Jason Harris (marketer)

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Jason Harris
Harris in 2017
Born (1971-06-29) June 29, 1971 (age 52)
Fairfax, Virginia, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationJames Madison University (Bachelor of Business Administration)[1]
OccupationAdvertising executive

Jason Harris (born June 29, 1971 in Fairfax, Virginia) is president and CEO of Mekanism Inc., a San Francisco-based creative agency.[2][3][4][5][6]

Career[edit]

Harris began his career working for 10 years in business and strategic roles at TBWA\Chiat\Day and Leagas Delaney, where he led accounts and notable campaigns for clients like PlayStation, Levi's, and Disney.[7][8] Harris also worked at Ketchum Advertising. He later founded Plan C, an entertainment company that focused on producing branded television projects including Adidas Superstars, which aired nationwide on Fox Sports, as well as projects for Xbox.[7][9]

Mekanism[edit]

Harris has served as the President and CEO of Mekanism.[4] Since joining Mekanism, Harris has helped the agency produce campaigns for such companies as HBO, Muscle Milk, The North Face, PepsiCo, MillerCoors and Ben and Jerry's.[4][10][11][12] Accounts won by during Harris's time as CEO include Alaska Airlines, Virgin America, Jim Beam, Nordstrom, and the United Nations.[13]

In 2014, Mekanism led the White House's "It's on Us" campaign to raise awareness of campus sexual assault.[14][15] The campaign is currently in its third year.[16] In 2015, Mekanism acquired Epic Signal, a company founded in 2013 that works with brands like Bud Light and NBC to run video campaigns with YouTube, Snapchat, Vine, Periscope and Instagram.[17]

Awards[edit]

During Harris' time as CEO, the agency has twice been named the "Small Agency of the Year" by Ad Age, won four Effie Awards, three Cannes Lions Awards, three London International Awards, a D&AD Award, and four Webby Awards.[18] Mekanism has also been listed as one of the top 50 most creative companies by Creativity magazine.[19] In January 2015, the company was named to Advertising Age's A List and was named one of the most effective Independent Agencies in America later that year.[20][21]

In 2018, Jason was named to the Top 100 Influencers in 2018 by Creative Pool, an online resource for agencies, brands and individuals.[22]

In 2014, Mekanism created an ad for Pepsi which ran during the Super Bowl and was ranked by USA Today as the tenth best Super Bowl ad that year.[23][24] Mekanism was named as one of Advertising Age's best places to work in 2016.[25]

Influence[edit]

Harris is on the board of directors for Advertising Week, the United Nations Social Impact Leadership Council and an advising member of the Marketing 50.[26][27] He is also a co-chair and founding member of Civic Nation Creative Alliance in partnership with The White House. Regarding his work with the United Nations, whose goals are to end poverty and hunger and achieve gender equality, Harris has said, "The campaign, in a way...is sort of re-launching what the UN stands for and how the UN helps solve problems in the world."[28] Harris is also a Board Member for Haymakers for Hope (H4H): An official 501(c)(3) charity organization that gives you the opportunity to fight back against cancer.[29]

His methods have been covered and studied by Harvard Business School.[30] He a frequent lecturer on topics such as brand storytelling and involvement marketing.[31][32] Harris is also a judge for the Effie Awards, Webby Awards, and the Favourite Website Awards. In 2015, Harris was named the fifth most influential social impact leader.[33]

In 2017, Harris was named by the 4As (American Association of Advertising Agencies) as one of the top "100 People Who Make Advertising Great."[34]

In 2018, he delivered the commencement speech at his alma mater, James Madison University.[35]

