RESTON, Va. – Buffalo Groupe, LLC and its Buffalo Agency – a fully integrated marketing firm representing golf, sport and lifestyle brands globally – has named Derek Koenig Chief Creative and Content Officer.
Koenig, a 25-year marketing industry veteran previously holding executive-level positions with Discovery, Vail Resorts, AOL, Sony and Discover Financial, will be tasked with building Buffalo Studios. This new agency initiative will blend expertise & creative experts to create compelling branded content targeting influential audiences.
“Derek is the perfect person to lead our launch of Buffalo Studios,” says Buffalo Groupe CEO, Kyle Ragsdale. “His deep experience with brands known worldwide is combined with exceptional creativity, curiosity and outstanding leadership qualities. We’re very excited to add him to our talented, growing team.”
“Throughout my entire career, I’ve been fixated on creating and telling inspiring stories that drive business across all platforms – TV, digital, social, print and more,” says Koenig. “Buffalo Studios will allow us to super-serve our agency partners with breakthrough storytelling and activate luxury-lifestyle audiences like never before. I’m honored to join Buffalo Agency and can’t wait to build Buffalo Studios; this is where I belong.”
The hire is the latest in a series of moves by the new Buffalo, which include the appointment of John Watson as Executive Chairman, spin off from former parent company, Billy Casper Golf, and recapitalization supported by an initial round of outside investment.
Koenig joins Buffalo from Discovery, Inc. where he was SVP Creative for the company’s in-house agency, leading a team that supported Discovery’s U.S. and International businesses with marketing, promotion, short-form digital, VR and branded content campaigns.
Previously, he founded Two Step Consulting in Boulder, Colorado, where he worked with brands like Qwest, Sony, Nike and the Victors & Spoils creative crowd-sourcing agency. Prior to that, he served as CMO for Vail Resorts, overseeing all global marketing, research, sales, digital, sponsorships and event marketing. His tenure included launching the EPIC Pass digital platform and signing Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn as spokesperson.
Koenig’s held other roles like SVP, Marketing at Discovery Communications, marketing positions with AOL, Sony and Discover Financial, and time with Leo Burnett managing its McDonald’s, Pillsbury and P&G accounts. He has been recognized with an IHAF Agency of the Year award, 2 Emmys, 3 Effies, 3 Webbys, 3 Adweek campaigns of the year and the AAAA Gold for Strategy.
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