Leading Global Entertainment Marketing Agency Create Advertising Group Adds Industry Veteran Tom Ham As Director Of Business Development, Gaming

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Apr 07, 2015, 01:39 ET

CULVER CITY, Calif., April 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Long time game industry veteran Tom Ham has joined leading entertainment marketing agency Create Advertising as their new Director of Business Development in charge of Gaming. In this newly created role, Ham will be charged with new client acquisition and expanding the company's growth in the gaming and virtual reality-based businesses at Create.

Through its work over the past decade Create Advertising has become one of the leading marketing agencies used by blue chip gaming companies in the industry. Create has become well known for their innovative ads around mega hits such as "Dark Souls II," "God of War 3," "Twisted Metal," "Just Dance 4," and "World of Tanks," and additionally for their creative ads around the launch of the console debuts for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.

"When it comes to mapping today's gaming industry and knowing what is happening with the best developers and within the best companies, there are few executives who have Tom's credibility, contacts or experience. At his core, Tom is a gamer who is truly passionate about the industry. As we grow this important area of Create Advertising, we wanted to find someone who was a recognized name within this unique space. He has relationships with every key publisher and he is the perfect choice to lead our new business development efforts," said Jonathan Gitlin, Create Advertising's President of Television & Gaming Advertising.

Most recently, Ham was Head of Publisher Relations at Machinima, the leading multi-channel network (MCN) that specializes in gaming related content distributed across several platforms including YouTube, mobile and Xbox. During his tenure at Machinima, he oversaw games programming for Machinima Realm, Machinima Respawn and the Xbox App Teams. Most recently he created the highly successful "Early Access" program where top YouTubers are able to access highly anticipated games, prior to their actual launch.

A recognized media pundit well known for his reviews of video games and observations of the industry, Ham began his career as a game reviewer for one of the nation's most esteemed newspapers, The Washington Post. He also reviewed games for CNET's Gamecenter and Ziff-Davis' GameSpot. He has been a regular contributor to USA Today, Newsweek and The New York Daily News. And his opinions and reviews have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, Details, Maxim, Playboy, Next Generation, Electronic Gaming Monthly and GamePro.

Ham served as an E3 Judge for the Game Critics Awards for over ten years from 1998 through 2007.

Before working at Machinima, Ham was at All3Media, where he oversaw all brand integration and corporate outreach across all of their properties including the Emmy® Award winning show, "Undercover Boss."

Earlier in his career, Ham spent four years working at Mark Burnett Productions in their Business Development Group, where he assisted in brand integration deals and oversaw product placement on over a dozen shows including "The Apprentice," "The Celebrity Apprentice," "The Contender" and "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader."

ABOUT CREATE ADVERTISING:
Create Advertising Group is an award-winning, full-service entertainment marketing agency with offices in Los Angeles and London. The company specializes in fulfilling the creative needs of film, television, gaming and branding clients.

The theatrical unit of Create Advertising most recently worked on the theatrical campaign for the film "Get Hard," and is currently working on campaigns for the upcoming films "Fantastic 4" and "Hotel Transylvania 2." The Television unit has created campaigns for the highly anticipated Netflix series "Daredevil," as well as FX's "The Americans," and previously worked on series such as "Sons of Anarchy."

Last year, Create Advertising was nominated for four Key Art Awards including the theatrical trailer for "Lucy" as well as their television work for "Fargo" and "Orange is the New Black." In 2013, Create Advertising was honored by the Key Art Awards for their work on "Stoker" and "Orange is the New Black." In 2012, they were nominated for two Video Game Marketing Awards, and several Screen International Marketing/Distribution Awards, including a nomination for U.K. Creative Agency of the Year. They were also awarded a Golden Trailer Award for "Coriolanus." Additional award-winning campaigns include their work on "Iron Man 2," "Black Swan," "Tron," "The King's Speech," "Up," "District 9," "This Is It," "Casino Royale" and "Smokin' Aces" among many others.

For more information, please visit createadvertising.com.

CONTACT:
Rachel Falikoff
Elzer & Associates
213-607-3592

Steve Elzer
Elzer & Associates
213-607-3591

SOURCE Create Advertising Group