Emily Viola and Patrick Buckley Join SS+K

SS+K has broadened its strategy and research practice with the additions of former head of sparks & honey’s cultural strategy, Emily Viola, and former VP of research strategy at Maslansky & Partners, Patrick Buckley.

“Patrick has incredible depth of knowledge from driving research and strategy for a wide range of corporate and issues-based work to using all methodologies of research to surface critical human insights necessary for solving complex marketing challenges,” said Kevin Skobac, who leads the strategy group at SS+K. “Emily voraciously observes trends and evolutions and knows how to organize and synthesise shifts in behavior in a way that are insightful and actionable for brands. Together, they add amazing depth to our diverse and multi-disciplined strategy group, driving brand, business, and digital strategy for SS+K’s portfolio of consumer, enterprise, and cause-oriented companies.”

As MD, cultural insights and brand strategy, Emily brings her unique experience in cultural insights and planning to SS+K. She will be responsible for expanding Social Forces, SS+K’s proprietary cultural intelligence tool for clients. Through its Social Forces monitor, SS+K identifies the set of underlying cultural shifts that are influencing consumer attitudes and behaviors, giving clients the power to tap into or exploit them to connect meaningfully with consumers. Emily returns home to SS+K, where she previously worked on notable campaigns including HBO’s Awkward Family Viewing. Throughout her career, Emily has led strategic thinking with a variety of brands specialising in millennial and multicultural demographics. She’s worked at agencies including sparks & honey, BBDO, DDB and brands including Kraft, Campbell’s, GE, Gillette, Guinness and more.

Patrick Buckley, group director, research and strategy, joins SS+K after over ten years at research firm Maslansky & Partners. His deep experience with qualitative and quantitative research has been applied to the clients he has worked with throughout his career including technology companies (Microsoft, VMware), pharmaceutical (Genentech, Takeda, Roche), CPG brands (Hershey, Nestlé), and in the financial services industry (Invesco, Wells Fargo). He has served as as an advisor for Local Voices, a 501c3 run by documentary filmmakers that sought to change political advertising by giving a voice to people in communities across the country.

At SS+K, he will be charged with building out SS+K’s in-house research capabilities and more tightly integrating research, strategy and creative to bring fresh insights to client work faster than ever before.

“Emily and Patrick are among the best in their respective discipline and are some of the most talented people we’ve worked with,” added Kevin.