Employs Fallon’s Sullivan as Chief Creative Officer
ATLANTA–Making one of the most significant creative hires in the Southeast, WestWayne last week recruited Luke Sullivan of Fallon McElligott as its chief creative officer.
Sullivan, who resigned last week from the Minneapolis-based Fallon after nearly 10 years to make the move to Atlanta, replaces Martin Macdonald, who left the agency in March over creative differences.
Sullivan’s challenge is raising the quality of the $273 million agency’s creative product and, in doing so, help give WestWayne a national presence like The Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., or, for that matter, Fallon.
“This is a key hire for [WestWayne],” Sullivan, 43, said. “Do I feel pressure? There’s always pressure. I don’t feel pressure as much as I’m energized about this.”
“We never set out to take any halfway measures,” said agency president Ben West. “My commitment has been to have a place where people are challenged to work at the highest level, where they’re excited about coming to work every day.”
Sullivan, who will begin work at the agency July 1, comes to a shop that has had two consecutive flat years financially. Acknowledging he has had several offers to leave Fallon over the years, why WestWayne?
“I’ve been writing ads for 20 years,” he said. “I talked to a [creative director] friend and he told me it’s a lot of fun to actually get to steer a brand instead of just doing the next campaign. I want to be able to help a client find its ‘voice’ and push them in the right direction. I’m getting a chance to change careers while staying in the business.”
Sullivan, most recently senior copywriter on United Airlines, has 20 One Show Medals to his credit, among other awards.
While WestWayne’s account list does not match the name recognition of Fallon’s, Sullivan is not inheriting an empty cupboard. The agency, which has an office in Tampa, Fla., counts BellSouth Corp., Beautyrest Mattresses, NAPA and SunTrust Banks among its clients.
Westwayne Finds A 'Voice'
