Wray Ward has hired marketing veteran Michelle Zeller as vice president, director of client engagement, a post responsible for ensuring the development and execution of integrated communications programs from across the agency’s comprehensive service offerings.  Zeller comes to Wray Ward with more than 20 years of integrated marketing experience for some of the country’s leading brands—Char-Broil, Levolor Window Fashions (a division of the Newell-Rubbermaid Company) and Eastman Kodak.

“Michelle has client perspective that our customers will appreciate, and her strategic planning experience, passion for growing brands and strength in building strong teams make her an ideal fit for our agency,” said Jennifer Appleby, president and chief creative officer of Wray Ward, a creative marketing communications firm based in Charlotte, N.C., that serves local, regional, national and global clients.  

“Marketing communications today needs to be smart, engaging, agile and results driven. With so many different touch points for reaching audiences, a brand can only achieve that synchronicity when all of its marketing disciplines are carefully planned and work closely together,” Appleby said. “Michelle will play a critical role in working with our insights, connections and creative team leadership to ensure the continued integration of effective communications strategies and tactics that generate results for our clients.”  

Wray Ward offers four essential service functions of insights (strategic planning, research, analytics), client engagement (account leadership, project management), creative (design, copy, digital development, production) and connections (paid media, public relations, content marketing, search). Zeller will lead the account leadership and project management teams, assuring integration of communications strategies that span all disciplines, from media advertising and digital marketing through public relations and content marketing.

Zeller most recently served as vice president of marketing for Char-Broil where she evolved and grew the oldest grill brand in the U.S., increased sales and helped lead the company into Europe. Prior to joining Char-Broil, Michelle held the role of director of consumer marketing at Levolor-Kirsch, a division of the Newell-Rubbermaid Company, where she oversaw all aspects of consumer marketing for the blinds and shades business—including  consumer insights, advertising and promotion, public relations, and website marketing.

“This move from client to agency is an exciting career shift for me, giving me the opportunity to apply everything I’ve learned and experienced during my career to an amazing collection of brands,” Zeller said. “The best part of this new chapter in my career is the opportunity to work with a very talented, creative and energized marketing communications team and be a part of outstanding work.”

Zeller began her career at Eastman Kodak, holding a number of marketing and CRM-related positions and being credited with spearheading Kodak’s first direct-to-consumer relationship marketing program.

She holds a bachelor of science degree in technical communications from Clarkson University in New York and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.