New Media Strategies

Pete is the Founder and CEO of New Media Strategies, the industry pioneer and market leader in Online Intelligence and Word of Mouth marketing, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. 

Drawing on his background as a nationally-known pollster and a media consultant, Pete founded New Media Strategies in 1999, and in doing so created an entirely new industry segment in market research, online marketing and communications.  For the past three years in a row, New Media Strategies was named to the “Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies in America,” by Inc. Magazine.  Proving that a company can focus on fast growth, profitability, and a winning corporate culture, both Washingtonian Magazine and Washington Business Journal twice named New Media Strategies as one of the area’s “Best Places to Work." Additionally, Pete was recently honored by Fortune Small Business for his innovative management-style when they named him “2006 Best Boss.”

Over the past nine years years, Pete has guided New Media Strategies as CEO, building a blue-chip client base that features some of the best known brands and corporations in the world, including among others: ABC, AOL Time Warner, Atari, Boston Beer Company, Burger King Corporation, Coca-Cola, CBS, Disney, Dodge, EA, Ford Motor Company, HBO, Jeep, Levi’s, McDonald’s, Northwest Airlines, Paramount Pictures, PepsiCo, RCA Records, Red Bull, Reebok, Revlon, Sci-Fi Channel, Sony, USA Network, and Wyeth.  NMS’ record of real results for our clients speaks for itself, for in 2006 NMS helped market twenty two feature films that hit the top spot at the box office.

National media have taken notice.  Ad Age, Ad Week, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Variety, Brandweek,The
Hollywood Reporter, Businessweek, The Chicago Tribune, 
The Los Angeles Times,  The Philadelphia Daily News, 
The New York Times ,  The South China Post, The Syd-
ney Morning Herald, The Wall Street Journal, The Wash-
ington Post,  and  Washington Business Journal have 
covered Pete and New Media Strategies.  Additionally, Pete was named as one of the “Quotes of the Year” by ESPN’s Sports Guy, Bill Simmons.

A former political media consultant and a pollster to New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Pete regularly appears as a commentator on the Fox News Channel and has served as a marketing and political expert on CNBC, The News with Brian Williams, the CBS Evening News, Fox News Channel’s Your World with Neil Cavuto, Hannity and Colmes and Fox and Friends.

As Co-Founder of New Media Strategies and Vice President of Business Development, Aaron Earls has charted an aggressive business strategy by creating lasting client relationships with some of the world's top brands and corporations, as well as high-end strategic partnerships with top marketing, public relations and communications firms.  His efforts have led to exceptional growth for New Media Strategies, as evidenced by their selection to Inc. Magazine's 500 fastest growing companies in America for the past two years in a row.

Aaron has been instrumental in generating strong relationships for its entertainment, corporate, and public affairs practices, helping NMS build relationships in over forty industries.  New Media Strategies' Entertainment clients include several leading film studios, some of the biggest and best known television networks, as well as video game publishers and recording labels.  Under Aaron's guidance, NMS has forged relationships with many Fortune 500 corporations, including the leaders in finance, beverage and quick-service restaurant industries. He has also helped develop relationships with some of the biggest trade and industry associations and political organizations in the United States, helping NMS establish a leading public affairs practice.  

Prior to joining New Media Strategies, Aaron served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense earning the prestigious Secretary of Defense "Award for Outstanding Achievement."  Aaron was involved in the Clinton-Gore 1996 re-election campaign and has an extensive political pedigree. He is a graduate of Hamilton College.

As the leader of global sales efforts for NMS, Jack drives revenue by consulting with leading brands, shaping strategy and approach to market, and managing a world class sales team. As a member of the management team, Jack collaborates internally to ensure NMS products and services are in line with the latest client needs and market demands.

Jack draws on a diverse background of online brand advertising, direct marketing, and public relations experience. Most recently, he was Vice President, Southwest Sales for a leading online video advertising corporation in Los Angeles. Prior to that, Jack was a record-breaking sales executive with Advertising.com, establishing new offices and building sales teams in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Jack started his career in the public affairs practice at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide in Washington, DC, focusing on grassroots campaigns surrounding telecommunications issues. Over the course of his career, Jack has collaborated with a broad array of leading agencies and clients from a variety of industries.

Jack holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Communications & Theater from the University of Notre Dame.

