BrandPartners’ Wholly Owned Subsidiary Adds Veteran Branding and Marketing Strategist to Senior Management Line Up

BrandPartners Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BPTR), a leader in delivering retail environment solutions to the financial services industry, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary BrandPartners Retail has hired David Vazdauskas, a seasoned marketing and brand strategist, as Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer, a new position for the company. While his primary responsibility will be to guide the future strategy of the company through marketing initiatives, he will also work closely with clients to develop compelling retail brand strategies that address their needs.

After receiving his MBA from Harvard Business School, Mr. Vazdauskas spent 20 years providing strategic brand development as well as marketing and strategy counsel to clients in the financial services, media, technology and healthcare industries; operating companies alone or as part of a senior management team. He has held numerous executive-level positions at agencies, including Mercer Management Consulting, Lippincott & Margulies, and Saatchi & Saatchi. His clients at these firms included Citigroup (NYSE: C), American Express (NYSE: AXP), L.L. Bean, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), Border Trust Bank, CNBC and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX).

Vazdauskas was also the director of brand identity for BankBoston, where he was responsible for managing the brand integration of BayBank and Bank of Boston following the companies’ merger. At BankBoston, he led the development of brand positioning and implementation, managing an in-house creative services team and multiple outside design agencies.

According to James Brooks, BrandPartners President and CEO, “As we position ourselves to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities we face at this unique time, David’s strategic skills and insights will be critical in our brand and product evolution. BrandPartners Retail has earned a reputation as an industry leader by developing innovative solutions for many of the country’s Tier One accounts, as well as regional and community banks, but it is now time to push those boundaries. He’s been tasked with formulating a strategic vision capable of meeting the paradigm-shifting changes in the industry and I’m confident that he’s going to help us take BrandPartners Retail to the next level.”

Vazdauskas worked with BrandPartners Retail as a consultant prior to taking on the new full-time position, focusing in the areas of new product development and brand strategy. “Working with BrandPartners Retail as a consultant gave me great insight into the many opportunities for the company and tremendous talent of its people,” said Vazdauskas. “I’m delighted to play a full-time role in a company that’s so well poised for the future.”

His work spawned two new BrandPartners Retail offerings that are currently under development. The first will allow banks to gauge their customers’ current experience in the branch environment, and will assess that experience relative to their retail store experiences in other verticals. “This tool will incorporate the customer’s view of what needs to be improved,” said Vazdauskas. “It will illustrate where the important gaps are, and will have the added bonus of making customers feel that they are involved in creating the new branch environment.”

Vazdauskas is also guiding the development of a second offering, an interactive training tool designed for all branch staff that will communicate the purpose and rationale behind each design and merchandising element that BrandPartners Retail implements for its bank clients. “This tool will communicate a consistent message to every member of the branch staff and reinforce the importance of their role in executing the new environment,” said Vazdauskas. “It will be a one-on-one online demo that staff will be able to view at a place and time that is most convenient, and it will be used for on-going training and new staff orientation.”

The Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer hire completes a newly formed senior management team, which elevated several BrandPartners managers and solidified the role of key longtime executives. “David represents a tremendous asset to the BrandPartners Retail Senior Management team, which we believe takes us to a higher level in terms of the services that we can offer clients,” asserts Brooks. “When I look at the amazing talent that is leading the company and positioning us for growth, I’m excited for the future and for this new chapter in Brandpartners history.”

About BrandPartners Group

BrandPartners Group, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: BPTR), through its wholly owned subsidiary BrandPartners Retail, Inc. provides an integrated approach to customer environments through brand translation, business strategy, design/build services, retail displays and in-branch communications products and services, from concept and design through implementation and training. BrandPartners installations are in more than 2,000 companies at more than 30,000 retail locations. The company serves its clients from its Rochester, New Hampshire home office and regional U.S. offices.

Contacts

BrandPartners Inc.
Public Relations:
Emily Schwartz, 603-509-1625