Laughlin Constable Named Ad Age 2024 Small Agency of the Year
Laughlin Constable (LC), the independent, full-service agency, has announced that it has been named Ad Age 2024 Small Agency of the Year, winning Gold in the overall agency category of 76-150 Employees.
With offices in Chicago and Milwaukee and global, full-service experience, the Midwest agency has seen immense growth and award accolades in the past year, earning it the advertising industry honour. The Ad Age Small Agency Awards honour small, independent agencies that are performing well in three categories, including creating amazing and effective work for clients, building a financially healthy business and cultivating a diverse and rewarding environment for employees.
“This industry has been shifting for some time now, where bigger clients have been seeing and feeling that ‘small is the new big’,” said Anthony Romano, CEO of Laughlin Constable. “So, to receive a top honour amongst the best of the new breed of agencies doing it out there, is a big moment of pride. Even after 48 years, our shop is more relentless about reinvention than ever, more fiercely independent, and more obsessed with doing deeply personal work that works.”
Over the past year, the agency has made a number of strategic new leadership hires, including adding Amy Merchant as head of client engagement, Alex Helfers as head of connected experiences, Allison Henley-Kehm as head of people and culture, and Vincent Geraghty as head of production and HIVE Content Studio.
Beyond the leadership additions was a re-brand and re-positioning of the agency that centres around creating brand experiences that 'Make it Personal,' and a reinvention of its operating model that delivers on that promise through a more agile and thoughtful fusion of four fundamental client needs: Strategic Intelligence, Creativity, Human Context, and Connected Experiences. The agency also evolved its in-house production operation, the HIVE Content Studio, to service its own roster of stand-alone clients from videography, photography and animation, to campaign, social and AI-generated video content.
The work of Laughlin Constable and its talented employees has caught the attention of more than just Ad Age this year. Recently, the agency won both a 2024 Clio and a 2024 Effie for its work with the national non-profit the ASPCA. The agency also saw several big account wins in the past year such as national hardware retailer, True Value, Midwest retail bank North Shore Bank, iconic hot brand, Vienna Beef, Sherwin-Williams General Industrial division, West coast upscale grocery chain, Good Food Holdings, and leading vitamin and supplements brand, Nordic Naturals.
Romano, along with co-chief creative officers Pat and Jon Laughlin, were present to receive the award during the celebration on Wednesday, July 24th in Boston.