As Managing Director of Client Services, Laura Traa is responsible for overseeing New Media Strategies' Client Services division - including NMS' Entertainment, Corporate and Public Affairs Practices.  Laura Traa is also an active member of NMS' executive management team and works with the leaders of the company's various divisions to develop and execute upon strategy for the future growth of New Media Strategies.

In addition to managing the New Media Strategies Client Services team, Laura Traa also oversees all corporate and brand client relationships.  Under her direction, the NMS Client Services team has executed over five hundred campaigns in more than forty industries.  In 2005, NMS's Entertainment Practice protected and promoted 15 films that opened #1 at the box office and worked with four of the top five Hollywood studios, as well as some of the best-known television networks and production companies in the industry.

Prior to joining New Media Strategies, Laura Traa served as the Manager of Operations for VenCatalyst, LLC, and as an account manager with Burson-Marsteller, where she specialized in public relations, issue and crisis management, and strategic communications planning for corporations in the chemical and healthcare industries.

Laura was educated in Virginia and received her B.A. in Economics/Business from Hollins College in Roanoke.

As Director of Finance and Administration for New Media Strategies, Tom Snedeker oversees the company's financial planning and forecasting, as well as Its general operations and administrative functions.  Tom serves as a member of the New Media Strategies Management Team, working directly with the CEO and fellow management team members in developing and managing operational planning and strategy.

Prior to joining New Media Strategies, Tom was Founder and President of Liquid Events, an event promotions and marketing company for the restaurant and beverage industry.  Earlier, as the Director of Licensing and Government Affairs for Winstar Communications, Mr. Snedeker supervised the telecommunication company's efforts on Capitol Hill.  Tom also spearheaded the Winstar Spectrum Team as the company bought wireless spectrum covering the entire United States, eventually becoming the largest holder of commercial spectrum in the country.  He managed use of the company's licenses in over 160 major markets, advised the company on spectrum opportunities and auctions, as well as the utility of new equipment and applications.

Tom graduated cum laude from Washington and Lee University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Special Attainments in Commerce.

As Director of Human Resources for NMS, Lisa is responsible for the growth and development of NMS’ award winning team.  Lisa and her HR team deliver a wide range of Human Resources services and initiatives in support of key business objectives.

Lisa has over 12 years of leadership experience in Human Resources, specializing in Staffing and Retention Strategies, Employee Relations and Leadership Training. More recently, Lisa managed the HR function for Business Technologies group at America Online, Inc., in Dulles, VA, as their Senior Human Resources Manager.  Prior to that, she introduced and facilitated Diversity Leadership Training to Household International, Inc., in Chicago, IL, where she was selected to participate in their first Executive Management Program.  During this time, Lisa created a diversity workshop for the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), called Corporate Kaleidoscope and a national Human Resources newsletter, called Partnership through Training.

Lisa graduated magna cum laude from Oakwood College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Marketing.

Sam is responsible for raising awareness of NMS among potential clients and the public via PR and thought leadership efforts.  His job has been made easier by the fact that New Media Strategies has a great story to tell as one of the pioneers in online Word-Of-Mouth and Intelligence since 1999; as evidenced by its impressive roster of clients such as Ford, Sony, ABC, and Unilever.

The transition to NMS was an easy one as Sam was a former client at Young & Rubicam for the previous four years, having experienced first hand the quality that NMS brings to this new and exciting space.

Before he joined NMS, Sam was the Director for Creative Strategy for Young & Rubicam Brands Team Microsoft.  This position entailed creating award-winning programs for MSN’s IM and Search products. In his former role as co-founder and Chief Strategic Officer for Bounce Interactive Gaming (BIG), Sam was tasked with creating marketing plans for the clients of Y&R Brands across the quickly emerging videogames platform.   Earlier, as Director of Internet Strategy for Young and Rubicam's Brand Buzz group, Sam was responsible for creating interactive concepts that were integral elements of Buzz's approach for clients such as DPSU, Sony, LG, Absolut, and Burt’s Bees.   Prior to joining Brand Buzz, Sam was the Director of Creative Strategy with Luminant Worldwide and the Brand Dialogue Group at Y&R. In this position he created creative concepts, interactive strategies, and architectures for clients such as AT&T, Visteon, and USPS, and was instrumental in winning interactive assignments from Sony and Philip Morris.

He began his career at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Education Department as a Technical Associate in 1995 where he reviewed interactive grant proposals and digital strategic development for the Ready To Learn program.  Sam graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, and resides in Washington, DC with his wife, Elsa, and his 1-year old daughter, Amelia.