Company’s Newest Division Offers Clients 360-Degree Marketing and Creative Services
Boulder, CO (February 4, 2016) – Active Interest Media (AIM; aimmedia.com) today announced the launch of Catapult Creative Labs, an in-house marketing services agency. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Catapult offers clients a full range of services including custom content, ad creative, social strategy, video and TV production, lead generation, event activation, research, data services, and more.
“With the launch of Catapult Creative Labs, we’re bringing together a talented team of content producers and marketers across all mediums to facilitate dynamic audience conversations for our partners;” said Andy Clurman, CEO of Active Interest Media. “Our award-winning journalists, filmmakers, designers, and digital specialists will help grow client brands in the marine, healthy living, outdoor, equine, and specialty home industries.”
Catapult hits the ground running with several major partners already signed. Inaugural clients come from across AIM’s six markets and include leading brands such as Bertram Yacht, Vetus-Maxwell, Gaia, and Weaver Leather. These companies chose Catapult because of its unique ability to provide video and lead generation expertise while also tapping them into authentic dialogues with the company’s devoted readers, fans, and event attendees.
This access to AIM’s numerous verticals allows for Catapult to exploit the collective experience of AIM’s marketing, editorial, research, and events teams to provide best practices for campaign development. Each program includes messaging running in AIM magazines and websites, in conjunction with AIM’s proven methods for engaging and amplifying targeted messages to its audience. This audience is comprised of 40 million highly-engaged enthusiasts from 85 different countries who trust their brands for travel, health, home, and product advice.
“After our initial meeting with the team at Catapult Creative Labs, I immediately realized the depth and expertise of their marketing knowledge, brand building, digital engagement, and video production capabilities,” said Jay Stockmann, CEO of Vetus-Maxwell USA. “That, coupled with being embedded in a new way in AIM’s Marine Group, provides us with unlimited resources to meet and exceed our future outreach to the U.S. boating market.”
Overseeing Catapult’s launch is Jonathan Dorn, AIM’s senior vice president of digital and creative services. Dorn has held multiple roles since joining Active Interest Media in 2007, including editor-in-chief of Backpacker, which won five National Magazine Awards under his leadership; general manager of AIM’s Outdoor Group; and head of content and product development.
Running day-to-day operations is George Sass Jr., previously editorial director of AIM’s Marine Group. “As our first managing director of Catapult, George brings deep content know-how and a wealth of marketing experience, having run an advertising agency with Fortune 500 clients for a decade prior to becoming a boating editor,” said Dorn. Joining Sass is Jennifer Jones, vice president of account services and a veteran of experiential activations as the head of event execution at the NFL and more recently AIM’s Marine Group.
“Why did we place two former editors at the helm of Catapult?” said Clurman. “The reason is simple: At its core, effective marketing is telling compelling stories. Jon and George are both gifted storytellers, and they’ve been leading AIM’s charge into cutting-edge digital, data, and lead generation services for several years.”
Hear what Jon Dorn has to say about Catapult: http://www.catapultcreativelabs.com/about-us/ #
About Catapult Creative Labs
Catapult’s mission as a marketing services agency is simple: To facilitate dynamic conversations between Active Interest Media’s clients and audience. To achieve our partners’ marketing goals, we’ll co-curate targeted messaging and tap AIM’s experts and technology. Our services include custom content, ad creative, video and TV production, lead generation, event activation, research, data services, social strategy, and more. We’ll also engage an audience of 40 million highly-engaged enthusiasts who trust our brands for travel, health, home, and product advice. Creative, credible, and connected – the Catapult team leverages unrivaled capabilities and reach for our advertising partners. Learn more at www.catapultcreativelabs.com.
About Active Interest Media, Inc.
One of the world’s largest enthusiast media companies, Active Interest Media (aimmedia.com) produces leading consumer and trade events, websites, magazines, and films and TV shows that reach 40 million readers, fans, and attendees in 85 countries. AIM produces the world’s largest boat shows, led by the annual Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show, as well as the World Series of Team Roping, the second-richest equestrian competition in the world. Our brands include Yoga Journal, Backpacker, SKI, Skiing, Vegetarian Times, Anglers Journal, Yachts International, Sail, Power & Motoryacht, Black Belt, American Cowboy, Spin to Win Rodeo, Practical Horseman, Dressage Today, Oxygen, Clean Eating, Log Home Living, Old House Journal, Cabin Living, Woodsmith, Garden Gate, and more. The company’s six divisions—the Equine Network, Home Group, Healthy Living Group, Marine Group, Outdoor Group, and Creative Home Group—also operate thriving B2B platforms, online universities, and retail events. Core competencies include lead generation (through our Qualified Buyer Program), marketing services (through our in-house agency, Catapult Creative Labs), and video production; Warren Miller Entertainment is the most successful adventure-film company in history, and AIM Studios is a seven-person unit dedicated to digital video. Active Interest Media’s customers are smart, engaged, and loyal, and they look to our brands for trustworthy information and services that will inspire and enable them to enjoy their passions.
For more information:
Dayna Macy
Communications Director, Active Interest Media
415.591.0729