After graduating from Michigan State University, Danielle hopped a 747 to pursue a career in big agencies and big brands, an adventure that took her across the country and around the world. She traveled to San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Sydney, where she worked for agencies like Ogilvy, McCann, Publicis and Hal Riney.

Skilled at relationship-building, brand-building and getting-the-project-done-by-the-deadline-no-matter-what-ing, Danielle has worked with some of the world’s most prestigious brands: Huggies, Kodak, HP and Nikon, among others. Now, as MACLYN’s Account Director, she’s determined to help our clients achieve their brand objectives through creativity.

As you probably figured out, Danielle is a traveler at heart. For her, there is nothing more exciting than stepping off a plane in a place she’s never been.

When she isn’t globe-trotting or grabbing a martini with a client, Danielle spends time with her kids, who drive her crazy (in a good way); fights to protect animals; and quietly nurtures her passion for all things Hello Kitty. (You do you, no judgement here.)

Jose is a visual storyteller who captures moments colored with meaning and style: a proposal on a city street, a tropical island wedding, a cherry cliff-diving into an iced coffee in glorious slow-motion.

When a small scene has the potential for big emotion, Jose is at his best.

And while he loves capturing the little things in life, the filmmaker/photographer can do booming, dramatic scenes, too. With his drone humming overhead and a Sony in his hands, Jose has skirted the crystal blue waters of the Bahamas, narrowly dodged the blades of a giant Midwestern wind turbine, rolled down Lakeshore Drive in a supped-up Mercedes, and photographed lightning crashes over a concrete jungle.

Today, as MACLYN’s resident Content Creator, Jose channels his passion for visual storytelling into each client’s brand. With nothing but a camera and an eye for emotion, he takes us to places we’ve never been – and gives us a new way of seeing the things we think we know.

Kira is a Game of Thrones fanatic that was fairly disappointed with the finale. Ok she hated it. She is also self-described “dog mom” of a beautiful golden retriever and something called a Catahoula Leopard Dog (We know… no dire wolves?).

Oh and did we mention she’s a model in her spare time? NBD.

As MACLYN’s Jr. Strategic Planner, Kira assembles marketing strategies and works closely with our creative team to execute each plan with the endgame of crushing Average at every turn.

MACLYN just added a trio of badasses to our account and creative teams: an Account Director, a Jr. Strategic Planner, and a Content Creator. Here’s the lineup:

Danielle Ethier: An Account Director who is serious about her clients and also Hello Kitty

After graduating from Michigan State University, Danielle hopped a 747 to pursue a career in big agencies and big brands, an adventure that took her across the country and around the world. She traveled to San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Sydney, where she worked for agencies like Ogilvy, McCann, Publicis and Hal Riney. Skilled at relationship-building and getting-the-project-done-by-the-deadline-no-matter-what-ing, Danielle worked with some of the world’s most prestigious brands: Huggies, Kodak, HP and Nikon, among others. Now, as MACLYN’s Account Director, she’s determined to help our clients achieve their brand objectives through creativity.

As you may have guessed, Danielle is a traveler at heart. For her, there is nothing more exciting than stepping off a plane in a place she’s never been. When she isn’t globe-trotting or grabbing a martini with a client, Danielle spends time with her kids, who drive her crazy (in a good way); fights to protect animals; and quietly nurtures her passion for all things Hello Kitty. (You do you, no judgement here.)

Kira Ryan: A Jr. Strategic Planner who is a mother of two wonderful dogs and a GOT expert and also a model, NBD

Armed with a Marketing degree from NIU and the tech savvy of a young millennial, Kira began her career in the digital marketing world, where she honed her skills in all things Google and social. Along the way, she discovered her personal superpower: the ability to organize chaos and juggle multiple projects with ease.

That superpower is coming in handy. Today, as MACLYN’s Jr. Strategic Planner, Kira assembles marketing strategies and works closely with our creative team to execute each plan. She keeps our campaigns organized, fresh and fast-moving, leveraging her knowledge of the digital world to make us more effective than ever. And she’s not afraid to break the status quo. Already, Kira has begun to revolutionize our own internal processes to deliver the best results possible. No doubt: She’s an Enemy of Average.

Outside the office, Kira is a self-described “dog mom” of a beautiful golden retriever and something called a Catahoula Leopard Dog (worth a quick Google). She enjoys watching Game of Thrones with her pups, modelling in her spare time, and hate-hate-hating on T Swift.

“Swifties (and Kevin) won’t like me for this,” she says. “But I have a strong dislike of Taylor Swift, so I make a very conscious effort to never hear her music.”

Jose Torres: A Content Creator who loves his family, his car, and (of course) his trusty drone

For most of his career, Jose Torres has operated as a lone wolf, traveling the US and Caribbean as a one-man filmmaker-photographer. There’s one thing he loves more than anything in the world: family (with muscle cars as a close second). Since he first picked up a camera, this passion for human relationships has defined his work. 

Jose specializes in capturing small but significant moments: a proposal, an island wedding, a cherry dropping into an iced coffee in slow-motion. But he can do sweeping, dramatic scenes, too. With his drone humming overhead and a Sony in his hands, he’s skirted the crystal blue waters of the Bahamas, narrowly missed the blades of a giant Midwestern wind turbine, rolled down Lakeshore Drive in a supped-up Mercedes, and captured lightning crashes over a concrete jungle.

Today, as MACLYN’s resident Content Creator, Jose channels his passion for visual storytelling and human relationships into our client’s brands, creating images and videos that take us to places we’ve never been – and give us a new way of seeing the things we think we know.

