Deep Focus Takes Back Its Name Under New Ownership of Bright Mountain Media, Inc.
PHOTO:
Back row Left to Right: managing director, Steve Scutellaro, executive creative director, Matt Steinwald, head of media & analytics, Kyle Krueger
Front Row Left to Right: creative director, Nadine Cheung, head of strategy, Lindsey Allison, executive producer, Melissa Brown
Deep Focus, the award-winning creative and media agency most recently known as Big Village Agency, is taking back its name under the new ownership of Bright Mountain Media.
Big Village Insights will continue to operate as Big Village and will serve as a partner to Deep Focus for continuing consumer research and business intelligence.
Deep Focus, originally founded in 2002 to bring brands closer to people and people closer to each other, was acquired by ENGINE USA in 2010 and was again rebranded as Big Village Agency in 2022. This return to its original name represents a refocus on the culture and values that made Deep Focus so successful against all odds over the past two decades.
While agencies being bought, sold, and spun off is nothing new on Madison Avenue, clients don’t usually stick with them throughout that tumultuous journey. What makes Deep Focus unique is that through it all, long-time clients like HBO Max continued to believe in the team and the work, winning awards such as the 2023 Webby for Best Overall Social Presence – Media/Entertainment, a 2022 MediaPost OMMA Award in the Entertainment: Games/Music/TV/Other category, and a 2019 Clio Entertainment Gold Award, just to name a few. The agency’s client roster includes top names in the media and tourism industries like Max, NBCUniversal, Nickelodeon, the Aruba Tourism Authority, Avis Budget Group and Ace Hotel Group, along with recent work for brands including Angi, PF. Flyers, American Public Education, Inc. (APEI), Credible, Liberty Science Center and others. Deep Focus will continue to be led by executive creative director Matt Steinwald, managing director Steve Scutellaro, head of strategy Lindsey Allison, and head of media & analytics Kyle Krueger, under Bright Mountain Media CEO Matt Drinkwater.
Ian Schafer, the original founder and CEO of Deep Focus and one of advertising’s most influential voices in digital marketing and social media, will support the team as founder emeritus in an advisory capacity. “The name Deep Focus brings with it a reputation for understanding how people use, create, and engage with their media, and what it takes to earn their valuable attention. But then again, Deep Focus has always been about people—including the people who make it so great. I'm so happy the team gets to take back ownership of their identity, and I'm excited to support them as they help their clients win with great, new assets around them," said Ian.
Deep Focus and Big Village’s Insights division joined Bright Mountain in April, rounding out their new owner’s growing portfolio of media assets including BrightStream, a robust stack of programmatic technology, and Wild Sky Media, a collection of high-profile owned and operated audience destinations offering global reach through engaging content and multicultural audiences.
