McKinney exec named director of retail and shopper marketing

Jim Reath

North Carolina-based marketing agency McKinney named former VP and account director Jim Reath its director of retail and shopper marketing, an expansion of his current role. He was also promoted to EVP and will have a seat on McKinney's board of directors.

In his new director role, Reath will be working directly with McKinney president Jeff Jones to formalize the agency's retail and shopper marketing capability.

“Retailers and agencies don't have the luxury of doing the historic approach of a retail campaign,” Reath said. “A lot of people think of retail campaigns as price-centric, like, 'Come in for a sale.' But it is more than that. It is about creating an emotional connection with the brand first, which we believe leads to a transaction.”

Reath says the company will offer expanded retail capabilities to current clients and plans to go after more retail clients. “Retail is becoming a bigger opportunity than it has been in the past, especially with new channels,” he said. “Mobile is taking off and e-commerce is growing exponentially. Consumers don't have to leave the house to shop, but we have to get out in front of them a lot earlier than before.”

Reath joined McKinney in 2010 from Y&R Chicago, where he was CMO and head of the agency's Sears account from 2008 to 2010. Reath was also previously an SVP at Leo Burnett.