Overview

Company Summary

We Bring Clarity To Brands In An Increasingly Complex World. Blue Sky Is The Creative-driven Atlanta Agency With An Entrepreneurial Spirit. We’re built for brands that want a partner with courage to challenge the status quo, without bogging things down. Brands are caught in the middle of an explosion of data and technology, compounded by increasing fragmentation and decreasing attention spans. This has created a seismic shift in marketing, leaving industries scrambling for solid ground. These disruptions create complexity and complexity stalls progress. Our foundation is built to counter those challenges with clarity. We use data, research, and creativity to find the clearest, most direct path to results. Then we put it into action, with the size and agility to ensure we aren’t just keeping the pace—but setting it.

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Staff

Total Number of Employees

Office Employees: 0-50
Total US: 0-50
Total Worldwide: 0-50

Rob Farinella
President & Owner
Rob founded Blue Sky in Atlanta after spending (?) years on Madison Avenue where he was a leader at (company). In the 17 years since, he has built one of the most respected, independently owned agencies in the South, known for its success in positioning, launching, reinvigorating and stewarding local, regional and national brands.

Rob’s reputation for his insights in brand positioning has led to key leadership roles on some of Atlanta’s largest marketing initiatives including a seat on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta Super Bowl Bid Committee, the Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl Selection Committee and as an advisor to the Atlanta Sports Counsel. He’s also led numerous cause marketing initiatives including the Starlight Foundation, Childhood Leukemia Foundation, Atlanta Food Bank and The Umbilical Cure.

Rob is married with four children and lives in Sandy Springs and enjoys painting, golf and sneaking in to places he shouldn’t.

Mike Schatz
Creative Director
A creative leader at Blue Sky for 14 years, Mike has been integral in all client brand development, serving as a Creative Director, Copywriter and Broadcast Producer. While leading and challenging the agency’s creative team, he oversees all creative and campaign development to ensure that it is on strategy and unforgettable.

Mike began his career at Catspaw Productions followed by three years where he ran his own production company, Duck Duck Moose, where he worked with accounts such as Pay-Per-View and Disney and Turner Networks. He shut the company down because it had the worst name in corporate history.

Mike is a talented comedian/actor/musician and playwright who has been an ensemble member with Dad’s Garage Theater since 2005 where he wrote and starred in The V.I.P. Room which was chosen as one of Atlanta’s best original works of 2011.

Mike lives in Grant Park in Atlanta is married with two daughters. He enjoys Braves games, playing his guitar and game night with his family.

Melissa Nordin
Media Director
As Blue Sky’s Media Director, Melissa directs all strategy, planning, analysis and activation for all client media initiatives in multiple industries and categories. She is a proven senior-level negotiator with experience in all traditional and emerging media vehicles and maintains on-going relationships with the vendor community for client benefit.

She has led all aspects of media as well as built, managed and motivated a department of supervisors, planners, buyers and assistants. Prior to joining Blue Sky, she grew the media department at Ames Scullin O’Haire a and worked at Merkley Newman Harty/New York, managing all media planning and placement for both the International Wool Secretariat and Laura Ashley, as well as managing $50M in planning for BellSouth Consumer Products.

Melissa is married with two kids. Outside of the office, Melissa enjoys tennis, Little League Baseball (she is “that” baseball mom), volunteering at school and hanging out with her family.

Annie Al-Timimi
Director of Creative Services
As Director of Creative Services, Annie crafts and manages customized project management systems and trains employees on accurate procedure, reasonable schedules and expectations for producing deadline-driven, award-winning creative on time and budget.

Her past agency experience spans in size from five team members to over 100. Her media knowledge includes print, broadcast, collateral, interactive, premium items and guerrilla. She works directly with the Creative Director to oversee the creative department on all aspects of daily management. In addition, she reviews all creative candidate portfolios, identifies the best talent, conducts interviews and negotiates hires.

Annie is completely unashamed to admit her unwavering and undying love for Britney Spears.

Greg Grantham
Associate Creative Director
In addition to campaign concepting and day-to-day copywriting at Blue Sky, Greg has over a decade of experience writing for brands ranging from Anheuser–Busch InBev and General Mills to Yum! Foods and Coca-Cola. He previously was at Momentum Worldwide, Havoc Agency, and PowerPact in Richmond, VA, where he spent six years as a principal.

Greg briefly chased a career in journalism after seeing Fletch, but settled on naming his dog after the movie and soon found himself building some of the biggest brands around. Greg has shared ADDYs for his work on Conan and the Atlanta Braves, earned recognition at the New York Festivals for a Microsoft radio ad and most recently, won a cardboard certificate at the agency's chili cook-off.

Jennifer Padgett
Associate Creative Director
Jennifer Padgett brings her creative expertise in fashion and retail to Blue Sky after 10 years in New York where she worked with directly with some of the biggest names in the industry including Macy's, J.Crew, Kenneth Cole, and Tommy Hilfiger.

After studying journalism and graphic design at UNC, Jenn’s first job was in sports marketing with TSI Soccer where she began to hone her skills as a creative whose vision for a brand goes far beyond traditional advertising applications. From in-store design to working with top name photographers, she has helped define and redefine the entire consumer experience including work for Kohl’s while at McCann and Spanx.

In the year prior to joining Blue Sky, Jenn shared her knowledge of branding and concepting with new students at the Creative Circus in Atlanta.

She believes in magic. Thinks unicorns exist as an analogy for your own creative energy. Wants to write and film documentaries one day. Hates clowns. Is ambidextrous. And likes anything with blue food coloring.

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Clients and Brands

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Billings & Revenue

Billing / Revenue Ranges	Number of Clients
Billing < $1M and/or Agency Revenue < $200K	10

Total Gross Media Placed by this Office
Under $50 Million'

Allocation Percent of Media Placed by this Office
Local Broadcast: 60%
Digital: 10%
Print: 10%
Out of Home: 20%

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Types of Services

Service Offering	Revenue
Advertising - General Market/ Traditional	50
Media Planning	20
Brand Consulting	10
Digital/Interactive | E-Commerce Solutions	10
Media Buying	10
Marketing Data Analytics	0
Social Media	0
Health Care	0
Digital/Interactive | Blogging Discussion Forums, Community Building	0
Direct Marketing	0

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Industry Experience

Social Media
Retail
Healthcare | Hospitals, Healthcare Facilities, Medical Services
Food & Beverage | food
Financial services | investments
Public Relations
Travel | tourism
Entertainment & Culture | amusement parks
Financial services | Banking - Consumer
Healthcare | direct to consumer (DTC)
Restaurants
Non-profit, associations & public services
Education
Consumer Services

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