins that build program momentum
- Review campaign performance data and propose optimizations
- Train our internal team to manage day to day campaign operations
Desired Skills & Experience
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree
- Minimum 6 years relevant work experience required, with direct involvement in target marketing campaign strategy, execution and optimization
- Significant experience with email marketing, banner retargeting and site personalization campaigns
- Experience with marketing databases and campaign automation platforms required.
- Strong understanding of processes to develop and implement activity-based segmentation and variable marketing treatment
- Good understanding of marketing analytics analysis and reporting
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with strong attention to detail.
- Able to prioritize effort and multitask among multiple projects. Experience managing contract resources preferred.
We’re looking for smart, energetic interactive designers to help our digital production team bring to life user-inspired digital experiences everywhere, from banners and microsites to new and emerging social properties. Put your interactive design skills to work for a full service agency that likes to have fun while we innovate. If you can check off the boxes below, send us your porfoliio.
• 1 – 3 years agency or digital experience
• Expertise in the Adobe Suite, Flash and light HTML 5 coding skills
• Strong design skills with the ability to take direction and elevate ideas
• A work ethic to match your enthusiasm for the end product
• Ability to get along well with a team, and have some fun while your at it
contact
San Francisco
PJA West
214 Grant Avenue, Suite 450
San Francisco, CA 94108-4628
T: 415.200.0800
F: 415.200.0801
New Business
Greg Straface
VP, Business Development
T: 415.200.0811
IM: gstrafacePJA
VIEW THE MAP
Cambridge
PJA East
12 Arrow Street
Cambridge, MA 02138-5105
T: 617.492.5899
F: 617.661.1530
New Business
Greg Straface
VP, Business Development
T: 617.234.7371
IM: gstrafacePJA