By Rick Griffin
Public relations veteran Derek Danziger has left longtime San Diego PR agency Nuffer Smith Tucker after five years to join Katz & Associates as president starting Nov. 6.
He will be responsible for oversight and strategic direction for the 40-employee firm’s three offices in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Danziger will report directly to founder and CEO Sara Katz.
Danziger succeeds Lewis Michaelson, who served as CEO and president since 2012. The company said Michaelson made the decision to step down to spend more time for travel and writing a book. Michaelson will remain with the firm, continuing to provide strategic counsel, training and lead facilitation for existing and future clients. He also will continue as part of the firm’s management team.
“Our leadership team made a strategic decision to realign the president role to focus on growth and strategic market position,” said Katz. “We are already known for our communication expertise in water, transportation, energy and environmental projects, and we want to strengthen that position as well as diversify our portfolio more broadly. Derek’s experience and network will serve us well as we look to expand into other private sector areas that complement our public sector practice areas. In addition, Derek’s management style is in alignment with ours.”
“I’m excited to help lead and grow a well-established team,” said Danziger. “I enjoy the opportunity to help organizations strategically tell their story, manage their brand, and interact with the public across many sectors of business. I also look forward to working throughout the state with the K&A team as their presence and client roster is impressive.”
Danziger has more than 20 years of strategic PR, marketing and communications experience, primarily in the public sector, and is well-known in the San Diego business community. At Nuffer Smith Tucker, he served as VP and developed the firm’s public outreach and community relations practice. Now in its 43rd year in business, NST is regarded as San Diego’s longest-standing local public relations firm.
Prior to his work with NST, Danziger served as VP of marketing and communications for the former Centre City Development Corporation, media center director for Legoland California, director of media and PR for the Super Bowl XXXII Host Committee, and a manager in SeaWorld San Diego’s education department. He currently is a board member on the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and an alumnus of LEAD San Diego. Danziger is a graduate of UC San Diego and past president of the Public Relations Society of America’s San Diego-Imperial Counties chapter.
Seer Interactive Relocating Downtown in November
Seer Interactive, a Philadelphia-based digital marketing agency with 28 employees in its San Diego office, has announced it will relocate in early November from 1510 Front St. to 1200 “F” Street in downtown San Diego’s East Village.
Seer’s new 7,717-square-foot office at the corner of “F” Street and Park Boulevard is part of the mixed-used IDEA1 project. The new office will feature 18-foot-high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. It will also have a glass roll-up door that opens into the project’s courtyard, known as The Hub, offering collaborative space that that can be used for community speaking engagements and social events.
“We chose the IDEA District because it’s very important to us that we contribute to the economic development of areas on the brink of transformation and rejuvenation,” said Wil Reynolds, CEO of Seer Interactive.” Seer opened a San Diego office in 2013.
With office space, 295 apartment units and 4,800 square feet for retail, IDEA1 is being developed by Lowe Enterprises, La Salle Investment Management and San Diego-based I.D.E.A. Partners, according to brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield.
J. Walcher Communications Promotes Jeanna Brossman
J. Walcher Communications, a San Diego PR agency, has promoted Jenna Brossman from senior account executive to integrated marketing communications manager. The position is a first for the agency.
The agency said the promotion reflects Brossman’s role. At JWC she manages a wide variety of full-service clients by collaborating with and overseeing staff and partners in implementing integrated marketing campaigns. Brossman’s job includes brand development, public relations, website design and development, advertising, digital and social media, events and partnerships.
“The landscape of our profession is continually changing and we need to evolve with it,” said Jean Walcher, JWC president. “Jenna has played a key role in executing marketing strategies that complement traditional public relations for the benefit of our clients. She’ll continue to be a valuable asset as the industry evolves.”
Brossman joined JWC in 2013. Previously, she worked at Cook + Schmid and the Hotel del Coronado. Brossman graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations from San Diego State University, and an associate degree in television, film and new media from Saddleback College. She was recently elected to the San Diego Press Club’s board of directors.
Founded in 2001, J. Walcher Communications represents a range of local, regional and national clients in industries including hospitality, real estate development, sports-entertainment, associations, professional services and nonprofits.
SDX to Discuss ‘Culture Disrupters’
The SDX advertising organization will present a panel on “Culture Disrupters” from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 101 West Broadway, Suite 820, in downtown San Diego. The panel discussion will be followed by a networking reception. Admission is free for members and $40 per person for nonmembers.
Topics will include strategies for building engagement, changing a company’s culture and getting buy-in. Panel members include: Justin Palicki, experience director at Civilian; Jen Crim, experience manager for Telepathy; and Allie Graves, engagement coordinator at Classy.org. The moderator will be Jason Amunwa, consultant to software-as-a-service startups. Amunwa specializes in product development, user experience, marketing and analytics. The presentation is part of SDX’s ongoing “Inspire” seminar series. For more information, call (619) 255-2281, or visit SDX at www.sandiegox.org.
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.
