THE PEOPLE
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John Montgomery
What do you get when you combine a strategic media and pr mind with a passion for fanfare rivaled only by PT Barnum himself? John Montgomery is what you get. John began his career at the tender age of 18 as a music promoter, and after working for several different PR shops, he had his entrepreneurial hemorrhage to start Big just 9 years later. John’s big picture thinking, creativity, leadership and nose for news makes him the king of finding an angle and a story in everything and the guy that smart brands love on their team.
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Ford Wiles
Somewhere between his wildly chaotic whiteboard wall, not enough sleep and the local Starbucks is where Ford’s next big idea lurks. Ford spent years building campaigns for brands like the Home Depot, Saks, Verizon, Captain D’s and Intuit to name a few. Through that experience, he developed an unyielding belief that excellence is the price of entry for any idea we let out the door. That passion makes him an idea factory of the highest order and a champion of great thinking, no matter where it comes from.
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Rachael Wingo
When most people sign up for a career in finance, they imagine things like balance sheets, P&L and earnings reports. What they don’t envision is working with creative types who are driven more by big ideas than bottom lines. But despite the incredible differences in industries, Rachael does an exceptional job of managing the books and the chaos at Big. And while we love the fact that she’s a creative person, we love it even more that she never gets creative with our accounting.
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Robin Oliver
Robin is the best. Period. Because Robin is always straight with you. Always. She combines the calculating mind of a chess master with the writing skills of a seasoned journalist. Because she spent the first several years of her career as a reporter in newsrooms across the South, Robin might have the strongest fluff filter of anybody in PR. If a story idea for a client makes it past her desk, you can be certain it’ll make it in an editorial meeting. She’s also a governmental relations and public affairs specialist of the highest order.
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Mark Ervin
After starting his career as a copywriter and creative director, Mark turned his talents to brand strategy. A student of messaging, segmentation and research, Mark specializes in mining insights and crafting messages that transcend table stakes and out think “brand haters.“Mark earned his chops on brands like Chick-fil-A, Ford Motor Company, Toys”R”Us and Verizon. Recently, Mark led the efforts to conduct national research to gauge perceptions of Gulf Seafood following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
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Aaron Gresham
One of the most decorated creatives in the state, Aaron brings a tremendous level of experience and talent to Big. He’s done everything from major national rebranding projects and logo redesigns to packaging, television, non-traditional and website design for brands like Captain D’s, Meijer and Toys’R’Us. But the best thing about Aaron is that it’s impossible to outwork him. When he’s done burning midnight oil here, he designs gig posters for major music acts in exchange for donations to the American Cancer Society.
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Danielle Kimbrough
She thought she was just coming to Big for a short internship, but that was years ago. Because after you’ve coordinated a media event/donut eating contest between circus clowns and local cops, why would you ever want to work somewhere else? Danielle can create an event out of thin air and make it so good, it gets picked up by every major media outlet in market. She’s also the queen of one-to-one marketing, traveling the state and region to grassroots events and conferences on behalf of our clients.
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Matt Lane Harris
Malcolm Gladwell would call him a Maven. We prefer to call him an Evangelist, which is pretty fitting for this son of an Alabama preacher. Few people exude and display the passion and dedication that Matt has for his craft, and it shows up regularly in the work he’s done on iconic brands and bands ranging from Chrysler to Drive By Truckers. Plus, Matt is a copywriter’s dream. His unmatched eye for typography can turn even an average headline into an epic one. Just don’t get Matt started on food, or you’ll end up eating lunch with him at 10:30 am.
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Shannon Harris
You know that really creative friend you have? The one that makes you feel more interesting just by being in the same room with you? That’s Shannon. She brings a uniquely warm, modern and female-friendliness to our creative that’s both thoughtful and strategic. But don’t let her friendliness fool you: She’s one of the most competitive creatives in house. And she’s crafty. Literally. Throughout our work you’ll find meticulously detailed and 100% hand-crafted Shannon-ness.
