Catalysis Appoints Matt Peterson as Its New Creative Director of Brand

Sudipto Ghosh

May 17, 2018

Matt Peterson Joins Catalysis After Holding Executive Creative Director Roles, Most Recently at the Wexley School for Girls, as Well as Creature

Seattle-based data marketing agency, Catalysis, announced that it has named Matt Peterson as its new Creative Director, Brand. The news comes as the independent Seattle shop of sixty-five staff members heads into their twenty-seventh year operating in the digital and data marketing space.

At the time of this announcement, Catalysis founder Doug Hunt, said, “We have always worked to capture a deep understanding of our client’s audience through data, and until now, have purposely focused on post-advertising motions.

Doug added, “For years, our clients have asked us to bring data closer to their brands. Instead of bolting data onto another agency’s work, we saw an opportunity with Matt’s creative talent to finally fill a huge void in the market.”

Matt Peterson, a Seattle native, comes to Catalysis after holding executive creative director roles, most recently at The Wexley School for Girls, as well as Creature (Seattle/London), which he co-founded. He also previously worked at Wieden+Kennedy Portland, Strawberry Frog Amsterdam, and Hammerquist & Saffel Seattle.

“For years, living at and leading creative shops, I’ve always coveted the treasure trove of ideas to be found in customer data. These guys have been in data long enough to see the good from the bad,” said Matt Peterson.

Matt “I’m incredibly excited to have their insight machine behind our future work, and the experience and rigor to honestly measure its impact.”

Matt added, “The best advertising doesn’t feel like advertising. And good data actually help you pull that off more often. My challenge is to prove that the divergent agency cultures of art vs. science, creative vs. data, can and should live together, and in fact, can liberate creative. That’s what I hope will attract progressive talent to help us build a modern advertising offering where creativity remains the differentiator.”

Doug Hunt, along with partners Grant Good and Nancy Hadley, have consistently evolved the agency to adapt to the fast-paced tech-driven business community of the Northwest.

Doug elaborated, “The rapid and constant evolution of marketing and advertising technologies has driven us to maintain a tactic-agnostic approach. But many of our recent analytics projects continue to show the need for more holistic Brand, Advertising, and Data Marketing functions under one roof. This extension into Advertising represents yet another adaptation for us.”

Matt Peterson will join existing Catalysis Creative Director Rick Gore to complement his UX and interactive design leadership. Rick Gore will add “Experience” to his CD title and focus on the digital products offering.

“So many clients are looking to better integrate their brand and advertising actions with their data and digital experiences,” added Mr. Hunt. “We now have the creative leaders in place to make that possible.”

Founded in 1992, Catalysis is home to a unique collection of executive level marketing strategists, data architects, designers, writers, developers, and analysts. We analyze audience data, design campaigns, manage channels, create apps, integrate customer behaviors, and tie your marketing efforts together in a smart, measurable way.