Rhode Island’s largest advertising and public relations firm – RDW Group – is in the midst of change. Since January, its creative director, Tony Gill left the agency to take a similar position at Newport-based America House Communications. Jeff Patch, formerly of Worcester-based Dubois Patch Advertising — acquired by RDW five years ago — has replaced him, and Tom Monahan, a founding partner of Leonard-Monahan has joined RDW as a consultant. Despite all of these staff changes, the agency took home 34 awards at the Mary T. Holland Competition for Creative Excellence, and 10 awards from the Publicity Club of New England’s Bell Ringer Awards.
After only 18 months with the agency, why did Gill leave? Best known for his work on the Roger Williams Park Zoo campaign, he said that RDW Group had almost become too successful — and he wasn’t getting to do enough work on the creative aspects of the job.
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
“The role was becoming too much management” he said, “and I’m very much hands-on.”
Gill said he was planning to relax and paint this summer, when he ran into America House president Stuart McNaught at a school function for his children. McNaught and Gill have children in the same district.
“I love the work America House is doing for the Newport Creamery and the Potato Head campaign is without a doubt the most talked about PR campaign in Rhode Island,” Gill said.
“Tony had been a great help to the agency,” said Josh Fenton, partner and senior vice president at RDW. “He helped us grow creatively.”
Gill’s replacement, Patch, has spent 19 years in the advertising industry, and played a key role in spearheading such regional and international accounts as Cybex, New England Coffee Company and GTECH, said RDW President Mike Doyle.
JEFF PATCH – moves up at RDW
He will oversee all aspects of the creative process for RDW, including the firm’s interactive, business to business and consumer divisions.
“With integrated communications at the core of the agency’s philosophy, Jeff will ensure that the final creative product is consistent in all areas of our agency,” Doyle said.
RDW captured the Best of Show and first place awards for the “You Can Learn a lot from an Animal” campaign for the zoo, at the Holland Competition. The firm also placed first in New England in the overall number of top awards captured at the Bell Ringer Awards, taking home 10 awards last month.
Also recognized at the Bell Ringer awards was Duffy & Shanley’s Mass-Exodus.com campaign, awarded the best of show award, dubbed “the Super Bell.”
Michael F. Trainor of Trainor Associates was awarded the “Crystal Bell” award at the ceremony. Recognizing his nearly 30 years of public relations work, the Publicity Club said Trainor had dedicated his career to public relations with character, leadership and ingenuity.
