As an award-winning advertising agency professional, his name has been tied to the marketing of such household names as American Airlines, Buick, NationsBank and Lincoln-Mercury dealers. Now, he’s been nabbed by St. Joseph-based JohnsonRauhoff — JR — as a Senior Writer on the team, as Clayton Boothe, a 35-year veteran in the industry returns to his beloved shores of Lake Michigan.
JR, one of the top strategic marketing content agencies in southwest Michigan, is taking its creative firepower up a notch with the addition of one of Michigan’s most highly acclaimed advertising writers.
Clayton Boothe began his career in 1985 in Dallas, as a copywriter/proofreader for a small advertising agency. Less than three years later, he moved on to Bozell/Dallas — one of the world’s largest agencies at the time — to create advertising for megabrands including American Airlines and NationsBank.
In 1993, Boothe moved to a Chicago agency to become Creative Director on their Buick business. Next, he went on to become Vice President/Senior Regional Creative Director at Young & Rubicam/Detroit, steering the advertising for dozens of Lincoln-Mercury Dealer Associations throughout the southeast and southwest U.S.
In 1996, Boothe made the leap across the state to become creative director at Hanon McKendry, an up-and-coming hot shop that garnered over 100 ADDY Awards for creative excellence during his tenure. Finally, Boothe opened his own creative services boutique in late 1999, where he continued to build on his creative and business success for the next twenty years.
Boothe says, “I’ve had a great run so far, but the advertising and marketing industry has changed radically in recent years. The power and prevalence of traditional advertising is way down, while the importance of digital content of all kinds has soared. Too often, my clients pegged Boothe Creative Services as a great resource only for creating traditional media ads.”
Boothe says he was eager to join forces with an agency that already had exceptional capabilities and reputation in the digital content space, adding, “JohnsonRauhoff is it.” Boothe admits, “I’m tickled pink to find this opportunity. JR and I are a great fit. We’re gonna do some kick-ass stuff for our clients.”
On a personal note, Boothe is looking forward to his move to St. Joseph from Grand Rapids, living on the lakefront again. He thoroughly enjoyed his recent two-year “writing sabbatical,” during which he largely shelved his advertising business to focus on writing novels while living on the lakeshore near Ludington. He finished his first novel and made starts on two more, and also spent much of those two years teaching at Grand Valley State University and Compass College of Cinematic Arts. “But,” he says, “it’s time to get back to my marketing career, full steam,” concluding, “Joining up with JR…living on the lakeshore again…it doesn’t get much better than this.”
JR is a strategic content agency that combines the strengths of a full-service agency with the added value and efficiency of an in-house photography and video studio. Strategic insights and innovative tech solutions fuel powerful creative work. You can learn more online at this link: http://johnsonrauhoff.com
