Rauxa (pronounced ROX-uh) named its very first chief creative officer on the same day it promoted its status as “the largest woman-owned independent advertising agency in the United States.”
Kate Daggett joins the direct marketing shop after more than three years at Tenthwave Digital, where she was an ECD working on such accounts as Duncan Hines and Red Roof Inn. She previously served as VP/GCD at Digitas running the American Express account, and she held creative positions at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York and Agency.com earlier in her career.
According to the release, Daggett played a key role in Tenthwave’s creative evolution during her three-plus years there while also contributing to several new business wins and helping to facilitate the agency’s recent acquisition by digital shop Wire Stone.
In her new job, she will lead creative teams across Rauxa’s six U.S. offices, handling clients like Gap, Blue Shield of California and Verizon, which consolidated its FiOS direct marketing account with Rauxa earlier this year. (Much of the work had been with MRM//McCann.)
Daggett said:
“We may be an unknown agency now, but won’t be for long. When I was considering joining Rauxa I did my research and actually spoke with agency folks who’d worked with them on shared business. I even called one of their past clients. The feedback I got was consistent. People said that they are an impressive agency, filled with smart people, which was a wonderful confirmation that Rauxa is an agency ready to compete on a bigger level.”
Chief strategy officer Ian Baer added, “We are huge fans of Kate’s work, leadership, innovative spirit and integrity. We’re excited about evolving our creative offering and thrilled that Kate is calling Rauxa home.”
Regarding the agency’s other news, CEO Gina Alshuler (who took the reins from Rauxa founder Jill Gwaltney in 2015) said in a press release: “Being independent means that we report to no one but our clients, allowing us to devise and deliver the very best solutions for them. Being woman-owned and woman-led instills the team with a powerful combination of empathy and grit that has built enduring relationships with clients, partners and colleagues.”
The “largest woman-owned agency” status comes via data pulled AdAge’s 2016 Agency Report. We’re told that Quigley-Simpson (CEO Angela Zepeda) and Burrell Communications (co-CEOs McGhee Williams Osse and Fay Ferguson) are comparable in that respsect, but each seems to have fewer employees than Rauxa at the moment, at least according to LinkedIn.