FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Carolyn Artman, [email protected]
Jennette Smith Kotila, [email protected]
Jan. 31, 2025 – Detroit-based brand advocacy agency CRIMSON is recognizing its agency leadership team and positioning itself for growth with the elevation of six key team members.
The leadership changes include:
Jennette Smith Kotila has been named agency president, a promotion from her previous role as CMO & partner. This recognizes her role as the public face of the company along with her key leadership roles driving strategy on key accounts, business development and continuous improvement efforts. She first joined the agency in 2018 as SVP/client relations and is a former longtime business journalist.
Carolyn Artman, APR, has been named vice president/strategic communications, recognizing her key roles in account leadership and earned media and content strategy excellence. She will continue to drive communication strategies including public relations and integrated communications approaches to a wide range of accounts. Her previous title was account director and she joined the agency in 2018 after holding several high-profile roles in corporate, arts and culture, tourism and healthcare communications.
Samantha Babcock has been named vice president/account services, recognizing her valuable contributions in the areas of client relations, operations and quality control, along with her leadership in establishing updated standard operational procedures, campaign and brand strategy development, and more. Her previous title was account director and she joined the agency in 2019. She held previous roles in project management and media planning/buying.
Garrett Ekstrom has been named vice president/web & digital experience. This recognizes Garrett’s leadership across both web development and web strategy but also his area of expertise around digital channels and user experience. Garrett has enhanced our ability to measure success, for ourselves and for our client campaigns. His previous title was web director. He joined CRIMSON in 2014 after a previous career as an independent developer.
Will Perry has been named vice president/executive creative director to formally recognize his agency leadership in brand, creative and marketing excellence. Will joined the agency four years ago after decades of experience at global brand agencies both in North America and Europe. Will’s contributions are key to the elevated brand identity services CRIMSON offers today.
Greg Zonca has been named executive producer/account director. Greg is a valuable long-term member of the CRIMSON team and has excelled in client relations, video storytelling, project management, and business development. His most recent title was producer, and he joined the agency in 1999 after a previous career in automotive engineering.
“All of these promotions recognize the fact that excellence in an organization is driven by empowering talented, driven professionals to do what they do best,” said CEO Chris Heaton. “In some ways, these title promotions only formalize the roles these leaders were already holding informally. The intent in making it official is to send a clear message to clients and potential clients about the exceptional talents of our team.”
CRIMSON applies an approach of brand advocacy working to refine or create brand identities before launching into tactical capabilities. CRIMSON’s capabilities include branding, marketing, public and media relations, web design and development, social media management and video production.
CRIMSON has a broad mix of clients with both B2B and B2C focus areas, such as General Motors, Bosch USA, KODE Labs, Landaal Packaging Systems, Michigan Municipal League, Future Energy, Barton Malow, Ideal Contracting, Motor City Electric, Forgotten Harvest, Oakland County Parks, and the Argonne National Laboratory/Battery Workforce Challenge.
Heaton and Smith Kotila are shareholders and owner executives of the agency. Rich Donley, APR former agency president, earlier this month began a corporate communications leadership position with a Florida-based healthcare system.
The Detroit-based agency was founded in 1993 and was formerly known as Mort Crim Communications Inc. before rebranding in 2023.
