DC's former director of marketing services Adam Philips has announced the formation of a new marketing agency Untold Stories Marketing, which will focus on "collaborating with comic book publishers and creative talent to connect with comic book retailers on new projects."
Philips's DC exit was just a couple of months ago, and one of his primary roles at the publisher was the complicated task of gathering and releasing its monthly solicitations, so he knows intimately the amount of new product publishers try to sell to comic book retailers every month.
"Numerous discussions with retailers have told me that if they knew more about upcoming comics series, they would place larger orders," Philips explains in the announcement of this new venture. "Our mission at Untold Stories Marketing is to help publishers and the creative community spread the news about their latest projects through improved solicitations and branding, targeted emails, and interactive sell sheets, so retailers can place their orders with greater confidence."
Philips says his rare professional experience having worked closely with publishers, creative talents, and distributors, helps bring a broad understanding of their needs and expectations to the market.
"Working with Adam has always been an absolute pleasure, whether on creating our custom covers or in sharing information with an eye to strengthening the industry," says Jennifer Haines, president of ComicsPro and owner of the Canadian comic book retail chain The Dragon in Untold Stories introductory announcement.
"Adam wants retailers to succeed, and he has both the experience and the foresight to help us do so. This forward-thinking approach, coupled with his robust network of industry contacts, puts him in a unique position to offer exceptional marketing solutions, and I for one can’t wait to see what he has in store."
Philips's comic book career began in the '80s as a contributing writer with Marvel Age and was later an assistant editor at Marvel. He's freelanced for Archie Comics, Eclipse, Fantagraphics, and Topps, and wrote about comics for Entertainment Weekly in the early days of that weekly publication.
Philips joined DC staff in November '94 and remained until this past February. His absence during the DC June and July solicitation cycle has been felt.
Untold Stories Marketing website can be found at UntoldStoriesMarketing.com and the new agency says working relationships with a "few select publishers and comics-related organizations" will be announced in the near future and that it anticipates "supporting writers and artists in positioning their latest creator-owned projects" as well.
Speaking of DC solicitations, check out Newsarama's new tab where you can find all of Marvel and DC's recent monthly offerings.
