Russ Gottwald

Director of Brand Strategy at PACO Collective (2025 – Present)

Associate Strategy Director/Copywriter at PACO Collective (2023 – 2025)

Senior Brand Strategist/Copywriter at PACO Collective (2019 – 2023)

Account Planner/Copywriter at PACO Collective (2017 – 2019)

Instructor at University of South Carolina (2020 – 2024)

Advertising, School of Journalism & Mass Communications

• Teaching foci included integrated campaign development, brand identity, copywriting, creative concepting and execution, writing for mass communication majors, and the history of Super Bowl ads.
• Created course on concept development and brand identity whose focus expanded to include using these elements to craft and refine AI prompts as well as assess AI output; this course was rated by students graduating in the 2023-2024 school year as the most important foundational course in the Advertising sequence.
• Teaching method emphasized experiential learning, industry-facing competitions (Effie Collegiate, NSAC, YoungOnes, and D&AD), in-class presentation of all projects, and discussion of peer presentations.
• Overloaded in Spring 2021 (13 Hours), Spring 2023 (18 Hours), and Spring 2024 (18 Hours).

Adjunct Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University (2025 – Present)

Advertising, Robertson School of Communication

• Teaching focus has included team building and management, presentation and storytelling skills, and effective management of account services.
• Teaching method emphasizes experiential learning, in-class presentation of all projects, and discussion of peer presentations.

Freelance Copywriter at IBM (2026 – Present)

Freelance Copywriter at Lanmark360 (2025 – Present)

Freelance Copywriter at Reunion Healthcare (2020)

Freelance Brand Strategist at Frankel Media Group (2017)

Branding and Presentation Consultant at Klöckner Pentaplast (2016 – 2017)

Branding Consultant at Burger Bach (2014 – 2015)

Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Planning at Decadence Cheesecakes (2013 – 2014)

Master of Science in Creative Brand Management – VCU Brandcenter (2013)

Graduate Certificate in National Security & Strategic Studies – Hawaii Pacific University (2010)

Bachelor of Arts in Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness – Virginia Commonwealth University (2008)

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science – Virginia Commonwealth University (2008)