Janel LaMonica
Creative Director | Writer | Leader
Experienced leader and excellent writer; provides strategic and creative direction to a varied team. Trusted collaborator and partner with both clients and senior leaders; demonstrates a high level of business acumen. Seasoned presenter; delivers creative solutions and brand integrity. Expertise includes:
Creative Direction
Talent Development
Director’s Treatments
Copywriting
Change Management
Meetings & Events
Internal Communications
Creative Strategy
Video Production
Strategic Communications
Advertising
External Communications
Social Media
Content Creation
Marketing
Conceptual Ideation
New Business Pitches
Digital Advertising & Websites
Branding
Visual Storytelling
Real People/Docu-style Video
EXPERIENCE
J. Rieger & Co.
Kansas City, MO
Director of Brand
2023-Present
Act as the lead champion and steward of the J. Rieger & Co. brand, ensuring excellence and consistency internally and externally.
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Ensure brand standards are up to date and implemented in all expressions of the brand
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Create and roll out the company mission and values to all employees; implement best practices to increase employee engagement
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Lead and manage creative studio including all design and content creation
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Work closely with leadership and marketing team to promote the brand in advertising, social, events, and sales and distribution efforts
EVERSANA INTOUCH
Overland Park, KS
Group Creative Director, Marketing Communications
2019-2023
Leader of the MarCom creative team – the agency for the agency – creating strategic and conceptual messaging and experiences for employees and clients. I make the complex simple, the mundane engaging and the creative… more creative. A few highlights:
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Led the cross-functional “Build Our Brand” Team in creating and launching Intouch’s updated purpose and values; communicated and marketed them to all employees with initiatives like Brand Love Week and the Brand Book, resulting in a significant lift on employee engagement survey
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Created (branding and copywriting) 11 corporate websites representing Intouch, its agencies and specialty affiliates
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Partner with execs and multiple departments to provide communication and creative expertise for numerous initiatives from town halls to change management
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Support client relationship builders and revenue generators including advisory boards, team events and career services
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Joined The BrandLab board in 2019 and managed The BrandLab summer internship program in 2020, 2021 and 2022
Hallmark
Kansas City, MO
Creative Director, Corporate Communications
2012 - 2019
Hired into a newly created position within Public Affairs and Communications with the purpose of elevating the creative work; provided strategic and creative direction to a dozen designers, producers, editors and meetings and events professionals.
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Elevated creative services team – rebranded as corporate creative – and its work to be more strategic and to deliver stellar creative solutions for a variety of communications needs, creating printed materials, displays, digital, video, experiential and meetings and events
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Crafted compelling messages in every medium to
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employees to increase engagement
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retail customers to win and retain business
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retail network to sell product and increase revenue
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consumers to promote the brand and
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the community to highlight social responsibility and giving
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Partnered on major change management initiatives with senior leadership, strategic development and HR, including leadership training, talent development, consumer experience and more
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Refreshed and contemporized the corporate brand and brand style guide; updated the employee experience from recruiting to onboarding to talent development and beyond
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Built new capabilities for frequent quick-turn, low cost social media content creation
Bernstein Rein Advertising
Kansas City, MO
Vice President, Group Creative Director
2004 - 2012
Led team of eight art directors and writers creating advertising, marketing and branding for Walmart, PetSmart, Family Dollar, Beauty Brands, Ruby Tuesday, Farmland, Hostess and the Kansas City Zoo.
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Grew the national Walmart business to be one of the largest advertising accounts in Kansas City history by creating hundreds of effective marketing messages and multiple strong client relationships
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Co-created ubiquitous and extremely profitable Smiley campaign for Walmart
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Developed expertise in real people, docu-style, interview-driven video, resulting in emotionally engaging and compelling messaging
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Led and won new business pitch for national PetSmart account
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Created and creative directed successful campaigns in all media including television, radio, print, in-store signage, cinema, outdoor, digital, non-traditional, guerrilla and more
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Played key role in selling in and creating and producing branding, sales, product launches, seasonal efforts, grand openings, co-op and cause-related marketing
ADDITIONAL RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
Bernstein Rein Advertising
Copywriter, Senior Copywriter, Associate Creative Director, Creative Director
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts (BA), Journalism, Advertising
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS