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The insiders
The new leadership of The Martin Agency, a nationally prominent Richmond-based ad agency that counts GEICO and UPS among its clients, isn’t so new. Danny Robinson, who has been with the 400-person agency for 20 years and served as chief creative officer for the last three, succeeded Kristen Cavallo as Martin’s CEO this year, but […]
Martin Agency has new CEO
Danny Robinson is taking over from Kristen Cavallo as CEO of The Martin Agency, parent Interpublic Group of Cos. announced Tuesday. Robinson has been chief creative officer of the Richmond-based ad agency since 2020. Cavallo has headed Martin for the past six years, and IPG named her global CEO of MullenLowe Group 14 months ago. […]
2023 Virginia Business Person of the Year: Kristen Cavallo
In 2017, Kristen Cavallo and her son, Matt, then a student on spring break from James Madison University, set out to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with a seven-day window to summit. Statistics from Kilimanjaro National Park, last updated in the 2000s, show a correlation between a route’s duration and success rate: Climbers on seven-day routes have […]
‘Smokeless’ Snoop Dogg ad is Martin Agency creation
Known as much for his love of weed as for his music, celebrity rapper Snoop Dogg posted Thursday on X that he was “giving up smoke,” an announcement that raised eyebrows among some fans, while others figured it must be a marketing ploy. To be blunt, it was the latter, and Richmond‘s The Martin Agency […]
Richmond ad agency Yebo announces closure after 35 years
Formerly known as the Barber Martin Agency, Richmond-based Yebo has announced its closure after 35 years. The firm changed its name to Yebo, pronounced “Yay-bow,” in early 2020 to better reflect the firm’s mission. The name means “yes” in the Zulu language of Southern African, which includes Zimbabwe, birth nation of Yebo President and CEO […]
Martin Agency is Ad Age’s 2023 Agency of Year
Richmond advertising firm The Martin Agency has been named Ad Age’s 2023 Agency of the Year, a year after being named as a standout on the trade publication’s A-List. Ad Age, a global media outlet covering the marketing and advertising industries, cited Martin’s record; the ad agency posted its second-best year of growth in its […]
Two Hampton Roads marketing agencies to merge
Norfolk-based WB Marketing’s parent company has acquired majority interest in Virginia Beach-based marketing and communications firm Meridian Group and will merge the two into one agency, Meridian Group announced Tuesday. Mike Matacunas from Norfolk-based private investment firm Five Hill Capital — WB Marketing’s parent — acquired the majority interest from Meridian Group founder J[...]
Telus International to acquire WillowTree for $1.2B
Charlottesville-based WillowTree Inc., recently recognized by Adweek for being one of the fastest-growing agencies in the nation, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Canadian tech company Telus International Inc. for $1.225 billion, Telus announced Thursday. The acquisition is expected to close in January and is subject to regulatory approvals. Under the agreement, […]
Two Va. agencies make Adweek’s fastest growing U.S. agencies list
Two ad agencies that call Virginia home have landed on Adweek‘s 2022 list of the fastest-growing U.S. ad agencies, the publication announced Monday. Richmond-based creative agency Dotted Line ranked third on the list of Adweek’s fastest-growing agencies in the Southeast, and No. 22 on the list of the nation’s 75 fastest-growing agencies. Charlottesville-based Willow Tree [&hellip[...]
Martin Agency’s Robinson wins Ad Age CCO of the year
Danny Robinson, The Martin Agency‘s chief creative officer, was named Ad Age’s chief creative officer of the year on Thursday, as the publication lauded him for having “revved up the agency‘s creative output, turning out great ideas at a quicker pace across multiple categories and brands.” Among Richmond-based Martin’s clients are Geico, UPS, Old Navy, […[...]
