We recently had the opportunity to talk with Greg Kihlström, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Carousel30, a full-service digital agency located in Washington, DC. In the following Q&A, he shares with us come of the challenges he sees marketers struggling with today, as well as some of the tools he recommends in overcoming these hurdles. Greg and his firm will also be attending the highly anticipated Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit, so be sure to stop by an d say hello!

Washington D.C.’s growth as a business hotspot hasn’t left the realm of marketing and advertising behind. In fact, more than a little of the credit for D.C.’s explosive growth can probably be laid at the feet of the creative energy and marketing savvy of people and companies in the ares. The judges for this year’s 50 on Fire event on December 4 have a challenging task picking from among the 15 finalists in this category.

Washington Post Op-Ed: More than any other skill in business, none may be more fundamental than the ability to blend, grow and seamlessly transform with our changing times. As a communications professional in the D.C. area, I know firsthand the impact change can have on an industry and a business.

We have come a long way already — some of us have seen the advertising industry grow from print and broadcast to digital, social, mobile and beyond.

In this “Up Close and Personal” profile, we feature Greg Kihlström, founder and CEO of Carousel30, an agency in its 10th year in the DC area, and president of DC Ad Club which, this week, features ADWKDC, a week-long conference involving more than 30 expert presenters. (More on ADWKDC in our News section.)

If you were among the hundreds of thousands on the National Mall for Jon Stewart’s 2010 “Rally To Restore Sanity,” you may have caught a glimpse of Greg Kihlström’s work.

Greg Kihlström is the Founder & CEO of Carousel30, a Washington DC Area based Digital Agency.

He is also the current President of the Board of Directors for the DC Ad Club, and the Division 1 Chair for the American Advertising Federation’s National Board of Directors

He’s a frequent speaker and author with works published in many prominent trade outlets including the Washington Business Journal, SEO Watch, and iMediaConnection.

Online advertising was once limited to banner and pop-up ads that most Internet users would eagerly minimize. Today’s ads, which use social platforms like Vine and Instagram to engage their audience, are more sophisticated. They are also growing more personal, as marketers mine social data to tailor ads to the tastes and interests of individual users. We explore new developments in online advertising and ask what they mean for users and their privacy on the web.

Learn how a company grows in terms of number of employees, percent of web traffic to types of clients. Greg Kihlström explains strategies that have worked and haven’t worked for Carousel30 that you can apply to your company’s long-term plans.

Featured keynote speaker will be Greg Kihlstrom, a 20-year creative director and digital veteran. Greg is vice president of strategy at Carousel30. He has worked with major brands such as AOL, Toyota, Audubon Society, GEICO Direct, MTV, The Nature Conservancy and the Washington Wizards. Greg has served on the board of directors of the DC Ad Club and the DC Chapter of the American Advertising Federation.

More than a hundred million people play games online. And the market for these games continues to grow. VOA's Philip Alexiou has this look at the economic importance of fun and games.

It took radio 38 years to accumulate 50 million users. It took television just 13, and the Internet a scant four.

It took Facebook just one year to reach 200 million users. The media environment is changing...and fast.

"The 'Don't Move Firewood' campaign is spreading an important message that is informing and educating people to help save the forests and trees in their own backyards," said Greg Kihlstrom, creative director at Carousel30. "The level of collaboration and cooperation between organizations and agencies on this project has helped to create a far-reaching campaign that spans many mediums and communicates to audiences in a clear, direct manner."