Brand New School launches new development practice, realigns management structure

NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES and LONDON -- Dec. 1, 2010 -- International production company and design studio Brand New School (BNS, www.brandnewschool.com) is proud to announce the founding of its new School of Interactive Media, a fully integrated design, media, and digital development practice within BNS, as well as the realignment of its management structure. Both strategic initiatives are aimed at better serving the company's high-profile clientele.

BNS founder and director Jonathan Notaro first addressed the realignment, stating that he will now serve as the BNS executive creative director across all offices, while Danny Rosenbloom will serve as company-wide managing director. "We've grown a lot over the last 10 years, and our interests are leading us on into other media spaces," he began. "To support this, and retain the voice that makes us unique, requires structure and leadership from the top. As the owner, I have always operated in this capacity. With the addition of our London office and the School of Interactive Media, we are refining the roles of the company's managers by having Danny available to support each studio as necessary, and relying upon executive producers Devin Brook in New York and Kayt Hall in London to directly manage those operations." BNS will soon announce a new executive producer for its Los Angeles office.

Notaro added, "It may be an unsure time for most of the globe, but it's an exciting time for us to try new things and anticipate the many changes advertising will continue to face in the coming years. All of these changes mean new faces, new technologies, and new problems to solve: It's paradise for creative people."

With the addition of newly appointed interactive director Justin Bakse and lead developer Greg Schomburg in New York, the new BNS/SIM will focus on identifying interactive and experiential opportunities, and providing seamless integration between traditional and new media marketing to all BNS clients.

"Our clients are increasingly becoming aware of the opportunities to expand their brands into new and unexpected venues," said Rosenbloom. "With agencies moving to support interactive marketing, we've already found a lot of great ways to broaden strategic thinking on this front by intelligently, cost-effectively bundling-in some very innovative marketing initiatives. For people who want to find a new way to engage their audience, we can help them develop and provide that experience on a global scale."

Over the past several years, BNS has collaborated on many major interactive projects, including their 2009 interactive storefront installations for ESPN produced for Wieden+Kennedy, which won a 2010 Cannes Outdoor Silver Lion in Ambient/Digital Media, as well as being named Best Experiential Project in the 2010 Next Awards, and winning Best Use of Interactive Technology honors in this year's Digital Out-of-Home Awards from MediaPost Communications. Together with McCann Systems, BNS also produced the dynamic Next Awards video installation that debuted at the 2010 AICP Show in New York's Museum of Modern Art, and is now appearing at selected venues of the Show's tour across the U.S.

ESPN Interactive window

BNS has also crafted engaging interactive and experiential projects for leading Fortune 500 companies, artists and nonprofits, including Adobe Systems, Coca Cola, Diesel, Microsoft, Target, Barbara Kruger, and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, among many others.

"We've been actively, strategically evolving ever since we launched Brand New School in 2000," added Notaro. "Our reputation for creating entertaining design and animation often precedes us, and more and more, we're also becoming known for our live-action production talents, as well as our abilities to produce thoughtful and effective interactive and experiential projects. Many past projects in our interactive portfolio have been created in collaboration with Justin and Greg. Based upon the significant new opportunities shaping-up for us in this area, we're very proud to make their skills an integral part of our offerings under our School of Interactive Media."

For more information, please visit www.BrandNewSchool.com.

About Brand New School
With offices in New York, Los Angeles and London, Brand New School is a vertically integrated production company and design studio that delivers extraordinary media on all platforms. Offering a new model for creative digital production, we are filmmakers, developers, designers, animators, editors, illustrators, and producers dedicated to driving communications to new heights. Akin to leading academic institutions, our guiding philosophies prize experimentation and learning, and our commitment to discovering the best ideas for our clients is absolute. For more information, please visit www.BrandNewSchool.com.