People

Assets and attitude

People are the cornerstone of our firm and our services. They and their experience are our only asset. Without them we don’t exist. Some clients think we are sharp, engaging, and flexible. Others think we are perceptive, friendly, and versatile. You decide.

James M. McNamara
Managing Director

Responsibilities. Company management and operations, client strategy supervision and creation, day-to-day project management, and creative strategy and supervision.

Cultural Field Background. James has extensive experience in brand strategy development, client management, and the marketing and management of branding and design services.

He repositioned LaPlaca Cohen from a from niche arts advertising agency to a full-service cultural field thought-leadership consultancy – setting the firm on its current course. James founded and managed the firm’s brand strategy and visual identity practice for eight years. He supervised projects and strategy creation, instituted consulting methodologies and deliverables, consulted on an extensive array of visual and performing arts clients, and trained and supervised staff. He’s particularly proud that two alumnae went on become marketing directors at two leading New York art museums. James created the central idea and research focus for the firm’s seminal Culture Track biennial cultural field research study (a deep probe on why and how people choose culture, unseen in other national studies). He managed this ongoing research for its first three iterations.

Subsequent to this James was the practice lead for cultural arts at The Partners Design Consultants, an international brand strategy and design studio with a cultural arts interest. He has also held contract marketing and brand strategy positions at Addison Design Company, Saffron Brand Consultants, and Carbone Smolan Agency. James has a 20+ year career in brand strategy and visual identity, and package and industrial design at several other branding agencies.

He has held executive positions as practice head, managing director, and executive vice president / general manager; and staff positions as brand strategist, account manager, and marketing director.

James has presented to Board of Directors of cultural organizations on branding issues and to cultural field conferences as well.

He has a MBA in marketing and organizational behavior from Boston University and a BA in graphic and industrial design from UCLA.

For detailed information, take a look at James’ LinkedIn profile.

Team Resources
Valued Partners

These are resources in our field. We know many from partnering with them directly, or indirectly from working on the same project at different stages:

Strategic & Facilities Planning

• AEA Consulting

• AMS Planning & Research Corp.

• Amy Kaufman Cultural Planning

• TDCG | The Development Consulting Group, LLC

• TKG | The Kavelman Group Philanthropic Advisors

  LLC

• Lord Cultural Resources

• Marts & Lundy

• METStrategies

• MMC | Museum Management Consultants

• TCC Group

• Webb Management Services

• Wolf Brown

Human Resources

• ACG | Arts Consulting Group

• Phillips Oppenheim

• Tom O’Connor Consulting Group

Qualitative and Quantitative Research

• AMS Planning & Research Corp.

• ARA | Audience Research & Analysis

• Insight Evaluation Services

• King’s College London | CultureCase

• Lee Groves Consulting | Anne Lee Groves

• Limelight Insights by Shugoll

• Martin & Stowe (qualitative)

• People, Places & Design Research

• Rabin Roberts Research, Inc.

• RK&A | Randi Korn & Associates, Inc.

• S. Radoff Associates

• Slover Linett Audience Research Inc.

• Tom O’Connor Consulting Group

Digital | Social Media

• Bluecadet

• Blue State Digital

• Chief

• Cogapp

• iMedia | Interactive Media Associates

• Kapow, Inc.

• Pixel Marsala

• POP Multimedia, Inc.

• Pyramid Communications

• Rubenstein Technology Group

• Situation Interactive

• Vector Media Group

Communications

• Ann Edgar Associates

• Bow Bridge Communications

• Fitz & Co

• Helene Davis Public Relations

• Nicole Straus Public Relations

• Polskin Arts & Communications Counselors

• Resnicow and Associates

• Robyn Liverant Public Relations

• Rubenstein Communications

• Stacy Bolton Communications

• Third Eye

Marketing

• Allied Live

• CSF Strategy, LLC

• Grapeseed Media

• Serino / Coyne

• SpotCo

• Trudel | MacPherson

• WiT Media

Audience Development

• Capacity Interactive Inc.

• CultureThrive

• Daniller + Company

• DCM

• Membership Consultants

• Membership Matters

• Spark Arts Consulting

• TRG Arts

Development | Fundraising

• CCS Fundraising

• Dunch Arts, LLC

• Goodale Associates

• Grenzebach Glier & Associates, Inc.

• Groves Development Group

• Jan Krukowski & Company

• The John O’Donnell Company

• Phillips & Associates

• Shelley Jane Grossberg Development Counsel