MAKERS & PURVEYORS OF
FINE ADVERTISEMENTS
Here at Citizen we sell stuff. Quite simply, it’s what we do. We help you sell more of your goods or services. That is our sole focus. We do that by getting to know you and what you do. We want to help you find more people predisposed to do business with you the way you prefer to do business.
Strategy
From digital campaigns and social media to broadcast television and print, we focus on using the right channels to deliver the strongest results. We’re media agnostic and strategy driven, meaning we don’t push platforms just because they’re trendy. Instead, we dive deep into your industry and audience to determine the best mix of media for your goals. Helping small and medium-sized businesses compete and grow is what drives us, and it’s a responsibility we take seriously.
Creative
We believe the best creative starts with authenticity and a strong understanding of your business. By getting to know your brand, your audience, and what makes you different, we create work that feels genuine and effective. As a full-service creative team, everything is handled in-house to maintain quality, consistency, and efficiency. From video production and photography to graphic design, motion graphics, and beyond, our team brings the experience and versatility to execute creative that connects.
Results
Our goal is simple: generate real results and maximize your return on investment. If you spend a dollar with us, we want to help you make ten back. Advertising should grow your business, strengthen your brand, and create measurable momentum. That’s why we stay focused on transparency, strategy, and performance every step of the way. We work alongside our clients to overcome challenges, uncover opportunities, and help turn ambitious ideas into lasting growth.
Every Brand Has a Story. This Is Ours.
Way back in 2008, the economy was in a bad place. Like Taylor Swift after a bad breakup. Major industries like automotive and retail were left in shambles and had to figure out a way forward. Brent Matthews and CJ Ogle were right in the thick of this challenging time as they were tasked with marketing and advertising The Bed Store, a Knoxville TN based mattress retail chain. Business had been less than stellar and as their marketing and brand managers they came to a difficult and staggering realization. Everything needed to change.
So, after much research and prayer, they set out to craft a strategy to somehow build the business in the face of a challenging economy. With the blessing and guidance of the company’s owner Roger Cunningham. Citizen Advertising was born. They knew they had to calculate a way to do more with less and take what the market gave them. This instilled a very adaptive approach to advertising and marketing. An approach that still serves Citizen well all these years later.
Building campaign’s with local traditional television, radio, print, and other media outlets (before digital advertising was a viable option) and learning the craft of creating compelling commercials Brent and CJ began to see the results of their efforts. Over the next three years, the business quintupled. This success is not solely related to the advertising but the strategy and effort along with a great team internally helped the company reach heights never before seen. This gave Brent and CJ the confidence to expand and take on other clients.
In 2016, They added to the team by bringing in Doug Coffin and Nate Croft along with veteran ad man Vern Lindsey. The growth of the team was rocket fuel to Citizen. At this time Citizen added multiple clients from retail, automotive, tourism, industrial, and many more. This meant that more help was needed from a creative and strategy standpoint to continue to execute at a high level. Citizen has been continuously expanding the team since 2016 to an expansive team covering all things creative and strategy. One thing that hasn’t changed is Citizen’s relentless focus on helping small to medium-sized businesses adapt to every market challenge and opportunity to win the day.
THE GREATEST TEAM-UP OF THE CENTURY
Brent Matthews
Co-Founder, Partner
“Drink from the glass like an adult.”
CJ Ogle
Co-Founder, Partner
“I always give 100%, excpet when giving blood.”
Doug Coffin
VP of Media & Strategy
“Don’t stop letting people not help.”
Carson Hunt
VP of Creative
“I don’t know. I’m making this up as I go.” – Indiana Jones
Mike McAllister
Director of Co-op | Editing
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take – Wayne Gretzky” – Michael Scott
Trent Washam
Project Manager
“By Order of the Peaky Blinders…”
Lance Pettiford
Video Producer
“I’m gonna make some weird $#!t!” – Peter Quill
Austin Bradley
Video Producer
“I’m gonna make some weird $#!t!” – Peter Quill
Bree Leach
Production Assistant
“Already got that covered!”
Garrett Wright
Production Assistant
“I can do this all day” – Steve Rogers
Nathan Armistead
Director of Graphic Design
“A wise man once said, ‘Lorem Ipsum dolor sit amet, consectitur adipiscing elit.'”
Chelsea Craig
Graphic Designer + Web Editor
“I’m your hope. You’re my hope. I’m Chelsea.”
Gavin Mottern
Graphic Designer
“Lifes a garden. Dig it!” – Joe Dirt
Mel Fagan
Director of Web
“We’re all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?” – the 11th Doctor
Kellen Clarke
Director of Social Media
“When I say ‘Yee’, you say ‘Haw!'”
Kylee Wender
Social Media Coordinator
“Slay Queen!”
Hailey Evans
Social Media Coordinator
“Probably laughing”
Maria Douglass
Digital Marketing Specialist
“My winning marketing strategy is to run Double 6 Wombat, 42 Jet Left, Pie Slide Ruler, Lightning 6, Double Smoke Ukulele.”
Sophia Kidd
Digital Marketing Specialist
“Well, well, how the turntables…” – Michael Scott