Former Umpqua Bank and AIG Retirement Services leaders join to bolster the progressive brand agency's team.

Creative Brand Communications, Inc. (CBC) recently announced its strategic relaunch as a full-service and innovative branding agency focused on building experiential brands for financial companies in the banking, credit union, legal, financial and professional services industries.

Originally established in 2003, Creative Brand Communications, Inc. is a Portland, Oregon-based branding agency serving the nation's most forward thinking financial and professional services brands through innovative experience development strategies. Visit www.creative-brand.com for more information.

“We relaunched CBC to serve the nation's most audacious financial companies who want to boldly create experiential brands that are distinctly their own,” says Creative Brand Communications' CEO and Founder Jeff Stephens. “CBC uses many disciplines to build brands that shape experiences for our clients' customers – and we believe everything shapes experiences.”

CBC's unique approach to branding is centered on the belief that brands are experienced: touched, tasted, seen, heard and smelled. The agency's services involve reaching far beyond the confines of traditional marketing to ensure each interaction between a person and a company creates a powerful experience that contributes to how the company is positively identified. As a result, CBC's focus areas include every aspect of a client's business, from marketing to human resources, from its facilities to its operations, and beyond.

“Our clients have an uncommon appreciation for the value of developing and sustaining a strong brand and a die-hard dedication that shows they are in it for the long haul,” adds Stephens. “They understand that developing a brand is a company-wide commitment, rather than a single marketing project.”

“CBC tackles financial services branding from a whole different angle,” says Nicole Johansson, marketing manager, Tri Counties Bank, headquartered in Chico, CA. "They have shown us they think outside of the box, which is critical to connect with customers and stand out in the communities we serve.”

CBC also announced that Casey Boggs and Jesse Villanueva have joined the agency as vice president and public relations director, and brand strategist, respectively.

As vice president and public relations director, Casey Boggs brings over ten years of extensive communications experience to CBC with specific expertise in media relations, marketing strategy, crisis communications, internal communications, advertising, corporate imaging, positioning and thought leadership.

Recently, Boggs served as director, public relations at AIG Retirement Services, Inc., one of the world’s largest retirement services companies. He also managed a multitude of accounts for two of the world's largest public relations agencies, Waggener Edstrom and Weber Shandwick. Boggs is a graduate of California State University, Long Beach.

Jesse Villanueva joined CBC as brand strategist, primarily responsible for the development and implementation of unique experiential brand strategies for CBC's clients.

Prior to joining CBC, Villanueva was assistant creative director at Umpqua Bank, where he greatly contributed to the expansion of the bank's internationally recognized brand through the development of a wide variety of brand-centered initiatives, from merchandising to environments to Web-based tools and marketing communications. Villanueva is a graduate of the University of Oregon's Journalism and Communication School.

With Jeff Stephens and Jesse Villanueva, CBC features two former members of Umpqua Bank's marketing team. Before founding CBC, Stephens contributed to building Umpqua Bank's noted brand and marketing efforts. The combined quality of branding and communications experiences makes CBC one of the industry's most impressive and experienced agencies for the financial services community.