The Martin Agency

Headquarters of the Martin Agency in Shockoe Slip

The Martin Agency was founded as Martin & Woltz in Richmond, Virginia in 1965 by David N. Martin and George Woltz.[1]

The development of the “Virginia is for Lovers” tagline, one of the most recognized taglines in the tourism industry and beyond, launched the trajectory of the agency. Written in 1969 by copywriter Robin McLaughlin,[2] the slogan entered the Madison Avenue Walk of Fame in 2009.

Martin and Woltz divided the firm in 1975 and Martin renamed the company The Martin Agency.[1]

In 1986, Scali, McCabe, Sloves purchased a majority interest in The Martin Agency. Scali, McCabe, Sloves[3] was acquired by Lowe Group in 1993. The Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) bought controlling interest in The Martin Agency in 1994. The Martin Agency was previously under McCann Worldgroup and is currently part of the MullenLowe network at IPG.

The company's CEO is Kristen Cavallo.

The agency’s current client roster (as of June 2021) includes: GEICO (since 1995), OREO, UPS, Unilever’s AXE brand, RITZ, DoorDash, Buffalo Wild Wings, CarMax, Coinbase, Hanes, Century 21, Gap Inc.’s Old Navy, Terminix, TIAA, Three by Berkshire Hathaway, Happy Egg, Tracfone, Penske, Virginia Tourism, Science Moms, Donate Life, Now Upon a Time and the JFK Museum and Cultural Center and others.

The Martin Agency and GEICO are credited with pioneering a new way of advertising in the insurance category in the early 1990s, spawning a list of imitators in the category.[4]

Previous agency clients include: Walmart, Discover, NASCAR, Mercedes-Benz, Pizza Hut, Saab, Wrangler, CarFax, The Learning Channel, the American Cancer Society and others.

In 2009, Adweek named The Martin Agency as its "U.S. Agency of the Year."[1]

In 2020, Adweek again named The Martin Agency as its "U.S. Agency of the Year.".[5] Danny Robinson became the Agency's Chief Creative Officer in this year as well.[6]

In 2021, Adweek named The Martin Agency as its "U.S. Agency if the Year,"[7] only the third agency to win the honor in back-to-back years. Ad Age named The Martin Agency #8 on its annual A-List.[8]

• Chief Executive Officer, Kristen Cavallo (December 2017 to present). Notable accolades include being named executive of the year in 2019 by Ad Age[9] and was on Campaign US 40 Over 40 list in 2021.[10] Cavallo was previously SVP, Group Planning Director (1998 to 2005) and SVP, Planning and Development (2005 to 2011) at The Martin Agency.
• Chief Creative Officer, Danny Robinson (August 2020 to present).[11] Recent recognition includes Campaign US 40 Over 40[12] and Adweek 50.[13] Robinson was previously Chief Client Officer (May 2018 to August 2020) and SVP, Group Creative Director (October 2004 to May 2018) at The Martin Agency. Robinson co-founded agency Vigilante, best known for its Oprah Winfrey audience car giveaway with Pontiac, in 1997.[14]
• Chief Culture Officer, Carmina Ortiz Drummond (March 2018 to present). Under Drummond’s leadership, The Martin Agency was named Campaign US 2020 Talent Management Team of the Year.[15] Drummond was previously SVP/Managing Director/Agency Operations (2017 and 2018) and SVP/Director of Operations (2007 to 2017).
• Chief Strategy Officer, Elizabeth Paul (January 2020 to present). Paul was named Ad Age Creativity Award Chief Strategy Officer of the Year in 2021,[16] Campaign US 2019 Strategic Planner of the Year[17] and is chair of the 4As strategy committee. Paul spent a little over four years at MullenLowe in strategic roles, including as Chief Strategy Officer. At Martin, where she started her career, Paul was a Senior Strategic Planner (2008 to 2012), Strategic Planner (2006 to 2008) and New Business Strategist (2004 to 2006).
• Chief Financial Officer, Janet White (July 2013 to present). White was previously Controller (2006 to 2013), Finance Director (2003 to 2006), Assistant Controller (1999 to 2003) and Accountant (1992 to 1999).
• President, Chris Mumford (2018 to present). Mumford was previously EVP, Managing Director of Account Management (2003 to 2018) and Senior Account Executive (1997 to 2000). Mumford served in account leadership roles at FCB West (2000 and 2001) and The Johnson Group (2001 to 2003).
• Executive Creative Director, Managing Director, Jerry Hoak (2018 to present). Notable recognition includes one of Business Insider’s 24 Most Creative People in Advertising in 2015. Hoak worked on Google Android’s “Friends Furever” ad which was the most-shared in 2015.[18] Hoak partnered with copywriter Ray Del Savio on “Day One,” a well-received campaign for Prudential in 2014, calling it “unscripted, completely genuine, and as far from an ad as anything I’ve ever worked on.”[19] The ad was featured on an episode of Freakonomics.[20] Hoak previously served as SVP, Group Creative Director (2016 to 2018). Prior to Martin, Hoak was Group Creative Director (2015 and 2016), Creative Director (2013 and 2014), Associate Creative Director (2012 and 2013) and Art Director (2011 and 2012) at Droga5. Hoak was also an art director at TAXI and Ogilvy & Mather.
• EVP, Head of Production, Tasha Dean (2018 to present). Dean’s previous roles include: Director of Digital Operations and Digital Production (2013 to 2018) and Senior Digital Strategist & Executive Digital Producer (2012 and 2013) at TBWA\Chiat\Day in New York, Director of Digital Media Arts and Head of Production at TBWA Toronto (2010 to 2012). Dean was also an interactive producer at TAXI in Toronto (2007 to 2010).

• Virginia is for Lovers
• Nickelodeon "Because We Can"
• GEICO Cavemen[21]
• The GEICO Gecko[22]
• FreeCreditScore.com
• DoorDash #Openfordelivery [23]
• GEICO Best Of GEICO [24]

• Adweek U.S. Agency of the Year: 2009[25]
• Adweek U.S. Agency of the Year: 2020[5]
• Adweek U.S. Agency of the Year: 2021[7]
• Ad Age A-List: 2021[8]

• Martinagency.com
• "Clan of the Caveman" by Linda Tischler for FastCompany.com
• "Agency Profile: The Martin Agency" by Ignacio Oreamuno for ihaveanidea.com