Bill Ottinger
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: MARKETING

WORK HISTORY

COX MEDIA, Creative Director, Cox Creative Studios 2013 – 2024

  • Successfully led and inspired a statewide team of 12 award-winning creative professionals to create impactful and engaging messaging across multiple platforms. Achieved specific marketing objectives, consistently delivering results and drove revenue growth.
  • Fostered strong client partnerships, ensuring effective collaboration, and tailored solutions that exceeded client expectations.
  • Strategic Leadership: Championed the “Lead with the Idea” creative approach, leveraging the power of creative to engage clients early, helped them focus on creative to differentiate their brand, which led to smarter, long-term relationships. Drove innovation and met budget targets by promoting individual performance within team.
  • Fostered a positive culture that nurtured creativity and talent among team members. Interfaced with clients and leadership to make informed decisions and adapt to industry changes, ensuring sustained success and growth.
  • Creative Management: Oversaw project development, ensured alignment with client goals. Assigned projects and guided ideation process. Directed scriptwriting, visual direction, graphics and animation, photography, and post-production for TV, radio, and digital platforms.
  • Creative Consulting: Conducted creative discovery to understand client needs and goals. Developed innovative concepts, presented tailored solutions, and managed projects through to successful campaign completion during direct client meetings.
  • Collaboration: Worked closely with clients, sales, marketing, and digital teams to understand client goals. Brainstormed innovative concepts, presented tailored solutions, and delivered finished creative products. Successfully managed campaigns from conception to completion, ensuring exceptional results.
  • Revenue & Budget Management: Oversaw statewide production revenue lines, often exceeding $600K. Consistently met and surpassed annual budget goals, ensuring financial stability and growth.
  • Negotiation: Effectively negotiated with vendors on client projects to maximize budgets. Secured the best rates and terms, ensuring cost efficiency. Delivered high-quality outcomes through strategic vendor negotiations.
  • Led Cox Creative Studios to the #2 ranked production company in Arizona by “Ranking Arizona 2024” magazine for 2024 and 2025.

KTVK – TV/KASW – TV – Creative Services Manager, Marketing and Promotion 

  • Developed on-air marketing and promotion campaigns for television station image, news coverage, community, and entertainment programming.
  • Supervised an award-winning staff of 10, including writers / producers, artists, animators, and photographers.
  • Negotiated and managed $1MM+ annual outside media budget, maximizing use of co-op dollars and advertising budget, utilizing the station’s on-air schedule, local radio, and outdoor advertising.
  • Partnered with The CW network and program syndicators for strategic ad placement to grow viewership.
  • Developed, wrote, and produced campaigns for branding, topical news promotion, and community service under tight, often hourly, deadlines.

WKXT – WTVK, Feature Reporter/Weather Anchor

  • Host of “Tennessee Traveler,” a weekly segment celebrating East Tennessee’s characters and traditions.
  • General assignment reporter.
  • Morning and weekend weather anchor.

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

Bachelor of Science [BS], Communications, University of Tennessee, Knoxville,TN

 

AWARDS

  • Fifteen Regional Emmy Awards for exceptional work in advertising across SW region
  • Five Telly Awards for excellence in local advertising across multiple categories
  • Five American Advertising Federation Awards Phoenix Chapter celebrating the creative spirit
  • Five Promax Awards honoring outstanding achievement in local television marketing and promotion
  • Two AZIMA TIM awards [AZ Innovation Marketing Assoc] recognizing successful digital marketing campaigns