Nail

Jeremy Crisp Managing Partner

Like the Pilgrims, Jeremy came to America enthralled at the possibilities on this side of the Atlantic. Unlike the Pilgrims, Jeremy had extensive marketing experience both on the client and agency side of the business—and much less goofy taste in hats.

A graduate of the ridiculously old and respected Trinity College in Dublin, Jeremy spent nine years on the client side in Ireland with Sega, Guiness, Britvic (makers of popular UK soda Tango) and finally Nestlé.

Tired of all the dry cleaning bills, he migrated to an ad agency, joining QMP Publicis as Deputy Managing Director. From there he moved to JWT where as managing director he oversaw many of Ireland’s most visible and successful campaigns for brands like Amstel, Microsoft and The National Lottery.

At Nail his experience and perspective has shown tangible results: broadening the client list into new categories like restaurants, media, health care and solar power, while helping to win the agency’s first (heck, the state’s first) Gold Effie award as well as a Gold in the Jay Chiat Awards for Strategic Excellence.

Brian Gross Creative Partner

Back in 1998, Brian journeyed to Rhode Island to escape big agency oppression in search of creative freedom just like Roger Williams.* As he sat in an unheated office in Providence working on a borrowed computer he couldn’t have imagined Nail turning into a multi-national holding company with 13,000 employees and offices in 28 cities. Which is fine because it hasn’t quite yet.

But it has grown ten-fold and been Rhode Island’s leading agency at the Hatch Awards for Creative Excellence for thirteen straight years while winning Webbys, One Show, Communications Arts, FWA and a whole bunch of other awards (can you believe how many awards this stupid industry gives itself?)

Brian graduated from the prestigious School of Visual Arts in New York City. From there he went to monolithic Grey Advertising which seemed like a good idea at the time. Then he moved to a creative boutique in Boston with a largely unconscious creative director which seemed like a good idea at the time. Then he started Nail which seemed like a bad idea at the time.

And if you’re one of those people who loves to see the names of big, famous brands a person has worked on before they started their agency, this will be your favorite part of Brian’s bio: Domino’s Pizza, Kool-Aid, Vail Resort, BMW, Salomon, Ray-Ban. We could go on but we don’t want you to get too excited.

*OK, Wikipedia says Roger Williams was actually searching for religious freedom. But Wikipedia also says that The Matrix was the best film ever made. Wikipedia is stupid.

Alec Beckett Creative Partner

Despite a ridiculously expensive education that included Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard College, Alec didn’t have enough sense to avoid the advertising business.

Over nearly 20 years he has worked at huge, horrible agencies like Grey, NYC and cutting edge boutiques like Ground Zero, LA, winning his share of awards along the way (Cannes, Clio, One Show, Communications Arts, Belding, Hatch). Brands he has worked on include Dannon, Post Cereals, ESPN, Activision, Honey Brown Lager, Steinway, CitySearch.com.

At Nail, Alec has focused on the intersection of creativity, technology and social media and how it is shattering traditional advertising models. He very much enjoys shattering things.

He has thrice (pretentious word, eh?) been chosen to sit on the Hatch Awards Steering Committee and has taught courses in advertising at RISD. He was selected as one of Rhode Island’s “40 Under Forty” (back when he was under forty) by the Providence Business News and recently graduated in the 30th anniversary class of Leadership Rhode Island. Providence Monthly recently named Alec one of the “Ten to Watch” in 2012 which tells you just how little there is to watch in Providence.