Joe Carroll
McNeill Communications Group, Inc., announced that Joe Carroll has joined as president of its new marketing communications division. The High Point-based advertising and public relations agency is expanding its services to include global strategic marketing services.
In this position, Carroll will oversee marketing and communications to include planning, advertising, public relations, social media and a full suite of creative services.
“So many industry friends have contacted me requesting my help with their marketing projects that the opportunities were irresistible,” Carroll says. “The furniture industry has always reminded me of a family. We know one another and we help one another whenever possible. There are always new challenges which keep the game exciting, and I can’t think of anything I would rather do more than contribute to the growth of our industry.
“I have known Karen for more than 20 years and am impressed by her industry knowledge, business structure and communications skills,” he says. “We share an identical business philosophy: to put our client’s welfare first and to work hard to help them succeed.”
“Joe brings unmatched relationships in our industry and a passion for putting together a creative marketing mix,” says Karen McNeill-Harris, CEO of McNeill Communications which has specialized in home furnishings for more than 20 years. “Joe is a perfectly balanced match of knowledge, experience and connections that will take us to the next level as the leading full service agency for the industry.”
Carroll recently retired as publisher after 33 years with the industry trade publication Furniture/Today where he developed several sister publications, a daily email news service and helped organize a global home furnishings publications group, the International Alliance of Furnishings Publications. He has shared his knowledge of the industry through speeches, television appearances and a newspaper column. The author of four tabletop books on furniture design, he has received the IHFRA Pillar of the Industry and City of Hope Spirit of Life awards, and was inducted into the American Furniture Foundation Hall of Fame last year. He was recently awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids. Carroll first entered the home furnishings field with advertising agency J. P. Hogan in 1969.
In addition, he has served as president of the American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation and its Legacy Board, and as chairman of the High Point University Home Furnishings Advisory Board. He serves on the boards of the High Point Chamber of Commerce, and the String & Splinter Club, and is a member of Greensboro’s “100 Club” of progressive leaders. He also is active in the Furnitureland Rotary Club and as a fundraiser for the Newcomer’s School, a magnet school for immigrant children in Guilford County.
The McNeill Communications Group, Inc., a full service marketing agency, provides a wide range of strategic communications services including advertising, public relations, media strategy, brand development and graphic design. Clients include leaders in home furnishings, telecommunications, education and employee recognition.