Leadership
Ray Clark Founder & Chief Executive OfficerThe Marketing Arm
Ray Clark is founder and chief executive officer of The Marketing Arm, an idea company that harnesses the power of emotion to make brands more engaging.
Founded in 1993, The Marketing Arm provides best-in-class consulting that spans nine emotional platforms within entertainment, sports, multicultural, and cause marketing. A member of Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC), The Marketing Arm employs more than 800 people in offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Dallas, Charlotte, San Francisco, Chicago, and Bentonville (Ark.).
The agency has developed comprehensive integrated marketing programs --from digital to in-store, spanning 22 consumer touch-points -- for more than 100 blue-chip brands. Since 2006, The Marketing Arm's work for its clients has won nearly 50 industry awards, including a prestigious Cannes Gold Lion.
In July 1999, Clark sold The Marketing Arm to Omnicom – a relationship that has yielded tremendous opportunities by teaming with global advertising giants like BBDO, TBWA/Chiat Day and DDB.
The Marketing Arm currently manages more than $500 million in client programs each year for clients such as AT&T, Wal-Mart, the U.S. Air Force, Frito Lay, State Farm, HP, GameStop, and other blue-chip brands through its six cornerstone business units: Millsport (sponsorship and sports consulting), Usmp (events), Davie Brown (music, gaming, celebrities and entertainment), ipsh! (wireless marketing), Wave (multicultural), and Kaleidoscope (corporate events).
In 2006, the editors of Promo magazine voted The Marketing Arm the nation’s No. 1 marketing agency.
When he launched the agency, Clark's vision was to be a truly effective resource for brands, one that would leverage strategies beyond traditional mass media advertising to help clients build their brands. To do that required that he educate brand managers, CMOs, and other senior executives about how to engage consumers through "emotional platforms" such as entertainment, music, events, sports, and causes. These "passion points" have served as the launching point for establishing emotional connections with consumers.
For Clark and his company, the best marketing programs drive brand preference, something that requires aligning brands with consumers' passions -- regardless of whether they're passionate about college football or live music or finding a cure for cancer.
In addition to building a world-class marketing organization, Clark has focused on creating a distinctive culture for the agency. Today, The Marketing Arm as one of Omnicom's best in terms of employee satisfaction, loyalty and corporate culture. It also consistently ranks as one of the most fun places to work among Omnicom agencies.
Clark has described The Marketing Arm as "group of people who have their clients' best interests at heart, but who are also looking to have fun every day."
A graduate of SMU in Dallas, Clark worked with ProServ (1987-1990) and Talent Sports International (1990-1993) before starting The Marketing Arm in 1993. In 2000 and 2001, he was honored by SportsBusiness Journal in its annual "Forty Under 40" compilation of the sports industry's top achievers under the age of 40.
Known for his leadership, vision, big ideas and unique insight, Clark has been quoted in almost every national and industry publication, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Advertising Age, and The Los Angeles Times.