Brian Schraff, Agency Partner | Chief
Widely acknowledged as a Web Presence Management expert, Brian leads the 949 team as it provides clients with a balanced, single-resource approach to enhancing their web presence. Brian's Web Channel/technology expertise - and especially within the marketing, brand-building and sales generation space - dates to the mid-1990s, when 949 predecessor Schraff Group Communications began undertaking Internet development work for clients. Schraff was one of the first marketing communications firms in the United States to recognize the potential of the World Wide Web as a powerful marketing and sales tool. The experience gleaned over the past decade is today reflected in 949, which offers clients an unparalleled level of Web Presence Management expertise and service.

Brian began his career with Schraff Group Communications, for three decades the leading Integrated Communications Agency in Orange County, Calif., in 1983. He was named Schraff president in 1990. In his tenure as president, Brian served a wide range of Schraff clients that included divisions of Fortune 1000 companies with marketing budgets of $1 million-plus. He grew Schraff Group from five to 26 employees, launched the firm's public relations and Internet solutions divisions, and in 2001 managed a 100 percent increase in agency billings. He also developed a number of innovative marketing programs and services for clients, including a closed-loop marketing program that delivers a higher return-on-investment than traditional sales cycle processes. In 2006, Brian led the agency into a new arena - Web Presence Management - and renamed the agency 949. Over the years, the creative excellence exhibited by Brian and the 949 team has been repeatedly recognized, with the agency winning numerous ICON, Summit and Mobius awards.

Rick Roelofs, Agency Partner | Creative Director
Rick joined 949's predecessor, Schraff Group Communications, as a production artist in 1983. His unique creative vision and exceptional design skills are a 949 hallmark - highly valued by agency clients and recognized many times in award competitions. With vast experience in both print advertising and interactive/online media, Rick brings fresh thinking and innovation to Web Presence Management creative. He holds a degree in commercial advertising from the Alexandria Art Institute in Alexandria, Minn.

Steve Byrne, Business Development Director
A veteran marketing manager, Steve's two decades of business development experience cross over a number of professional service firms, from Corporate Design Associates and Spray, Gould & Bowers to now, 949. With expertise in positioning, branding and overall strategic planning, Steve plays a key role facilitating Web Channel implementations for 949 clients. His new business wins include brands such as Toshiba, Bal Seal Engineering, Applied Medical, Parker, Epicor, Taco Bell, TSW Alloy Wheels, Tropitone Furniture, Orqis Medical, KFC, Rite Aid, Unocal, Mission Viejo Business Properties, Health Valley and Shimano American. Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University, Fullerton.

Jeff Werner, Publicity Director
A seasoned high-tech communications professional, Jeff brings 33 years experience in journalism, public relations, marketing, freelance writing, sales management, software development, and systems integration to 949\’s Publicity department. He has served leading companies spanning a broad variety of industries including computer hardware and software, electronics, engineering, publishing, and medicine, as well as higher education and government agencies. A partial list of his commercial clients includes AMD, Archive Corp., Beckman Instruments, Borroughs Corp., Cipher Data Products, C. Itoh Electronics, Conoco, Cygnus/Red Hat, Desktop Engineering magazine, Digital Equipment Corp., Electronic Design magazine, General Atomic Co., Integrated Systems, Inc., Lockheed CADAM, Megatek, Microsoft, Motorola, National Semiconductor, Paper Chase Press, Power Places Tours, Power TV/Scientific Atlanta, Signetics, Sperry Univac, Stratasys, TakeFive Software, Tandon Magnetics, Toshiba America, Tri-Star Computer, ViaSoft, Wangtek, and Wind River. His educational and medical accounts include the University of California, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center, Harbor UCLA Medical Center, and USC Medical Center; among the government clients are the United States Air Force, NASA, and JPL.

Prior to joining 949, Jeff\’s agency experience included two years at the Vice Presidential level at a high-tech public relations firm, and two years as a Director of a full service advertising and public relations agency. He was also a consultant to Chiat/Day and Regis McKenna, two of the industry’s largest advertising and public relations agencies. On the client side, Jeff served as Marketing Communications Manager of PDA Engineering’s Patran Division, an engineering software company here in Orange County whose Patran product was acquired by MSC.Software. Jeff was also the founding Editorial Director of Computer Technology Review magazine, which defined a new niche within the computer trade journal industry. Jeff’s background as a trade journal editor plays a key role in his strong track record of securing extensive media coverage for his clients, including numerous magazine covers. Busy journalists appreciate his understanding of their concerns, and being “one of them” means he knows how to approach the press with meaningful, newsworthy stories that get attention and media exposure. His abilities include writing brochures, white papers, press releases, articles and story pitches. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California, Irvine.

Mashi Ishigaki, SEM/Analytics Director
Mashi develops and executes SEM strategies/tactics that ensure 949 clients achieve high-ranking positions on all of the top search engines, leading to increased website traffic and enhanced lead generation for clients. With 10 years of international technology marketing communications and online marketing experience, Mashi handles all aspects of market/media research, planning and execution for client advertising and marketing campaigns - especially those online. In addition, he gathers and analyzes campaign metrics/website analytics data for clients. Fluent in English and Japanese, Mashi holds a Master of International Management degree from Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management.