Tony Smith is a journeyman, having lived around a vast variety of people and geographies. His fascination towards the psychology of human behavior and motivations lead him into a career of advertising. Currently, his lives in Minneapolis where he brings his unique thinking to Olson as an Associate Strategy Director on the brand team. His research and strategy cover  a variety of clients including BISSELL, Discover Boating and the Belize Tourism Board.

 

Tony moved back to his home state of Minnesota in 2016 when he joined the strategy team at Periscope. It was a long journey back after he moved to the sunny beaches of southern California in 2008. Beyond the Midwest, Smith left behind jobs at the Better Business Bureau as an Advertising Review Coordinator and Minnesota Air National Guard as a Staff Sargent.  Smith’s first job in Los Angeles was at the multi-billion-dollar asset management firm, Guggenheim Partners. It was there he worked directly with the CFO on marketing and helped rebrand the fan experience at Dodger Stadium after the firm purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.  His passion for brand work lead him into agency life as a brand strategist at CP+B LA.  There he worked on national campaigns for Netflix, Applebee’s, NBA 2K and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.  After leaving LA for FCB Chicago, Smith realized if he was going to experience cold weather he would much rather do it closer to friends and family, thus moving back to Minneapolis. 

 

Smith’s credentials include degrees in Journalism and Communications from the University of Minnesota, Hotel and Restaurant Management from The Community College of the Air Force and Strategic Planning from Miami Ad School in San Francisco.  Smith has come full-circle and now teach qualitative research courses to aspiring brand strategists at Miami Ad Schools across the US. Besides being a sports guru, Smith enjoys the lost art of reading tangible newspapers, soaking up podcasts, boating on the many lakes of Minnesota and trying to stack chips at the poker table.    He currently resides in Minneapolis and hopes to someday publish a book to which people find helpful.