Lauren Hystead and Lauren Swago have joined Chicago-based agency SOCIALDEVIANT as associate creative directors who will work across multiple pieces of new business.
 
Hystead and Swago first worked together at FCB Chicago from 2012-15, where their creative director thought it would be fun for two Laurens to work together--with Hystead as copywriter and Swago as art director. Their work together proved so successful that they joined Chicago’s Trisect Agency as a creative team in Dec. 2015, where they remained through 2018.  
 
What started as a project for Valsar Paint developed into a partnership for the Laurens that’s going on six years and their third agency together. Other clients the pair has worked on include Kmart, Slim Jim, and the Chicago Bears.
 
“From our first conversation with agency president Linda Johnson and COO Dave Shuck, we could feel the energy of SOCIALDEVIANT,” said Hystead. “There’s an immediate sense that big things are brewing and we really just want to be a part of that.”
 
Added Swago, “With all the work coming in, we’re excited for the opportunity to help SOCIALDEVIANT expand their capabilities and grow relationships with new and existing clients.”
 
According to agency CEO and founder Marc Landsberg, SOCIALDEVIANT’s revenues shot up by almost 70% in 2018 (fueled by the win of seven new clients in recent months, including CareerBuilder, E.& J. Gallo and The Disney Channel). This growth led the agency to actively recruit to fill these and several more roles.
 
Hystead graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a B.A. in journalism and strategic communication in 2011, joining FCB Chicago shortly after graduation. 
 
Swago attended the University of Georgia, graduating with a B.B.A. in finance in 2007. She taught English for a year before switching gears and attending The Creative Circus from 2010-12. She landed at FCB Chicago in Aug. 2012, where the seeds of the Hystead-Swago creative partnership then took root.