Megan Lally has been elevated from managing partner to CEO of Chicago-headquartered independent advertising agency Highdive.
“Megan has always been the leader of this company, and now we’re making it official,” said Chad Broude, co-chief creative officer and co-owner at Highdive. “Our late partner, Louis Slotkin, used to whisper ‘smartest person in the room’ about her. He was right seven years ago, and he’s right today.”
As CEO, Lally sets the vision for the agency and drives its operations, overseeing growth, account management and strategy. In the last year, the demand for Highdive’s approach to big-brand advertising led to 20 percent YOY growth, and expansion to more than 100 employees. Highdive’s work is known for tapping into pop culture and creating social currency, topping the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter three years in a row (including for a Barbie-themed ad for Rocket Mortgage) and often tapping into cultural currency with the likes of Danny DeVito, Anna Kendrick and Bill Murray.
“Megan is an exceptional leader and visionary. Her passion is infectious and she makes everyone around her want to be the best version of themselves,” said Mark Gross, Highdive’s co-founder and co-chief creative officer.
In addition to new clients such as Dollar Shave Club and State Farm, Highdive continues to grow its business and creative opportunities with longer-term, creatively-driven clients including Jersey Mikes, Boost Mobile, Beam Suntory, Lay’s, Perfetti Van Melle (Airheads, Chupa Chups, Mentos) and NHL.
“As a leader, Megan is all about relationships, healthy relationships. She understands that if you’ve got strong relationships in both directions, the work will follow and the business will follow,” added Jon Marks, sr. director at Beam Suntory.
Prior to starting Highdive with Broude and Gross in 2016, Lally was at big-brand agencies including Leo Burnett and DDB where she worked on award-winning campaigns for Allstate, Donate Life America, Capital One, PepsiCo, AB InBev and State Farm.
Apple, WWF, CeraVe, Sydney Opera House Among Those Having A Grand Time At CICLOPE
An awards ceremony last night (10/10) capped three days of CICLOPE in Berlin, marked by talks by notable speakers, collaborative Craft Sessions, and attendees making global connections.
Drawing nearly 1,700 entries, culled down to 370 finalists across 18 different countries, the competition saw judges award seven Grand Prix winners, 45 Gold, 51 Silver and 61 Bronze trophies.
Grand Prix winners were:
--Apple’s “Flock” directed by Ivan Zacharias of SMUGGLER for TBWAMedia Arts Lab, Los Angeles.
--WWF’s “Up In Smoke” directed by Yannis Konstantinidi via production company NOMINT.
--A$AP Rocky’s “Tailor Swif” from directors Vania & Muggia of production company Iconoclast.
--Spotify’s “Spreadbeats” directed by Maldita via production house The Youth for FCB NY.
--CeraVe’s “Michael CeraVe” from directorial duo Tim & Eric via production company PRETTYBIRD for WPP Onefluence team, led by Ogilvy PR North America.
--Sydney Opera House’s “Playit Safe” directed by Kim Gehrig via Revolver x Somesuch for agency The Monkeys.
--Gucci’s “Who is Sabato De Sarno? A Gucci Story” directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman via Moxie Pictures.
Special Awards--Year’s Best
CICLOPE Special Awards went to:
Production Company of the Year: SMUGGLER
Director of the Year: Ivan Zacharias
Editing Company of the Year: Work Editorial
VFX Company of the Year: Electric Theatre Collective
Animation Company of the Year: Untold Studios
Sound Company of the Year: Barking Owl
Music Company of the Year: String & Tins
Agency of the Year: TBWAMedia Arts Lab
Brand of the Year:... Read More