Barry Wade is recognized as a skillful marketer and passionate professional who has built a distinguished career working hand-and-hand with some of the greatest change-agents and cultural architects. Barry's been chronicled in Advertising Age, Black Enterprise and Billboard.
Most recently, Mr. Wade established Barry United, a technology-centric communications services company that specializes in creative, interactive, public relations, market research, direct marketing, experiential, and online & offline media buying and planning. Formerly, Barry Wade served as Chief Operations Officer of ZMagic, a multicultural advertising agency, started by Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Jordan Zimmerman of Zimmerman Advertising, Omnicom Group’s largest retail advertising agency in the United States with 1.8+ billion in billings. During Mr. Wade’s tenure, he was responsible for securing 90% of the total revenue generated by ZMagic from such clients as Miller Brewing, Royal Caribbean and Magic Johnson Travel Group.
Mr. Wade consulted Allied Domecq, previously the world’s second largest spirits company. As North American Brand Director for Courvoisier Cognac, Mr. Wade was responsible for the brand’s P&L, marketing and business development. Wade led the brand’s through-the-line advertising, channel development and strategic account programming throughout the United States, as well as provided insights to strengthen the brands global marketing efforts. Mr. Wade created a strategic program—Courvoisier’s Gentlemen Tour with Farnsworth Bentley and tactical initiatives within core-consumer accounts—to stem the brands declines and return consumption to double-digit growth.
Prior to joining Allied Domecq, Mr. Wade served as Senior Vice President, Account Director of GlobalHue, the largest multicultural agency in the United States. Working closely with media mogul Russell Simmons, former Vice Chairman of GlobalHue, Mr. Wade led the Courvoisier global advertising account. As Senior Account Director for Arnell Group, Mr. Wade worked directly with Peter Arnell overseeing the Reebok men’s footwear and apparel brand RBK, as well as Reebok’s On-field division of NFL and NBA licensed products.
Previously, Mr. Wade served as Editorial Director of Entertainment for urbanMagic.com, an Internet venture founded by former Assistant Secretary of Commerce of The United States, Larry Irving and Earvin “Magic” Johnson. As the former Editor-In-Chief of Impact, the leading urban entertainment trade magazine and music conference, Mr. Wade refocused the editorial direction of the weekly publication. During his tenure, Wade worked with Keith Clinkscales, then Chairman and CEO of Vanguarde Media, Inc., in re-launching the title after its acquisition. Earlier, Mr. Clinkscales recruited Mr. Wade as consulting Editorial Director of Variety’s Vibe Biz, which was a joint venture between Vibe/Spin Ventures and Variety. As a media and marketing consultant for various publishing and advertising companies, Mr. Wade consulted Jim Kohls, President of LFP, directly on issues affecting their ethnic publications—Rap Pages and Code. Wade lent his know-how to Russell Simmons’ advertising agency, Rush Media, as a consultant on the highly political New York Police Department City Resident Recruitment Campaign to bolster the NYPD’s African-American and Hispanic recruits.
Barry Wade first became involved in marketing, publishing and music as a college radio deejay at Central Connecticut State University where he attended and founded One Nut Network, a hip-hop music tipsheet, which evolved into One Nut Magazine, a music trade that breached the wall between a consumer publication, covering urban music and hip-hop culture through an offbeat, humorous and controversial lens. As a college intern at Def Jam Recordings, Mr. Wade was fortunate to learn marketing and promotions under Lyor Cohen, then Co-founder Rush Associated Labels and President of Def Jam; Wes Johnson, then Senior Vice-President of Marketing and Promotion; and Bobbito Garcia, then National Director of Commercial and College Mix Shows. While at Def Jam, Wade created a facsimile marketing program to promote Def Jam artists’ such as Public Enemy, 3rd Bass, and Nice & Smooth. Post Def Jam, Mr. Wade co-founded Green Shoes Recordings, Inc. Green Shoes was a short-lived rap label distributed by Ichiban Records that successfully released recordings worldwide.
