Kristi Bridges: Partner and Creative Director of The Sawtooth Group
By Robin Salisian
When Kristi Bridges, partner and creative director of The Sawtooth Group, visited an ad agency at age 11, she fell hard for the advertising industry. She met Carol Ann Fine, a partner at the agency, showed off her writing, and after Fine claimed to love it, decided she wanted to be just like Fine. ''I've been in love with this business ever since,'' said Bridges.
Act Now! Activate a FREE three days trial to AdvertisingCrossing.com, because you know how important it is to know about all the jobs.
"Learn as much as you can," Bridges advised individuals interested in advertising.
Bridges attended Syracuse University for one year, transferred to the School of Visual Arts, and immersed herself in creativity. She was anxious, she admitted, to be in the city and be around advertising people. Anxious indeed. At just 17, Bridges began working at DDB Needham, an advertising agency founded “[to] forever remain a vigilant enemy of the ordinary,” says its website.
At DDB Needham, she worked with clients from Volkswagen to Hershey’s and Clairol. From such early exposure, Bridges learned “all the intricacies of the industry,” including what advertising tactics are best: the ones that really make deep, personal connections with the customer, she explained.
“Sometimes that can be done through TV, and sometimes it needs to be done more personally, more locally. The things that work best generally are the ones that are inherently true to the brand and the customer.”
“I think we have more opportunities to reach our audiences,” she continued, when asked about the impact of TiVo. “And we have the ability to do it when they are really looking for our message. We just need to open our minds to new ways of doing it.”
Eventually, Bridges left the Needham family and ventured from Manhattan to New Jersey, where her “head hunter” introduced her to Sawtooth. In 1997, Bridges joined the agency.
Q. What do you do for fun? A. Play tennis, cook, and go to the beach.
Q. What CD is in your CD player right now? A. Dave Matthews Band.
Q. What is the last magazine you read? A.Vanity Fair.
Q. What is your favorite TV show? A. Entourage.
Q. Who is your role model? A. My 13-year-old daughter.
The Sawtooth Group, founded in 1988 by Bill Schmermund (current president and CEO), promises “to be curious about your brand until we know every aspect of it,” “to be passionate about getting to know your customers and the world they live in,” and “to be absolutely relentless about inventing new, and often surprising, ways to help your brand reach its potential.” Welcome to The Sawtooth Group.
To the agency, Bridges brought “big agency experience” with her, which worked both to her advantage and disadvantage. Knowledge and experience in the industry was a bonus—“she [was] able to offer her clients exactly what she [knew] they can’t get anywhere else: personalization, an agency willing to invest their own money, and time to learn their brand and consumer inside and out and immerse themselves fully in the mindset and big-agency experience in a small-agency environment,” says her bio; however, the adjustment to a smaller agency took Bridges some time—six months.
But she acclimated, and this year, she celebrates 10 years at The Sawtooth Group, six of those years as its creative director.
During those 10 years, Bridges has worked with several well-known clients, including McCormick, Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR), and Saint Peter’s College.
“For all of them, we’ve done integrated campaigns that find a way to truly connect with each respective target audience. Through our current print and TV campaign, the McCormick brand has become a reflection of today’s mom and everything that is important to her.
“Our PBR campaign,” she continued, “is a ‘thank you’ to the unique, loyal PBR drinker and reflects their passion for the beer and for self-expression. Drinkers get to share their art and passion with each other.”
Which then, with a plethora of campaigns to choose from, is Bridges’s favorite?
“[The ads] I’m most proud of [are] the ads that work. Right now, we are seeing incredibly positive results [from] our new PBR campaign, as well as ongoing positive results [from] our McCormick campaign. I think that’s a result of really finding compelling, relevant ways to connect with those particular audiences.”
From a young girl visiting an ad agency to a “big agency veteran,” Kristi Bridges lives and breathes advertising. Bridges offered advice to young individuals seeking the same thing she dreamed of at age 11.
