who I am & how to catch me

My name's Erin Stitzel, and I'm a copywriter. I live for rockabilly music, great food and good old fashioned roller derby.

where I’ve been seen doing my thing

TBWA\CHIAT\DAY, NY, NY, Jan. ‘08-Sept. ‘08, Dec ‘08-Jan. ‘09, May ‘09-present

As a freelancer, I’ve developed the voice, brand guidelines and advertising pieces for Vonage. I also helped the agency win several new business pitches, including Michelin, Cablevision, Majestic Steel and Actemra (a rheumatoid arthritis treatment). I created integrated campaigns for \WorldHealth clients American Management Association (specialists in management training), Alexian Brothers Hospital Network of Chicago, HomeAway luxury vacation rentals and Ethicon Endo Surgery (a Johnson & Johnson brand launching a new tool for plastic surgeons). I was also a go-to microsite and newsletter writer for Sprint under \Tequila.

Digitas, Inc., NY, NY, February 2005-February 2007

As an Associate, then full Copywriter, I worked on some great American Express brands: 2006 TriBeCa Film Festival, americanexpress.com/travel, Consumer Cards, Merchant Services, OPEN and the launch of the One Card. I also worked on Turner Broadband Sports, GameTap and tons of pitches. While I was there, I had the pleasure of training a few junior wordherders to write better headlines and push envelopes.

independent freelance, Atlanta, GA & NY, NY, January 2004-December 2007

Agencies where I freelanced short-term: Cowboy, Spike DDB, Source Communications, Uproar

During this time, I created advertising, branding and unique voices for the following brands: Acuvue Contact Lenses, Hair Club, Hasbro, Home Depot partnering with AOL, HP, ING Direct, Monster in partnership with eBay, Subway (but you can’t blame me for Jared) and Virgin Mobile.

Flying agency-free, I helped launch a handful of small technology startups, and served as ad guru for several local businesses.

who’s honored me

for 2006 TriBeCa Film Festival campaign:

Communication Arts Advertising Annual 47, Published in Web Watch (pg. 164)

Gold MIXX (Marketing and Interactive Excellence) Award for Brand Awareness

OMMA (Online Media, Marketing and Advertising) Award for Content Integration

where & what I learned

The Creative Circus, Atlanta, GA

Graduated March 2004. I won a couple of gold and silver student show awards and learned a bit about graphics programs.

Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA

I earned a B.A. in English with a Communication minor in June 1997, and got STD, Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honor society.

what I did in my former life

Before ad school, I was a financial controller, an assistant to several lovely people and a few jerks, even a tennis instructor one summer. There were many bars tended, thousands of tables waited and retail jobs aplenty. I also traveled quite a bit, amassing hundreds of stories, and honed my culinary skills through trial, error and listening at the feet of pros.