UPROAR! is the kid and family centered marketing agency that ignites these markets with inspired creative fueled by passion and insight. UPROAR! is the only resource within the Omnicom system dedicated to the $100+billion market of kids, tweens, teens and their moms.

"Kids and families are the center of our universe. We uniquely connect to these markets by overturning conventional thought, kicking in the doors of common creative and believing nothing is impossible." Make a change... start an UPROAR!

Robert Chimbel - CEO
For the past ten years Mr. Chimbel has worked in high-level executive capacities for Omnicom, including the formation of UPROAR! in 2003.  

Since 2006, Bob has served as CEO of The Component Group, a consortium he created consisting of four interrelated marketing companies with specific areas of excellence: UPROAR!, now the nation’s pre-eminent kids, tweens and teens marketing company; The Launch Point, a new product development and business innovation concern; and Encircle Marketing, a group that targets emerging and re-emerging brands primarily for private equity firms. Component Group has offices in Dallas and New York.

More recently, Bob was asked to head up a new division, DDB Entertainment Group, composed of The Component Group companies and two new additions:  The Ant Farm, a Los Angeles group specializing in advertising and marketing for Film, Television and Digital Games, as well as developing content for corporate clients; and Red Urban Digital, a diverse interactive agency with global reach.  

Mr. Chimbel formerly served as Chief Creative Officer and then President of TracyLocke, and spent his earlier career at such companies as Digitas, Leo Burnett,  and Hasbro, as well as his own agency, Ferber Janklow Chimbel and Bender, which was later sold to the Earle Palmer Brown group.


Kim Merrill – President
Ms. Merrill has served in an executive capacity within Omnicom for over 13 years, and was instrumental in the formation as well as the on-going success of UPROAR!.  She has served in the roles of General Manager and, since 2006, as it’s President, overseeing offices in Dallas and New York, as well as field offices in Pawtucket, RI and East Longmeadow, MA.  Kim has a true affinity for kids. The direct marketing, promotions and general advertising expertise she gained during her career led the way to the win of the Hasbro and Discovery Kids accounts that formed the basis for UPROAR! as a stand-alone agency.

Kim honed her ability to build brands and partnerships, create advertising and promotional programs while working for such clients as Frito-Lay, Universal Studios, Twentieth Century Fox, Blockbuster, eBay, Phillips Petroleum, KinderCare and American Airlines. She joined TracyLocke in 1993 as Account Director, moved to Director of Client Services, then Group Account Director before becoming a Partner in 2001.

Kim previously worked for Barry Blau and Partners, and Southern Living Magazine.


Erik Nelson – Chief Creative Officer
Promoted to Chief Creative Officer in 2007, Erik has been with UPROAR! since its inception in 2003. Hired by TracyLocke in 1997, he began his career as an Art Director working on national promotions for the Doritos brand. Erik’s early success afforded him the opportunity to work on the vast array of PEPSI CO.’s brands including: Tostitos, Fritos, Lay’s, Mountain Dew, Pepsi and Pizza Hut.

Erik got his first taste of TV advertising in 1999 when he shot a Mountain Dew regional promo spot. Since then he has shot over 800 commercials, for brands like EA, JCPenney, Bombardier, Harrah’s, Topps, Monopoly, Transformers, Discovery Kids, Nerf, Playskool and Star Wars.

Truly a kid at heart, Erik loves to create for the youth market. He has a passion for the cinematic moments of childhood and strives to infuse his creative with the magic of these experiences.