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Libby Sexton Romano
Libby is one of the truest hybrid talents at Big. She’s a strategic, long-term thinker that loves to plan ahead for the brands she serves, and actively manages goals well beyond the project at hand (see Go Build Alabama). But she’s also a digital thinker. Not only does she study up on the latest trends in programming language, digital metrics and user interface, she’s also a programmer’s best friend, whether it’s building sitemaps or pushing designers to think iPad/Smartphone first.
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Ryan Brown
What’s going on in the world of design? Just ask Ryan. In his spare moments (which is usually lunch at his desk), Ryan is always scouring the web for new trends, ideas and forms of inspiration. That hunger for excellence translates into his work – especially his typography. No one can out-kern, out-track or out-led this guy. Ford, a perfectionists perfectionist, has even been known to describe it as “flawless.” The account team also loves him – he never says “no” to a project, no matter how short the timeline.
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Sally Russell Baio
Since her first day on the job in 2000, Sally has worked on developing and placing media plans nationally. Literally. She’s been cranking out rock star plans every since. Sally leads our work with Nationwide Insurance, serving as planner, buyer, account exec. and all things in between. Sally’s ability to forge relationships and to read between the GRP’s and TRP’s results in outstanding added value negotiation for our clients, and even better results. Beyond her media chops, she’s got pipes, too. Sally can be seen and heard as the lead singer of the rock band, The Hearts .
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Lindsey Boan
No matter if you want to be on TV, Facebook, print, blogs or high school football tickets, if you’re looking to get the most out of a limited media buy, Lindsey’s your gal. She brings incredible insights in both digital media and local store marketing, after stints at al.com and planning and buying local media for over 220 Pizza Huts across the Southeast. Lindsey is also a Dog Whisperer. No joke. And if she can tame even Satina’s Larry David-style neurotic Boston Terrier, Tripp, imagine what she can do with media reps.
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Satina Richardson
More than just our resident airport specialist (she serves three different airport clients in cities across the Southeast), Satina is both an RFP wonk and a civic-minded person. When she doesn’t have her head in the clouds, she’s probably either managing research projects or helping promote Cooper Green Mercy Hospital. Satina is also the current president of the American Advertising Federation Birmingham Chapter, using her position to advocate greater cooperation between agencies and to make the entire ad community better.
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Jordan Sowards
How do you identify the award-winning copywriter? Pick the person with the wood-finished, championship edition Scrabble set. Jordan’s a big-time thinker who studies culture and creativity like none other, which can be easily found in the work he’s done on brands like Verizon and EA. His rare talents marry a mastery of the English language with well-timed sarcasm and a rapier wit. That and he knows the ins and outs of retail, direct and digital marketing better than anybody.
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Julie Ward
Julie is the consummate professional, which explains why she’s one of the rare individuals who can simultaneously handle both a full load of advertising and public relations clients. Known for both her perkiness and her persistence, Julie is not one to be trifled with over a deadline. Plus, she’s great working with creatives. When they go the extra mile on her clients, she’s the first to show up with cookies, cupcakes or other baked goodness. Some might call it bribery. We call it awesome.
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Donna Little
Donna is one of the most seasoned marketing professionals in the city. And if you’re wondering, yes, that’s code for awesome. Donna’s diverse talents have allowed her to work across multiple disciplines inside of advertising, from account service to traffic to production to creative manager. That breadth of experience not only helps her empathize with just about everybody in the building, it’s invaluable to help us get so much work through such a lean creative department.
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Shaydah Rabiee
According to Sally, Shaydah is a life saver. She keeps the wheels of our media department turning, whether it’s doing research, pulling rates, negotiating with vendors or making presentations for clients. She’s also an expert in our media-buying software, Strata. The only thing Shaydah knows better than media is restaurants. She grew up serving food and families working in her parents’ different cafés and bistros. When she’s not working at Big, she helps out at her family’s newest place, Vino, in Mountain Brook.
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John Perry
Most people whose careers begin in politics and finance aren’t cut out for the anything goes, no two days are alike world of advertising and public relations. Then again, most people are not John Perry. We grabbed him after he went back to grad school and threw him into the fire. But to JP, it was no sweat. Because once you’ve talked down an angry group of constituents intent on giving someone on Capitol Hill a piece of their mind, you can handle just about anything.
