Havas Chicago announced the appointment of Lance Koenig as the creative agency’s newest chief strategy officer.
The appointment comes on the heels of a series of five new business wins for the agencies Annex and Havas Chicago teams, including creative campaigns for community partners including The Museum of Science and Industry, Moors Brewing, Choose Chicago and The City of Chicago, alongside national vision care and eyewear company MyEyeDr.
“Havas Chicago is experiencing continued momentum in 2022 as we win new accounts and work on multiple creative campaigns that drive true impact in Chicago and the country as a whole,” said Myra Nussbaum, who expanded her chief creative officer role to include the president title in January of this year. “Our goal is to lead with creativity to make a meaningful difference for the brands and people we work with—and especially this year, that strategy is working.”
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Industry veteran brings new strategic lens to Chicago
Lance Koenig joins the Chicago agency’s executive leadership team after serving as the head of global strategy for The Martin Agency where he led strategy for major consumer and corporate partners since 2019. Prior leadership positions include senior strategy roles at Forsman & Bodenfors Toronto, Leo Burnett Chicago and DDB Chicago.
“The opportunity to work with Myra and all the incredible talent at Havas felt entrepreneurial to me,” shared Koenig, “It’s exciting to build on the office’s recent growth and drive impact for clients by pushing to be more ambitious in our approach—ultimately thinking and acting bigger.”
“I am thrilled to have a strategic partner that understands the importance of creativity in helping brands break through the cluttered media world we live in,” said Nussbaum. “Lance and I will continue to shape the strategic vision for Havas Chicago by utilizing data, CX and rich consumer insights to deliver meaningful brand ideas to our clients that move their businesses forward.”
Creative campaigns kick off the year
Following the success of the 150th Anniversary Inheritance Pass campaign for Yellowstone Forever—a legacy park access pass only redeemable in 150 years in 2172, that garnered significant national and global attention—Havas Chicago plans to make waves in Chicago in a similar fashion. The agency, including its Annex team, was recently awarded multiple Chicago-based new business wins including work with local tourism organization Choose Chicago, an anti-violence campaign for The City of Chicago, Black-owned craft brewery Moors Brewing and new campaign work for The Museum of Science and Industry.
“Having the opportunity to pitch and successfully win Chicago-based work is invigorating for our team, because we get to see the direct impact of the campaigns,” notes Jamie McGarry, Havas Chicago chief growth officer and Chicago native. “Our agency has deep roots in Chicago, and we are committed to making positive contributions to the city we love. We are thrilled anytime that we can make an impact through creativity.”
The agency is also celebrating its national wins, including agency of record following a competitive pitch process for MyEyeDr– a premier vision care and eyewear company.
“The Havas team brought us the perfect blend of art and science. Their idea was both aspirational and true to our core values and mission and can work for years to come, bringing to life our entire consumer journey in the most insightful ways,” shared Noha Abdalla, MED and chief marketing officer of MyEyeDr.
