03.08 - Sensis furthers agency growth by expanding new business team

Experienced multicultural advertising executives join innovative agency LOS ANGELES – Interactive multicultural marketing agency Sensis continues its rapid expansion with the hiring of Rockford Hunt, director of business development, and Melissa Hart, account supervisor. This marks the seventh and eighth Sensis hires since Jan. 1, highlighting the advertising industry’s continued emphasis on interactive marketing strategies. Hunt and Hart will both play key roles in securing and developing new business opportunities to continue Sensis’ growth in the multicultural and general market arenas. “Interactive advertising is currently the hot topic in the advertising community, and it is definitely the future of this industry. Our current clients are adding strategies to their advertising repertoire, and we’re bringing in new clients who also have realized the benefits of advertising online,” Sensis CEO Jose Villa said. “As we continue our expansion in the multicultural marketplace and desire to move further into the general market, Rockford and Melissa’s wealth of experience will greatly aid our team and play a key role in the continual growth and development of this agency.” As director of business development, Hunt’s extensive sales experience will help position Sensis as the go-to agency for interactive advertising, thereby leading to new clients and an increase in the number of Web development projects. Hunt brings more than 11 years of account and sales experience in the telecom, advertising and online industries to Sensis, formerly working at Industry-fx, a graphic design company that, like Sensis, focuses on multicultural marketing. Hunt also has extensive experience catering to the Hispanic and Asian American populations, having worked his entire career in California targeting these distinct markets. “Sensis is at a unique point in its tenure where it can go after the clients it wants and get them. Because of the company’s recent success, we have the experience and know how to help potential clients reach their marketing goals,” Hunt said. “My goal is to simply build off what Sensis has been doing and go out into the market to help people become aware of all that Sensis is capable of. Luckily for me, the company’s background and work speaks for itself.” In her account supervisor role, Hart will oversee a team of account executives and will handle Sensis’ U.S. Army and new business accounts. Hart came from The TRUE Agency, a multicultural agency based in Playa del Ray, Calif. There she worked on the Nissan North America, Countrywide Home Loans, AARP and Infiniti accounts with a major focus on African American marketing. Having previously worked at Hispanic and general market advertising agencies, Hart brings to Sensis a thorough background in consumer marketing via traditional, non-traditional and interactive advertising mediums, which will ultimately lead to well-rounded, strategic campaigns for the agency’s clients. “During the last few years, it has become obvious that the online space is increasingly taking a central role   in consumers’ media consumption habits, particularly ethnic consumers, and interactive advertising is what clients are interested in and where they want to move toward. My role at Sensis allows me to explore my interest in interactive mediums, while continuing to develop dialogues with consumers and cultivate relationships with notable clients,” Hart said. “Sensis is definitely at the forefront of this next stage in advertising, and it is thrilling to be involved with a company that is leading its clients into the future.”