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Tag: Danny Robinson

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. Under their leadership, Martin was named industry publication Adweek’s Agency of the Year in 2020 and 2021, as well as Ad Age’s Agency of the Year in 2023. Ad Age named Danny Robinson its 2022 Chief Creative Officer of the Year. Cavallo will remain in her position as MullenLowe Group global CEO and will continue to be based in Richmond.

“Our leaders don’t operate on an island. And that includes our CEO,” Robinson said in a statement. “Martin has an executive committee that works as a team on every major decision facing the organization and I have been an integral part of the team for the last five years. … Kristen, the entire executive team and all our people and partners have set this agency up for what will be its best chapter yet.”

Robinson, the first Black executive to lead Martin, has overseen ad campaigns for notable clients like UPS, Old Navy and Geico, and recently oversaw smokeless fire pit maker Solo Stove’s campaign with celebrity rapper Snoop Dogg. In 2023, Martin won several new clients, including Papa Johns, Skrewball Whiskey and Miracle-Gro, according to a news release.

Robinson joined Martin in 2004 and has held several roles, including group creative director and chief client officer, a new role Cavallo created for him in May 2019. Prior to joining Martin, Robinson co-founded ad agency Vigilante, which was behind Oprah Winfrey’s famous 2004 car giveaway.

“Moving from CCO to CEO is uncommon, but it shouldn’t be,” Cavallo said in a statement. “Our industry has become increasingly focused on consolidation and efficiencies, and we need to return the conversation to creativity. … Danny has held roles across the agency in preparation for just this moment.”

Robinson sits on the board of Creative Ladder, a nonprofit founded by movie star Ryan Reynolds, and is a former board chair of local nonprofit Feed More. He is a graduate of Hampton University (then Hampton Institute) and Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University).

Jerry Hoak, executive creative director at Martin, will succeed Robinson as chief creative officer, Martin announced Thursday. Robinson will act as CEO/CCO during the transition. Hoak joined Martin in 2016 and led pitch teams that won DoorDash, Anheuser-Busch InBev, CarMax, Google and Papa Johns.

Editor’s note: Story updated Feb. 1.

Professional Services 2023: WILLIAM ‘DANNY’ ROBINSON

The Martin Agency’s chief creative officer since 2020, Robinson oversees ad campaigns for big-name clients like Geico, UPS and Old Navy and was named Ad Age’s 2022 Chief Creative Officer of the Year.

It’s no coincidence that during his tenure, Adweek named Martin its Agency of the Year for three consecutive years, from 2020 to 2022, and Ad Age recognized Martin as the top ad agency for 2023.

Robinson joined Martin in 2004 and held executive roles in client and creative departments before his promotion to CCO. Robinson previously co-founded ad agency Vigilante, where he was behind Oprah Winfrey’s famous 2004 car giveaway.

A graduate of Hampton University (then Hampton Institute) and Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University), Robinson got his start working as an associate creative director for The Guild Group. He serves on the board of Creative Ladder and is a former board chair of Feed More.

PERSONAL MOTTO: No pressure, no diamonds

TRAIT(S) I ADMIRE: Irrational optimism

HOBBY/PASSION: Painting artwork, not walls

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: You will learn more from your failures than you will from your successes.

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, Doordash and Axe, and Ad Age noted the agency’s move into the world of products with the debut of “Scoop There It Is” ice cream, which was developed after the popular Geico ads featuring rappers Tag Team performing “Whoop! There It Is!”

Robinson, who became CCO in 2020, was previously Martin’s chief client officer. He also is a former copywriter who founded New York-based agency Vigilante (which orchestrated Oprah Winfrey’s famous car giveaway show), and he joined Martin in 2004 as part of the agency’s winning bid for Walmart’s account. He is Martin’s first Black CCO and remains one of the few at a non-Black-owned agency, Ad Age notes. He has restructured the creative department and diversified its workforce, with 55% of all creative staffers hired in 2021 being women or Black, Indigenous or other people of color.

“There’s an eclecticism to Danny’s journey,” jury chair Chaka Sobhani, global chief creative officer of Leo Burnett, told Ad Age. “Hope comes from the fact that you don’t have to come from certain universities, a certain background. Danny had all these different roles, and then ultimately found his place.”

In December 2021, Martin was named Adweek’s U.S. agency of the year for the second consecutive year.