Shaker Recruitment Advertising and Communications Merges with Matte Black Studios

Submitted by Shaker.

Oak Park, IL - Shaker Recruitment Advertising & Communications, Inc. (“Shaker”) today announced a historic succession in the agency’s executive leadership following a merger with celebrated Chicago creative firm Matte Black Studios.

The following appointments are effective immediately:

· Joe Shaker Jr. is promoted to Agency President

· Joseph G. Shaker ascends to the role of Chairman of the Board

· Derek Briggs is promoted to Chief Operating Officer

· Matte Black Studios founder and creative director Daniel Shaker assumes the role ofExecutive Director of Creative Services

Family Ownership and Legacy: Third Generation Assumes Leadership

This succession marks the third generation of corporate leadership within the thriving family-owned company, which specializes in employment/HR-related communications and a range of creative, media, strategic consulting and brand services. Shaker is one of the largest privately held recruitment advertising agencies in the United States, with hundreds of clients ranging from multinational Fortune 50 corporations to small businesses.

Shaker Jr. ascends to the agency’s presidency following the distinguished 30-year leadership of Joseph G. Shaker, who ushered the company from the old-fashioned newspaper classified advertisement era to the digital age. They follow in the footsteps of company founder Joseph R. Shaker, the recruitment advertising pioneer who launched the agency in 1951.

“It’s an honor to keep the family tradition going and to grow the Shaker legacy. Yet it’s more than that. It’s about our day-to-day work of facilitating the nexus between thriving companies and the employees that catalyze their work,” said Joe Shaker Jr. “We take pride in helping the active or the passive candidate find potentially life-changing opportunities. Shaker is the vessel through which these meaningful connections are made.”

Merger with Brand Studio Expands Creative Capabilities

Additionally, Shaker Jr. announced the company’s merger with Matte Black Studios, the innovative Chicago-based brand marketing and design firm. Matte Black founder and creative director Daniel J. Shaker has been appointed executive director of the new Shaker creative division, which more than doubles in size with the addition of Matte Black’s artists and designers.

This expanded business model enables Shaker to offer consumer and HR/employment clients with boundary-pushing creative and consulting services, brand strategy and development, identity building, responsive web design and custom development, social media marketing, environmental advertising, video and photography and more.

With the merger, Daniel Shaker begins the process of infusing the Matte Black philosophy into Shaker’s creative division, with the mission of activating the creative branding to ensure the user continues to consume the recruitment message and ultimately act.

“By having the end-users’ interests at heart, we best serve our clients. We must ensure that all creative channels are transparent and work flawlessly, whatever the conversation and goal, whether it’s to entice our audience to try a product, make a donation, buy a home, or—perhaps the biggest decision of all—change jobs,” said Daniel Shaker. “There’s a deeply emotional and human side to buying anything. And there’s nothing more serious than where you spend your life.”

Matte Black brings its full client roster—which includes brand names such as Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Gerding Edlen, Hannah’s Bretzel, B&G Foods and the Radiological Society of North America—into the Shaker creative portfolio. The firm has been recognized nationally for its creative excellence with the 2014 W3 Award for Visual Appeal, 2015 Communicator Award—Gold for Food and Beverage, and 2015 Communicator Award—Silver for Visual Appeal.

“We’re involved in life-changing decisions—such as where to work, how to grow professionally and personally, how to enrich one’s occupation and thus their life,” said Joe Shaker Jr. “Bringing the power and vibrancy of Matte Black’s work into Shaker’s creative model will allow us to deliver authentic and persuasive messages on behalf of our clients.”

The Shaker Model: Past Is Prologue

Shaker’s new leadership structure comes as the trailblazing agency celebrates its 65th year in business. Founder Joseph R. Shaker opened his doors in 1951 to help clients advertise job openings—creating a niche agency model and revolutionizing classified ad placement in the process.

Over the ensuing decades, as the employment landscape has evolved, Shaker has continued to innovate. It has tapped how people communicate to develop strategies and resources that effectively connect employers and employees—including employer branding, websites and Internet marketing, and more. Throughout it all, Shaker’s commitment to exemplary service has remained constant—laser-focused on serving as a true, product-neutral partner in helping companies find and keep the right talent through closely customized communication plans.

About Shaker

Shaker Recruitment Advertising & Communications, Inc., helps organizations realize their business objectives through branding and identity marketing, responsive web design and development, employee and candidate communications, social and other interactive media, campaign development, collateral, and metrics. As a full-service agency, Shaker strategizes and manages communications—from research and planning to design and development, through placement and measurement—to foster engagement. Shaker has won more than 90 industry awards, including the coveted and prestigious Dansker Award for best-of-show at the Creative Excellence Awards. Shaker is headquartered just outside of Chicago. Visit shaker.com to learn more.