Movers & Shakers: Chris Hiland, director of media and engagement, Periscope

Media innovator Chris Hiland is working to help clients capitalize on new ways to stand out as the newly hired executive vice president, director of media engagement at Minneapolis advertising agency Periscope.

Hiland's responsibilities include "driving the accelerated evolution" of Periscope's media offering amid a rapidly changing landscape of channels and options that can help brands connect with consumers. Hiland also will help guide Periscope's offerings and growth strategies as an executive committee member.

Hiland is Periscope's latest high-profile addition under CEO Elizabeth Ross, who joined the firm in October. Others include chief creative officer Peter Nicholson and creative services director Kathy Umland.

Hiland most recently was chief growth officer at BPN. He has held a range of roles at Jack Morton, Ipsos and Mediabrands and has worked with leading consumer, food, retail, education and industrial brands, including Tyson and Proctor & Gamble. He also has experience as a teacher, banker and consultant.

He continues in the "outside voice" role of a consultant within the agency and with brands.

"The last thing any client wants right now is 30 years of experience of a conventional trajectory," Hiland said.

Hiland has a degree from Middlebury College and an MBA from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.

A: The two key elements were Periscope's independence and the integrated nature of the services that we provide. The speed that the integrated structure provides, that's what really benefits clients. With the dimension of independence we can make decisions faster. The real success factor going forward, the secret sauce, is going to be agility and speed.

Q: What is Periscope looking for from you in this role?

A: There was an opportunity to elevate and advance media as it relates to strategy and creative but also to inject some creativity into media itself and to spark both inventiveness and that innovative spirit without losing the need for a return on the dollar in media.

Q: When Periscope CEO Elizabeth Ross says that media needs to connect people to an experience, how does that influence your work?

A: Our job is to take the friction out of storytelling. The rallying cry is that we should connect people through technology in a way that feels less and less like work, clicks and swipes and do it in a way that the distance between the consumer and the story the brand is trying to convey … is minimized to the point that it's almost invisible.