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Onna Cunningham
Onna is our office manager. Which is just like saying, “Onna is our chaos manager.” So, it’s pretty fitting that she has a Masters in Diplomacy. She’s tasked with the difficult job of keeping our day-to-day operations moving smoothly, whether that’s managing our creative management software, Workamajig, or our media buying software, Strata. She’s also on the front lines of accounts payable, IT and HR. Plus, Onna is the go-to resource for what’s good on TV. From FNL to Community to SNL, she’s always got the scoop.
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Brittany Sanders
In our office, it doesn’t matter where Brittany’s desk is because she’s never there. Her work with our public relations team often pulls her out of the office at the blink of an eye to handle something for our clients, whether that’s driving performers to interviews to hanging up posters downtown to distributing hardhats to 10,000 8th graders. Brittany came to us fresh out of Alabama with a passion to learn and a “bring it on” attitude that’s made her a darling of both our PR team and our clients.
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Brian Curtin
Brian came to Big as a student designer who could also do a little video editing. Fast forward a few years, and Brian has rapidly become an all-talented workhorse in our creative department. He’s part award-winning art director, part outstanding motion graphics artist, part killer video editor and all big, contagious smiles. Brian is also a YouTube sensation. His videos Beyond Black Mesa and Concrete Hustle , which he wrote, directed, edited and starred in, have been viewed by millions of adoring Half Life and Star Wars fans.
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Niki Lim
Meet Niki, your new best friend. She’s one of those people you immediately feel like you’ve known forever, and in public relations, that’s a really good thing. But she doesn’t just bring a great personality to the table; she’s got mad PR skills. This Mobile, Alabama, native brings a shelf full of PR accolades to Big along with national experience in everything from food and finance to healthcare and higher education. Plus, Niki always thinks how something works in digital first, right after she thinks how it helps our clients most.
THE STORY
Laptop. Metal desk. Rolling chair. Gigantic cell phone. That was all John Montgomery needed to open the doors of Big Communications back in 1995. While the irony of the name was not lost on his first clients, John’s experience in public relations, media and event promotions delivered against it, with an invaluable combination of headline-grabbing tactics, great relationship building and media targeting smarts. John developed the ability to not only make a huge splash with limited budgets, but he also made sure that earned media was a mandatory part of every project.
Since the agency had a public relations heart, John wanted to give it a creative head. So he brought in Ford Wiles as a business partner and Chief Creative Officer. Having honed his skills and leadership on major national brands, Ford added an incredible attention to detail and an insatiable passion for perfection in the strategy, craft and execution of our work. The result has been a powerful, collaborative combination of media, public relations and creative that’s successfully and visibly built brands in a variety of industries like healthcare, higher education, workforce development, dining, aviation, economic development, tourism, seafood, retail, recruitment, technology and entertainment.
That’s the story of Big. We’ve grown from 1 man in a loft to 24 people in 5 Points South in Birmingham, servicing clients all over the Southeast. Even though our beginnings were small, our thinking, ambition and determination never will be.
Our Philosophy
It’s not a formula. It’s a feeling. We belive in guiding principles not rigid rules or processes. Doing this helps us avoid patterns that are formed by the routine and produce the expected.
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PIONEER, O, PIONEER
Not all ideas are created equal. The best ones have the power to radically challenge perceptions and to outsmart conventional wisdom. They effortlessly lead, creating countless new ideas and passionate ambassadors.
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NON SEQUITUR
Interruptions are an abrupt change to everyday patterns. They are what we notice most and least forget. By default advertising is not disruptive. But by design it should be.
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PEOPLE WILL TALK
Your reputation is what’s said about you when you’re not in the room. Public relations is the voice of your brand outside the deliberate, well-manicured message of an advertisement. Manage this well.
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NEVER SETTLE
Exhausting the search for creative excellence can be exhausting. But we sleep better knowing we didn’t stop with our first good idea.
Friends tell each other what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. Some people call that a partnership. We call it trust. It takes time, empathy and a willingness to listen to develop relationships like that. And it’s that combination of friendship and trust that allows us to do great work for them. And here’s a list of some of ours:
