Mitchell+Palmer

Some days, you have to highlight your talent. Today, it’s none other than Stephen Niemeier, motion artist extraordinaire. This kid (he’s 28, which makes the partners feel old) is damn talented. Passionate about motion design, Stephen is constantly creating, even in his free time — just check out his Instagram. Yes, that’s animation. No, it’s not photography.

There is nothing like creating good work with good people. The crew at Visionkit Studio embraces this concept. Love working with these guys and can't wait to see what the future holds as we continue to make cool $%*# together.

Today's 'Why that?' MP desk submission comes from Jr. Strategist Carter Kolpitcke. "I bought this little figurine when I was in college. It's followed me everywhere I go since. It literally reanimates and walks around, nonstop trailing me around the office. Very clingy. I like to think that when we all go for the day, it paces around my desk, wondering where everyone went. Sometimes I wonder if it knows what we do for work, or if it even knows what an ad is at all. Probably not. And he doesn't actually come to life. But I do like fidgeting with his arms when I'm thinking. Which isn't nearly as exciting but it's the truth. The 'Why that?' truth."

In the digital landscape, video continues to remain king. Video inventory is a significant part of digital advertising spend with CTV reaching almost $33.35 billion in 2025, surpassing traditional TV spending for the first time ever ($46.89 billion)… Video helps to tell your brand’s story but how safe is the adjacent inventory your ads are being placed next to online? ? In the golden age of traditional TV, TV ads have always been QC’d by humans with fixed content and programming. Now, in a digitally charged world, your ads are more so being placed against questionable user generated content and within unpredictable current event news. With the growth of programmatic buying to scale reach and cost efficiencies, premium inventory and content is oftentimes overlooked to drive campaign performance but this begs the question… at what cost? View-ability and brand safety should still be a top performance metric, just as important as your ROAS. ?A brand’s reputation is digital currency for sustaining and attracting new business therefore, the significance of your ads being placed matters. ? Running ads publisher and partner direct allows for greater control of video inventory as well as monitoring brand safety and view-ability for your clients. Partners such as Pixability allows for better screening of USG across YouTube content to drive meaningful outcomes for any advertiser’s video campaign. First impressions are everything so why not make an impact. In the words of a fellow colleague, “brand-safe media is performance media”.

Today, we’re celebrating Caroline (Carlie) Bentley and her wicked forehand from her college tennis days. Why is this important? It’s not, but it is cool! Carlie is obsessed with music and movies, is an avid reader, can recite Jurassic Park (the movie, not the book—that would be crazy) from memory, binge-watches big wave surfing, and has a strange fixation with viruses and prion diseases—also not important. Do you know what is important? This firecracker has over a decade of media knowledge in travel and leisure, healthcare, education, and finance. With award-winning campaigns under her belt and experience with talent from shows you know, her skillset is as diverse as her interests (now they’re important).

Today's Book Club of One submission comes from MP Partner / Managing Director and self-proclaimed ad-junkie Carolina L.. ? "I chose this book because, as someone who has been watching Cannes Festival VHS tapes since I could talk, I’ve always been obsessed with great advertising—the kind that makes you feel something and shapes culture. I miss the days when we trusted instincts and took risks. It saddens me to see how addicted this industry has become to tracking everything, believing spreadsheets will justify their decisions. Today, intuition is undervalued, and creativity is held hostage by dashboards. This book speaks to me because it pushes back on the idea that more data automatically means better decisions. Instead, it’s about finding that sweet spot between analytics and gut instinct—the real challenge for any strategist today."

MP expanded on the Your Way campaign for Driveway when we created Tap in Your Way to help people connect their identity with the car-buying experience. Highlighting different wants and needs, we illustrated that, when done right, buying a car can be both deeply personal and a damn good time. ? Whether you’re looking for safety features or sustainable options, trading fair condition for full comfort, or need more room or more colors, you can Tap In with Driveway. Click to see more.

Our employees are what make MP a great place to work. Today, we’re giving props to Anna Buresh and her decade+ of media experience. Anna is also classically trained in ballet and intensely extroverted — as in, she literally can’t say no to social gatherings. It’s no surprise that she gets her dance fix at music festivals and techno clubs. Anna is also obsessed with baking and loves to share. When she’s not laying out masterful media plans for clients, and the weekend is open, she’s crashing parties uninvited just so she can dance her ass off — but she always brings dessert.

In our pixel-first, scrollie-thumbs world, it's refreshing to see print editorial so beautifully conceived and executed. Is print the new zag?

In our new series 'Why That?' we reveal raw human insight via the random s**t on our desks. Today, we kick off our work surface examination with our fearless account brother Ken Erickson, PMP. ? "I never watched Pee-Wee’s Playhouse as a kid (I know, I’m sorry) but am making up for it in my fandom for Wayne White’s “word paintings”. These minis rotate in the frame from time to time, mood dependent.?? ? This little Indian motorcycle replica (gifted from some dear friends) of what hibernates in my garage, reminding me that like winter – most things in life are seasonal and warm weather is right around the corner. Let’s go!?Cheers Homer.'