To all of our faithful industry friends, clients and partners, please allow me to share a few changes taking place here at Just Media. After 15 years at the helm as CEO, and a total of 22 years with our scrappy, independent agency, my friend and business partner, Dick Reed, has made the decision to step down from his current role to focus more time with his lovely family. That said, I couldn’t be more excited he is taking on a role as Just Media’s official Brand Champion. I relish the fact that Dick is staying connected to Just Media for the long haul. With that, I’m honored to take on the role of CEO and continue the amazing growth journey Dick and I started together 5+ years ago.
Dick joined Just Media as an Account Associate in our old London office back in December 1996. Our entrepreneurial founder, Sarah du Heaume, must have seen something special in this trained scientist and data geek. She wasn’t wrong. It didn’t take long for Dick to fall in love with the world of media and advertising. At the time, mediums such as print, radio, OOH and television were still the center of the universe. However, digital came on strong with the new millennium and in 1999 Dick proudly started Just Media’s first digital practice. They called it Just2. Why, because there were only two of them. My, how things have changed!
In the past 5 years, we’ve grown our agency from 15 to over 160 people. We’re now helping customers build businesses by tackling complex media challenges in a world centered around headlines such as media automation, voice-enabled advertising, personalization, machine learning, 5G mobile, end-to-end ABM platforms, AI and decision sciences. That said, the fundamentals remain the same. Businesses must still optimize authentic, connected brand, and demand experiences in order to thrive.
Over the years, our good fortune and hard work have allowed us to cement hundreds of loyal customers, garner countless industry awards, make mounds of friends in the community, and deliver massive innovations in brand and performance media. Most importantly, the agency assembled a team of incredibly passionate individuals with values as strong in the workplace as in the home place. Dick has personally inspired generations of media professionals and the work he’s done will make lasting reverberations across the market for years to come. As our Brand Champion, Dick will continue to mentor our team, advise on our strategic direction, and liaise with customers as well as with our many deep personal relationships.
As for me, I plan to ensure we never waver from what’s made our business so special during 22 years of existence: We focus on our people. We build deep and long-lasting customer relationships. We love to combat the hype in advertising. We tell it like it is. We are data geeks. We push media innovation alongside the tried and true. We help brands grow. Most importantly, we believe that letting values guide our media engagements is good for business. It’s why we exist in this market. Dick and I have always shared this common vision and together, with our talented team of media geeks, we will continue to push the boundaries in this crazy market. In many ways, we’re just getting started.
B R A N D O N F R I E S E N
CEO