Our Design Intern, Naomi, is a Creative Liger

Meet Naomi. She’s a student, a barista, a painter, a vegan, an artist, and a Design Intern at our Des Moines office, where she helps our creative team develop award-winning campaigns.

Naomi specializes in clean, simple design, with a sharp attention to detail and plenty of character. BUT WAIT – THERE’S A TWIST! While her specialty is design and illustration, Naomi also has a knack for UI/UX development, which makes her a rare hybrid in the advertising world. Sort of like a liger, a pizzly bear, or a wholphin, but different.

Today, Naomi is a student at the Des Moines Area Community College, where she studies graphic design and web development. Swing by our Des Moines bunker to say hi to our many-talented intern and maybe even have your likeness immortalized in acrylic.

Eight Things You Should Know About Our New Jr. Art Director, Nick Imerman

 

#1. He has a healthy obsession with weight-lifting.

He asked that we clarify, in capital letters, that this is NOT CROSSFIT.

 

#2. He eats like a hobbit.

Seconds, thirds, fourths, elevensies… Nick takes countless trips to the office fridge, grazing on small meals throughout the day, just like the creatures from The Lord of the Rings. (Imagine a human-sized Frodo with an Equinox membership). Speaking of which…

 

#3. He is into Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter.

In that order.

 

#4. His wife is even more badass than he is.

Sorry, Nick, but she’s a professional body-builder, and we want to stay on her good side.

 

#5. He likes his scotch neat and his steak rare.

“If you’re going to order your steak past medium rare, just get the chicken,” Nick says.

 

#6. He is a proud father.*

*of a beagle. (The millennial equivalent of parenthood.)

 

#7. He likes old-school video games. Like, REALLY old-school.

His most modern system is a Nintendo 64.

 

#8. His cats have an Instagram.

For cats playing with pom-poms, cats trying to squeeze into too-small spaces, and cats transcending societal conventions to befriend dogs, follow @conna_tibbers.

In addition to having the most funkadelic name in the world (we think she’s a secret agent), Season draws her inspiration from the most eclectic places – local flea markets, dusty book shops and her very own house full of cats. 

As a MACLYN Art Director, Season channels her inspiration into award-winning campaigns. She combines her creative whimsy with her strategic instincts to develop captivating work that gets serious results.

MACLYN’s Creative Director is a pop-culture fanatic, a G.I. Joe junkie, an award-winning creative, and a recognizable, mustachioed face around Des Moines.

As Creative Director, Brian leads our team to victory. He maintains the integrity of our brands, pushes them to bold new places, wrangles all the moving parts – and there are a lot of moving parts – and never, ever, EVER settles for average.  

Beyond MACLYN, Brian is a leader in Des Moines’ advertising, art and cultural community. He launched the American Advertising Federation (AAF) of Des Moines’ student outreach program and helped establish 80/35, the city’s biggest, baddest annual music festival.

 

Everyone knows J.R.

What do you mean, you don’t know J.R.!?

Omg. You’re walking around, doing your thing, and you don’t know J.R.?

Ugh. Alright. We put together a few of the biggest things you should know about our awesome Account Executive, James Raymond Kinney the IV. Read up. Consider this your J.R.-primer.

His life thus far (just the highlights).

Born. Naperville for life. Kirkwood Community College. University of Iowa. Golfer. Turkey trotter. Ireland explorer. Account Executive. And here we are.

His vinyl problem.

“Collecting and listening to records is one of my favorite pastimes. I can spend hours in a record store going through the collection they have. It’s a new adventure every time.”

J.R. in his natural habitat, reeling-in a big catch.

Precisely what kind of nerd he is.

“I am a music-nerd and also a sports-nerd,” he says. “But there are times when I’m just a nerd-nerd.”

His favorite self-titled albums.

Boston by Boston, The Eminem Show by Eminem, and Led Zeppelin II by Led Zeppelin.

The surprising things he eats on Christmas morning.

It is widely known that, on Christmas morning, all residents of the Kinney household eat hot dogs and Christmas cookies for breakfast. J.R. insists there is something magic about it.

“Hands-down the best hot dog I have all year,” he says.

The Kinney family demands fierce loyalty.

Controversial drink preferences.

J.R. enjoys a good old-fashioned and will settle for an Allagash White. However, he insists that “nothing beats a cold Budweiser.”

Fortunately, J.R. has so many good qualities that we like him anyway.

The number of seconds it takes J.R. to pour a Guinness.

119.5

“I learned this when I was studying abroad in Ireland,” J.R. says, very slowly pouring a Guinness.

J.R. belts out a traditional Irish folksong.

Loud people he loves.

“Chance the Rapper, Kid Cudi, Lebron James, and my family.”

That time he went to Westeros.

J.R. once travelled to the real-life castle Winterfell, a location in Game of Thrones where, like all locations in Game of Thrones, lots of horrible things happen and many people/mythical creatures die.

“I stood in the tower Bran fell out of,” J.R. recalls. “Actually, now that I think about it, he was pushed.”

How he was almost famous.

J.R. called Kiss FM Radio and managed to get on-air. It was his big break. So much was at stake – his pride, his reputation, his future. He had to act fast.

“I didn’t know the trivia answer, so I hung up,” he says.

James Raymond Kinney (left) with James Raymond Kinney (right).

Why his career is like a crazy roller coaster (in a good way).

“It’s fast. It’s wild. Plenty of ups and down. But, when I see our work go out in the world and make a real difference… there’s nothing more rewarding than that. It’s my favorite rollercoaster in the world.”

Want to meet J.R.? Swing by MACLYN, and he’ll help you master your golf strokes and Guinness pours.

Black: sophisticated. Yellow: happy. Orange: energetic. Green: prosperous. And red… well… …red means war. Continue reading →