Harris is the author of The Soulful Art of Persuasion (Penguin Random House, 2019. ISBN 9781984822567). In the book, Harris argues that genuine persuasion is about personal character rather than facts and arguments.[36] Based on his experience in business communication, Harris provides 4 key principles and 11 habits for negotiating in an era of social media and global transparency.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "C-Suite Speaker, Jason Harris: Makes Stories, Not Ads". James Madison University. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  2. ^ Borden, Mark (May 1, 2010). "The Mekanism Guarantee: They Engineer Virality". Fast Company.
  3. ^ Patel, Kunur (August 8, 2011). "Small Agency of the Year, 11-75 Employees, Gold: Mekanism". Ad Age.
  4. ^ a b c Sanburn, Josh (February 4, 2013). "Testing the Science of Sharing at the Super Bowl: Can Viral Ads Be Manufactured?". TIME.
  5. ^ Shing, David (October 7, 2011). "Jason Harris Advertising Week Interview (VIDEO)". Huffington Post.
  6. ^ "Making 'Hovercat' Go Viral". ABC News.
  7. ^ a b Heim, Sarah J (February 25, 2002). "Harris Rejoins Leagas Delaney". Ad Week.
  8. ^ "Creativity Cat Profile". Creativity Cat.
  9. ^ Vines, Emily (June 2005). "Plan C Xcelerates Launch Of Xbox's Forza Motorsport Via Car Culture". SHOOT. Archived from the original on 2015-07-09.
  10. ^ Mekanism Signs New York Directorial Duo Dave and Rory. Studio Daily. August 18, 2008.
  11. ^ Mekanism Signs Trifecta of Talent. Studio Daily. July 13, 2009.
  12. ^ Ann-Christine Diaz (7 April 2017). "John Oliver Rants About HBO's New Brand Campaign, and Then the Campaign Devours Him". AdAge. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  13. ^ Katie Richards (15 December 2016). "Alaska Airlines Celebrates Merger With Virgin America by Showcasing Unexpected, Brilliant Pairings". AdAge. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  14. ^ Monllos, Kristina How One Agency's Insight Into Millennials Helped It Win the White House as a Client AdWeek. July 8, 2015
  15. ^ Mekanism - Case Studies Mekanism. July 8, 2015
  16. ^ Katie Richards (28 March 2017). "It's On Us Calls on College Students to Re-examine How They Talk About Sexual Assault in Bold New Ad". AdAge. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  17. ^ Johnson, Lauren Mekanism Scoops Up a Social Shop to Bring Influence Marketing in House AdWeek. July 25, 2015
  18. ^ Patel, Kunur. "Small Agency of the Year, 11-75 Employees, Silver: Mekanism". Ad Age.
  19. ^ Mekanism - "The 2008 Creativity 50" AdForum. July 8, 2015
  20. ^ Most Effective Independent Agencies April 2015 Effie Effectiveness Index. June 3, 2015
  21. ^ Ad Age's 2015 Agency A-List Standouts: Grey, 180LA, AKQA and More Advertising Age. July 8, 2015
  22. ^ "Creativepool 2018 Annual". creativepool.com. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  23. ^ Feloni, Richard Pepsi's Super Bowl Halftime Intro Is Awesome Business Insider. July 8, 2015
  24. ^ Siegel, Alan 2014 Ad Meter results: all 57 Super Bowl XLVIII commercials from best to worst USA Today. June 3, 2015
  25. ^ "Best Places to Work 2016". AdAge. 14 November 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  26. ^ Work and Life - All Guests The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. July 8, 2015
  27. ^ Monllos, Kristina The United Nations Is Working on the 'World's Largest Advertising Campaign' AdWeek. July 7, 2015
  28. ^ Monolls, Kristina The United Nations Is Working on the 'World's Largest Advertising Campaign' AdWeek. July 25, 2015
  29. ^ "Haymakers for Hope | Haymakers for Hope". haymakersforhope.org. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  30. ^ "Instructors". Miami Ad School.
  31. ^ "Mekanism Personnel Profiles". AdForum.com.
  32. ^ ""How the F#$% Did They Sell That" Seminar Photo". Yahoo.
  33. ^ "Top 10 Most Influential Media and Communication Executives of 2015 -- Putting Their Skills to Work for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals". Pvblic Foundation. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  34. ^ "4A's Reveals 100 People Who Make Advertising Great". American Association of Advertising Agencies. 24 July 2017.
  35. ^ "JMU 2018 Commencement Book" (PDF).
  36. ^ DesMarais, Christina (8 August 2019). "Why You Should Never Let Your Relationships Drop to Zero". Inc.com. Retrieved 8 August 2021.

External links[edit]

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