CP+B Names David Corns VP/Director of Production & Brand Invention

CP+B announced today that they have named David Corns to the newly created role of VP/Director of Product & Brand Invention. After eight years in account management at CP+B, David will be moving to the Product Innovation group based in Boulder and led by Neil Riddell, EVP/Executive Director, Product Innovation.

Well known for being a full-service advertising agency, CP+B has also been innovating products and creating new brands in-house for a number of years. The Product Innovation & Brand Invention department looks for opportunities and partnerships in spaces where branding and marketing is highly valued and where design and innovation can be difference makers in the products themselves. The department collaborates with venture capitalists, operators and strategic partners to create products, brands and companies from scratch, bringing them to market with the agency owning a substantial share of the total business. In his new role, David will help grow this successful group as it hires industrial designers and additional staff and takes on new brand invention projects.

David joined CP+B in 2006 as the agency's first European-based employee and was tasked with relaunching the Burger King brand in the U.K. while also laying the foundations for CP+B in Europe. After two years and helping to open the agency’s first London office, he relocated to Miami to help run the Burger King U.S. business, later adding Coca-Cola Zero and Applebee’s to his roster. Most recently, he has been leading key new business initiatives. Over the past few years, David also nurtured two successful, award-winning product invention brands at CP+B: Angel’s Envy and Papa’s Pilar.

First launched in 2011, Angel’s Envy bourbon is now available in 22 states, has been ranked the number-one super-premium bourbon by Wine Enthusiast and is building a state-of-the-art distillery and brand experience center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. David also helped lead the team that launched the Ernest Hemingway-inspired rum Papa’s Pilar in 2013. Papa’s Pilar has quickly picked up a number of major awards in the rum category, including “Best New Rum of 2013” by the Caribbean Journal, “Best in Class” White Rum at the 2013 Rum Renaissance Festival for Papa’s Pilar Blonde, and “Double Gold” at the prestigious 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition for Papa’s Pilar Dark. Papa’s Pilar is currently available in 10 markets and the brand is building a rum distillery and experience center in Key West, Florida. Additional brand invention projects from CP+B include B-Cycle, the first bike-sharing system in the U.S.­­—now thriving in 25 cities and expanding to South America and Europe—and the environmentally minded mechanic brand Green Garage with retail locations in Denver and Boulder.

“As a department that builds brands, companies and products from scratch, we’re being even more proactive in targeting new categories and markets to explore, and we’ve been looking for the right person to help lead and scale the group while still ensuring the highest level of strategic, innovative and creative output,” said Neil Riddell, EVP/Executive Director, Product Innovation, CP+B. “David is naturally entrepreneurial and passionate about great thinking. He is the right person to create a culture that ensures the smartest strategic thinking, while navigating and addressing the needs of all the stakeholders involved and supporting the creative process in the best possible way.”