Hartford Business Journal

20 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | MARCH 4, 2024 AT A GLANCE The Rebellion Group Industry: Marketing & Advertising Top Executive: Bryn Tindall, CEO & Founder HQ: 535 W Main St., Cheshire Website: rebelliongroup.com Contact: 860-325-7376 Bryn Tindall is the CEO and founder of the newly rebranded The Rebellion Group. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED 'Sage Archetype' Major CT marketing agency restructures, rebrands with sharper focus on artificial intelligence and development of a financial literacy program in collaboration with the NFL. AI's growing influence Fully harnessing the power of generative artificial intelligence will be central to those efforts. To that end, last year the company brought on data scientist Chris Nocera, who has done years of research into how socio-cognitive, neurological and emotional factors influence customers' decision-making processes. His job is to apply the insight and analysis of AI and large language models to traditional data sets from customers or third parties, and to generate proprietary datasets that can help Rebellion Group give its clients an edge in the market. This, said Kito, "has elevated the ability to truly understand the dynamics and the factors that are impacting a business, and then let us make real recommendations about that." The capability with AI also extends to the marketing side, where Kito combines with Chief Creative Officer James Dowd to lead Rebel. Dowd joined the company at the end of 2022. "I was very happy to come here because I saw an opportunity to do things differently, to shake things up and to try new things where others were too scared to," he said. Part of that effort includes the development of a new AI-based ad generation technology called Geniee, By Harriet Jones Hartford Business Journal Contributor D igital marketing agency Rebel Interactive is following up its recent move to an extensive new headquarters in Cheshire with a major restructuring that aims to position the firm as an agency of record — or the sole stra- tegic advertising partner — for major national and international brands. Under the restructuring, the company, which just marked its 10th anniversary, is forming a new parent entity rebranded as The Rebellion Group. Sitting under that umbrella are three specialized business units: Rebel, which will continue to handle creative; 535, which is working on new product development and client technical needs; and Virtuoso, a business process consulting service. Founder and CEO Bryn Tindall said the idea was to migrate the firm's own brand from one that spoke to disruption and change to a more sophisticated image — what he calls a "sage archetype." "I always looked at it like the big kids table and little kids table," he said. The aim is to "reposition as a business strategy company first and foremost that is also very sophisti- cated in marketing execution." As Rebel Interactive, the company was already providing marketing services to some big names, including Mercedes-Benz, CVS Health and Honeywell. The hope is that the restructuring allows the firm to become strategic partners to Fortune 500 companies in a more comprehensive way, a shift Tindall said is in line with corporate trends. Tindall said he started to put the pieces in place back in 2021, hiring business consultant BJ Kito to build Rebel's client services business strategy and grow engagement within the agency's business advisory consulting practice. Under the restructuring, Kito heads up Virtuoso as an updated hub for strategic consultancy. "Essentially, we realized that many of the enterprise businesses that are constantly evolving and are seen as pioneers in the space seek counsel," Kito said. "And obviously, a marketing agency traditionally would not be invited to a conversation that an Accenture or Deloitte would, to under- stand the operations of a business." The intent, he said, is not just to execute on a marketing play that a client brings to them, but take a step back and help the client do more stra- tegic thinking before they even formu- late a sales and marketing blueprint. Among its more high-profile accounts, the firm has been tasked with translating the National Geographic and Disney+ show "Wicked Tuna" from the small screen to the supermarket counter, launching a licensed seafood brand. It's also supporting the design James Dowd

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