“Learn as much as you can. Every day, someone invents a new way to communicate. You will be most valuable to your company and your clients if you know all of the options.”
Keith , Staten Island, NY
EmploymentCrossing's search engine is excellent. You can search jobs on the basis of specific locations and practice areas.
Carolyn , Harrisburg, PA
I would definitely like to join EmploymentCrossing again if I need to switch my job in future. It was a lot more helpful compared to other websites.
Meg , Oak Park, IL
The email alerts sent by AdvertisingCrossing are cool. I got a job through this feature of the website. Thanks!
Derek , Arlington, TX
I got a job through AdvertisingCrossing. It was very helpful as I could focus towards the particular listings I wanted.
Deborah , Lighthouse Point, FL
I found it really helpful as I got a couple of job leads through AdvertisingCrossing, and got my new job.
To compare AdvertisingCrossing with other job sites
Show Everyone What You Are Capable Of: Take Action and Investigate Jobs on 50,000+ Websites Instantly
Get immediate results in your job search: Discover advertising jobs from over 50,000 websites on AdvertisingCrossing. It is not logical for you to be confined to advertising jobs on one website when you can have the exciting experience of searching over 50,000 websites at once.
You are focused on living in the present and not the future: Do not wait for the ideal advertising jobs to come to you; instead, find them right now. Observe, be practical, take action and get results today.
Public Relations/Marketing & Graphic Design United States-FL-Winter Park
ProductionHUB.com is the search engine for media & entertainment. Our fall internship program is great for those who are interested in learning mor...
When you are attempting to find creative director work with an ad agency, it is important to have the necessary qualifications. In general, the creative director is one of the most important people within the agency. Therefore, when you are looking for creative directing employment it is important to consider a number of things.
EmploymentCrossing always helped me stay updated with the jobs available in the
market. The daily news on the site was also very informative. I like to read the different archives and the life
style column on EmploymentCrossing.
Andrew , Plantation, FL
I thought the website was very comprehensive. I found a job quickly by using this job board.
Candice , Houston, TX
The same day I signed up I sent out some resumes online, and the next day I was offered an excellent career opportunity. This is the best site for professionals to find employment.
See Every Advertising Job We Can Find on the Internet!
Unlike other sites, AdvertisingCrossing works for you and does not charge employers to post jobs and actually goes out and researches jobs for you. The jobs you see are the jobs we find for you and not the ones employers are paying us to post.
To compare AdvertisingCrossing with other job sites
Show Everyone What You Are Capable Of: Take Action and Investigate Jobs on 50,000+ Websites Instantly
Get immediate results in your job search: Discover advertising jobs from over 50,000 websites on AdvertisingCrossing. It is not logical for you to be confined to advertising jobs on one website when you can have the exciting experience of searching over 50,000 websites at once.
See all the jobs in your profession on the Internet in one place. Your powers of observation and people skills will all pay off when you can view:
Advertising jobs from every company employer career webpage we can find.
Advertising jobs from every professional advertising firm career page we can find.
Advertising jobs from every job board we can find.
Advertising jobs from every newspaper classified ad we can find.
Advertising jobs from every specialized advertising publication we can find.
Advertising jobs from every federal, state and local government career page we can find.
Advertising jobs from every public interest, nonprofit and other career page we can find.
Tell us where to send your access instructions:
Today at AdvertisingCrossing
240 - Jobs found in last 24 Hours1,513 - Jobs found in last 7 Days5,772 - Total Jobs Found
Your privacy is guaranteed. We will never give out, lease, or sell your personal information.
AdvertisingCrossing - #1 Job Aggregation and Private Job-Opening Research Service — The Most Quality Jobs Anywhere
AdvertisingCrossing is the first job consolidation service in the employment industry to seek to include every job that exists and not charge employers to post jobs on its site.
AdvertisingCrossing uses sophisticated technology and manual work to comb employer websites and other job boards for jobs and bring them all to its site.
