As the founder of an ad agency that was a one-man show for 12 years, Josh has worn every hat. From ideas and strategy, to audio, writing, photography, videography, and graphic design, to editing and mixing, to traditional & digital ad buying, to social media, SEM, analytics and reporting, to vendor and client management, Josh tackled it all by himself for over a decade, which gives him a breadth of experience in every relevant area of local business marketing.
While many people are either artists or rule followers, Josh learned how to be both, becoming a creative idea factory who also demands an unwavering allegiance to brand consistency and discipline. Blessed with a natural ability to think comprehensively and understand how all the dots connect, this rare skillset has made him one of BloNo’s most successful brand strategists, while his commitment to strong and courageous content continues to give local clients a “big look” that secures their position as the leaders in their categories.
With the expansion of the team, Josh can now take off some hats and focus more on purpose than projects. He’s a “why” guy, who loves to go deep, and is in his element while having courageous conversations about significant topics (which means he’s terrible at small talk and networking). Preferring clarity to brevity, the length of his emails is legendary. He can’t stand talking on the phone, but would love to go have a coffee with you.
Strong Local Insight
“I grew up in Arrowsmith, graduated from Illinois Wesleyan, and have lived here ever since, but I’m still discovering new and amazing aspects of this town all the time. Bloomington is anchored in both history and progress, and brands like State Farm, Country, Beer Nuts, and Rivian prove that national impact can be made from the small city level. BloNo is the ideal place to live and work in the Midwest, and given the presence of other talented agencies, one of our goals is to contribute to BloNo’s growing reputation as an unlikely capital for advertising, marketing, and web design.”
Courageous Facts
Josh loves the Bible and will talk with you about it for literally hours. He’s fascinated by American history, and is currently reading Ron Chernow’s biography on George Washington. He loves to hike in the woods, drink craft beer, travel, and is on a mission to visit every Major League Baseball stadium (23 down, 7 to go). A prolific writer, Josh has authored over a dozen Bible studies for small groups, and has self-published a book on Amazon. In a previous life, he was Whiplash on Rock 106 in Peoria, sang lead vocals and drummed in a metal band called Gauntlet, and won the WYZZ All-Star Treasure Chest for his artistic rendition of Thundercats.