by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Two people who have stamped their names in the history of Jacksonville have become partners in one of the latest public relations and advertising agency ventures in Jacksonville.
Former Jacksonville Jaguar Tony Boselli and Susie Wiles, former communications chief for Mayor John Peyton, have partnered to open a Jacksonville office of IF Marketing and Advertising.
The services of the Austin, Texas, based advertising agency include brand identity, Web design, print, interactive, public relations and multimedia campaigns. IF’s scope of services in Florida will also include public affairs and media relations, which will come in handy for a host of people who are expected to run for public office in 2010 and 2011 elections.
“A substantial amount of people are predicted to enter the mayoral race in 2011,” said Wiles. “Our agency would be able to assist people in running for public office.”
Wiles has served at the highest levels of local government in Jacksonville as a senior appointee of three mayors. She served as Chief of Staff to former Mayor John Delaney and Communications Chief for Mayor John Peyton until August of last year. In addition, while in private practice, Wiles represented clients in the areas of coalition building, strategic media relations, environmental permitting, grassroots activism and political strategy.
Wiles’ national political experience spans three presidential campaigns, White House service in the Executive Office of the President for President Ronald Reagan, working for two members of Congress, serving in a senior role at the Department of Labor, many local and statewide political campaigns and, most recently, she served on the Transition Team of Florida Governor Charlie Crist. She was a cochairman of McCain-Palin, 2008 in Duval County and was a member of the board of St. Johns Forever, a grassroots organization working to provide a dedicated funding source for conservation in St. Johns County.
Wiles has been assisting clients since departing from the Mayor’s office in August 2008 so why was it necessary for the partnership?
“Tony and I started talking about a collaboration during the summer,” said Wiles. “We met through our work on Jacksonville Journey and discovered that our personalities and skills were complementary to each other. My preference is not the sales part of the business. Tony likes it and is very good at it. This relationship has helped us to create a new business during a bad economy.”
IF marketing & advertising was founded in 2002 by three former NFL teammates, Jeff Novak, Will Furrer and Tony Boselli.
“We believe that we are the agency of the future – consolidating assets, making good use of new and digital media and taking time to know our clients’ needs – sometimes even better than they do,” said Boselli. “We have already begun to work for some of Jacksonville’s best corporate citizens and with the addition of an amazing pro like Susie Wiles, I’m sure this is just the beginning.”
Tony proudly commits his time and energy to the Boselli Foundation’s work with underprivileged youth. The Foundation’s partnerships with local government and non-profits have allowed the centers to serve many children in need. Two centers are open and a third is in the construction stage. As Managing Partner of IF marketing & advertising, Boselli’s efforts are directed primarily toward business development, product positioning and market research for real estate and corporate projects. Tony is also an active investor and holds a real estate license.
“IF will help us to keep our costs low,” said Wiles. “To start a new agency in Jacksonville we would have to have infrastructure for start up. IF already has that, and we are able to utilize the infrastructure they already have in place so we don’t have to replicate that.”
The new Jacksonville IF office will open in Ponte Vedra.
356-2466