Drake Cooper Is Buzzing With New Talent

The end of 2014 is in sight but there’s no sign of slowing down before the end of the year at Drake Cooper. To that end we’ve brought aboard a load of new talent across all disciplines in the shop.

“We are happy to be adding to our new breed of story builders. These new hires bring talents across creative, media and digital platforms, hop from left-brain to right brain and importantly understand the new frontier of our industry. Each of them is ambitious and has a passion for making ambitious work. And to me, that is exciting.”

-Jamie Cooper, CEO

Everyone please join in and help us give our new additions a warm interweb welcome.

Our newbs include:

CHRIS WATTS | Project Manager

Chris Watts desires to find passion in everything he does. As an English Writing student at Boise State he tried to decode the key to creativity, wanting to push his art form to the furthest limits. When his focus shifted to Business Marketing, he attacked that with the same ferocity and tenacity. Chris now lends his experience in both fields to his role as Project Manager working closely with Jacksons Food Stores and Jackson Jet Center.

To recharge his batteries Chris takes advantage of the unimaginably fruitful Idaho landscape. He also finds time to master his craft in the form of his short fiction stories. He’s been lucky enough to be published for his work and is now working on his first book of short stories, Born in Hell and Falling Fast.

ANNIE TAKAGI | Media Buyer

Annie graduated from Boise State University with a degree in Communication with a Marketing minor in 2006. Her experience ranges from account services at a boutique-advertising agency, to customer loyalty marketing for Expedia, Inc. and digital communications for one of the nation’s largest health systems, Providence Health & Services.

As a Media Buyer, Annie is passionate about getting messaging to the right audiences at the right time. To boot, she’s astute on media trends and makes recommendations for those times when what is traditionally the best idea may need a fresh approach.

When Annie isn’t researching trends, analyzing, tracking and optimizing campaigns, she can be found monkeying around the jungle gym with her toddler, racing her dog on the greenbelt or enjoying a cold one with her husband at a local brewery.

JOSH HAUGEN | Digital Producer

A graduate of Boise State University, Josh is a jack-of-all-trades. He likes to have a hand in everything, which translates well as a Digital Producer. From making sure communication is moving smoothly to and from the digital team, to making sure projects are completed on time and on budget. He enjoys being part of the action and contributing to the cause.

When not wrangling projects for a team of designers and developers, Josh enjoys many activities, usually involving the great outdoors. When not out in the woods you can usually find him starting a new project on his house or enjoying a pint of IPA with his wife Rene.

DJ RAMIREZ | Interactive Developer

DJ spends his days designing, creating, and connecting ideas & strategies. He believes that the message should determine the medium. This belief has him shifting gears between web, print and video on a daily basis. His passion for learning inspired his creativity in design and paved the way for past freelance work. He has created for clients such as the City of Boise, the City of Nampa, Tour De Fat, Treefort Music Fest and many more.

When DJ is not at his desk mastering the next mission, he can be found cycling from coffee shop to coffee shop, collecting records or jamming on the bass guitar.

JD BALLARD | Interactive Developer

As an Interactive Developer, JD holds many hats. Some involve cold-hard code, while others include behind the scenes technical voodoo or blasting heavy electronic music throughout the office at late hours of the night.

Swooped (almost literally) from his dwellings of dimly lit rooms and bright computer screens with miles of code flying across them, he’s been adopted as a full time code-monkey in the Interactive Department. Equipped with nothing more than over a decade of raw programming experience, JD is a driving force behind Drake Cooper’s server-sided code for many of our clients.

He is also an up-and-coming Ping-Pong world champion.

ZACH JOHNSON | Motion Architect

At a very early age Zach developed a keen eye for detail and an ability to find beauty in imagery. With over a decade of experience and 300+ videos under his belt, he is most known for his work as a colorist, editor, and lead role as Director of Photography. His other roles have ranged from directing workshops, owning his own business and building and leading the video department of Scentsy Inc.

Throughout his career, he has brought home national awards for cinematography along with multiple awards for color correction.
Though humble in spirit, he exudes confidence and passionate leadership. He believes in the teams he works with and always strives to create a fun and enjoyable atmosphere. He also prides himself on mentoring and building teams. His skill set and precise eye for lighting allows him to often create images from nearly nothing and capture unseen beauty. Some have often said he has the natural ability to bend light.

When taking a break from shooting and editing he can be found on the golf course or hanging with his wife Hannah and daughter Giana.

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ABOUT DRAKE COOPER
We are a Northwest U.S. advertising and digital agency with offices in Boise and Seattle. Living and working in the Northwest, we embrace the idea of enjoying life while at work (and at play). Our mantra is – We Build Brands and we look for the ambitious. We love ambitious brands, ambitious team members and ambitious clients. Collectively we strive to make Drake Cooper the best place we’ve ever worked. For more information visit http://www.drakecooper.com