ATLANTA (April 12, 2012 ) – Jackson Spalding continues its growth trend with three new team members who joined the agency in recent weeks. The full-service public relations and marketing firm has added seven new hires in 2012, bringing the staff count to 83.

Brett Player is Jackson Spalding’s new Creative Director, leading the 20-member creative team that generates graphic design, advertising, multimedia, digital and photography services for clients. He succeeds Mart Martin, who previously led the team and is now focusing primarily on JS Excavation® strategic work, including brand messaging and account planning.

Player joins Jackson Spalding after nine years as Creative Director and co-founder of Play/VTA, an Atlanta-based brand communication agency within a multi-media company, whose clients included BMG Music, CNN, Coca-Cola, Dell and Spanx. He began his career with branding giant Landor and Associates in 1998 and his packaging, product and digital design experience has taken him from New York to Hong Kong and points beyond. Player earned his B.S. in Studio Art from Florida State University and recently became a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for FSU’s College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance.  He also completed graduate studies in Design and Art Direction at The Portfolio Center, where he remains an adjunct professor.

Colin Owens joins the firm as Marketing & Business Development Manager, assuming the role previously handled by Caroline Duffy, who is returning to a strategic counseling role on the client side. Owens spent the last four years as a marketing manager for Hay Group, Inc., working with leadership to raise brand awareness and build external relationships in targeted US industries and in the Southeast region. Owens earned a B.A. in Newspaper Journalism from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.

Aimée Reif rounds out the expanded team, coming on board to support social media and digital campaigns for Jackson Spalding’s clients. Reif was most recently the Marketing Manager for User Experience Alliance of Chicago, a global network of 24 leading user research consulting firms that test functionality for digital devices such as mobile phones and GPS devices. Reif earned a B.A. in Journalism, with a concentration in Advertising, from Indiana University.

“We are so fortunate to add these talented individuals to our team,“ says Jackson Spalding Co-founder Glen Jackson. “We look forward to their contributions in 2012 and beyond.”

About Jackson Spalding

Jackson Spalding is one of the largest independent public relations and marketing firms in the country. The company has three offices (Athens and Atlanta, Ga. and Dallas, Texas), more than 75 team members and numerous clients, including Orkin, LLC, Delta Air Lines, Chick-fil-A, Cousins Properties, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Primrose Schools. The firm was named “Best Small Agency to Work For in the U.S.” by The Holmes Report in 2011. More information about Jackson Spalding is available at www.jacksonspalding.com.