Joel Idelson Joins Connelly Partners as CMO

Boston, MA – November 24, 2015 – Steve Connelly, Founder and President of Connelly Partners announced today that Joel Idelson has been named Chief Marketing Officer of the 125 person, full service advertising agency.

This is the latest move in a series of acquisitions to expand the agency (most notably travel and lifestyle ad agency, ISM and gamification company, POD Design). Connelly Partners recently formed strategic partnerships with Motive Metrics (a technology company that leverages psychology to uncover non-conscious motivations and trigger buying behavior) and Domo (a leading analytics platform to help measure digital marketing effectiveness).

“I am excited to hand Joel the Connelly Partners story and let him tell it,” said Connelly. Traditionally, marketing agencies have difficulty marketing themselves; self-importance usually gets in the way. Joel is a genuine, understated guy who happens to be best-in-class at what he does, just like us. When we first met four years ago and we both were wearing scally caps, I just knew we would end up working together someday.”

Most recently, Idelson was the founder and EVP of Branded Entertainment and Content at Allen & Gerritsen (a&g), where he combined his entertainment industry experience with his ad industry background to create content for clients including the Boston Celtics, Saucony, Toy State and Waters Corporation.

While at a&g, he created and produced #afewgoodminutes interviewing entertainment and cultural and business trendsetters including the Russell Simmons, Donnie Wahlberg, Joe Zee and the founders of Warby Parker and CMO of Jet Blue, among others.

Prior to a&g, Idelson was the President of the experiential marketing firm, Street Attack. He was member of the executive team at two of the world’s largest digital advertising agencies, Digitas & Razorfish and helped manage both companies during their multi-billion dollar acquisitions by larger holding companies. His curiosity and instinct for digital creativity has led him to advisor roles at companies including artificial intelligence company, Pong and to found b*famous, which gamifies new music talent online.

“Connelly Partners is one of the largest agencies in New England, and its client experience and up to the moment knowledge and resources have been one of the marketing industry’s best kept secrets,” said Joel Idelson, Chief Marketing Officer at Connelly Partners. “I’ve long admired the way this agency has been run by Steve Connelly and his partners and am ready to make it famous.”

Idelson plans to capitalize on the core agency experience in food (restaurant and CPGs), travel and lifestyle, higher education, pharmaceuticals and health and wellness. “We’d love to go after an athletic brand, a great organic food brand and a tropical island to round out our roster,” said Idelson.

Connelly Partners current clients include A&E Networks, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Babson College, Best Western, Cabot Creamery, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Massachusetts State Lottery, Samsonite and SATA Airlines, among others.

For more information on Connelly Partners, visit connellypartners.com or follow @connellyagency on Twitter.

Primary Contact Name: Rebecca Sullivan
Primary Contact Position: PR Contact
Primary Contact Organization: R Sullivan PR