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The Aggie 100 honors the fastest growing Aggie owned or managed companies worldwide. Launch Agency was recognized as #51 on the list with a compound annual revenue growth rate of 28% from 2008 to 2010.
The Aggie 100 honors graduates from across disciplines and is a program created by the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship in Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School.
“We know how to get brands started, we know how to get them started again and we know how to keep them successful,” explains Michael Boone, Principal at Launch and 1984 Texas A&M graduate with a degree in marketing. “Thanks to a great roster of client partners and a very talented staff, we have grown each year we’ve been in business, especially the past few years. Inclusion in the Aggie 100 is recognition of that success.”
The official recognition came at a formal luncheon in the Zone Club at Kyle Field on the Texas A&M University campus. More than 600 honorees, employees, faculty, administrators, and well-wishers were in attendance.
“Since the founding of Texas A&M University, Aggies have been leaving a legacy across all businesses and industries,” said Dr. Richard H. Lester, Executive Director of the Mays Business School’s Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship. “Over the last seven years, the Aggie 100 companies have continuously proven that even in tough economic times, solid business ideas and hard work pay off.”
The Aggie 100 list in its entirety may be viewed at www.aggie100.com.
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Inc. magazine seeks to recognize and to celebrate the creativity, dedication, and hard work that entrepreneurs put into building their companies. The Inc. 5000 annually ranks the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. And for the second consecutive year, Launch was honored to make the list.
We moved up a few hundred spots, landing at #3145 for 2011. There are more than 27 million businesses registered in the U.S. so the ranking puts the agency in some lofty company.
The Inc. 5000 are catalysts for job creation and growth. In fact, the 5000 created 370,592 jobs in the last three years.
Launch Principals Michael Boone, Diane Seimetz and Dave Wilgus would like to thank Jane Berentson, Editor, Inc. magazine and her staff for the list and recognition. And, of course, credit goes to our client partners, and our creative, talented staff.
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Valerie Lyon, has rejoined Launch Agency working with the account service team, specializing in client service and business development.
A California native, Valerie graduated from Humboldt State University with a Journalism degree. She started her career in San Francisco at Ketchum Advertising in media planning. She then moved to Dallas to join Bozell, which became Temerlin McClain, where she led the national JCPenney business as Account Director for several years. Valerie was part of Launch in the early days, before joining the executive management team overseeing research, interactive and media services at Temerlin McClain. Most recently a SVP, Brand Development Director at FKM, Valerie is happy to be reunited with her former Launch colleagues.
Valerie is married with a teenage daughter. In her off time she enjoys hiking, cycling, reading and watching the sunset at Cedar Creek Lake.
Valerie Lyon
The Q&A provides insight into how Valerie’s mind works:
Q: Who would play you in feature film/tv movie of your life?
A: Diane Keaton
Q: Favorite piece of Art?
A: Handmade coffee mugs from Buck Pottery in Gruene, Texas
Q: Best weather?
A: See: Sonoma, California
Q: Guinness World Record potential?
A: Most time spent talking with strangers about cottage cheese
Welcome Valerie!
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For the past five years, Launch has awarded $1,000 scholarships to the top design and art direction portfolios at University of North Texas’ College of Art and Design. Based on a portfolio review, these scholarships are given to the design and art direction majors whom Launch representatives and UNT faculty recognize as having achieved an outstanding body of creative work. David Wilgus, agency principal and creative director, was on hand for the judging and to meet the winning students.
This year Aaron Kotara (left) was the winner of the 2011 Launch Agency award in Art Direction and Ashley Ayer (right) was the winner of the Graphic Design award. Eric Ligon (center) is the Associate Dean at the College of Visual Art and Design.
Kotara, Ligon and Ayer at UNT
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Launch Agency has once again added creative firepower with intern Jeffrey Rodriguez, aka “J-Rod 2.” (Art director Joanna Rodriguez has already claimed the original “J-Rod” moniker). A recent graduate from the University of North Texas, Jeffrey joins the team bringing with him his passion for graphic design.
A native of the Lone Star State, Jeffrey grew up in Plano, Texas. The Communication Design major studied typography, graphic design, packaging, publication design, art direction and AfterEffects motion in earning his degree.
Jeffrey’s other interests include discovering new music, hanging out with friends, working out, and — believe it or not — cleaning and organizing. He will also be Launch’s “go to” man when it comes to smooth R&B and Top 40 music.
We interrogated Jeffrey to figure out how this “neurotic” (his words, not ours) designer works:
Q: Most unique talent?
A: I’d like to think I’m a good whistler. Name a song!
Jeffrey Rodriquez, Launch Agency's cleanest creative
Q: Favorite kind of games? Board games, mind games, video games…?
A: I LOVE Scrabble/ or Words with Friends — any kind of word game.
Q: What is your favorite piece of art?
A: “The Great Wave of Kanagawa” by Hokusai
Q: Celebrity you’d most like to meet.
A: Beyonce Knowles
Q: What is your favorite children’s movie?
A: Disney Pixar’s “Up”
Q: Favorite inspirational rocket/space related saying?
A: “Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
Please join us in welcoming Jeffrey, along with his eye for graphic design and tidiness, to Launch.
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No question, advertising is an unusual industry. And in an appropriately “truth is stranger than fiction” moment, Launch Agency managed to win two prestigious awards from the Dallas Society for Visual Communicators this past Saturday for work promoting an entirely different award show, the 2011 Dallas ADDY Awards.
The winning entry was a video piece originally screened at the aforementioned ADDY event, titled “Suffer For Your Art Teaser Video.” This entry received a Gold Medal, as well as a Judge’s Choice award from judge Greta Ackerman, Associate Design Director at Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
The video focuses on some of the strange, silly and downright surreal moments that Dallas advertising notables have encountered during their time in the ad business. Launch principals/creative directors Diane Seimetz and David Wilgus created the video, with the help of acclaimed director Jeff Bednarz and Directorz executive producer Jeremy Besser, and also appear in it. Charlie Uniform Tango edited the piece, including the efforts of executive producer Lola Lott, editor Jack Waldrip, assistant editor Alex Campos and graphic artist Dave Slack. Launch principal, Michael Boone makes a cameo in the video as well.
Watch the winning entry here:
Suffer for Your Art Teaser Video
And check out more photos from the 43rd annual DSVC Professional Show:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/launchagency/sets/72157626889614148
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With the Texas summer heat also comes a new account service intern at Launch Agency. Rebecca Lauten is most easily described as a TCU grad, a native Texan and Chipotle’s most loyal customer. She graduated in May with a degree in Advertising/Public Relations from the Schieffer School of Journalism and a minor in Psychology of Leadership.
As a Horned Frog, Rebecca served as advertising intern at The Anew Women’s Group and marketing intern at DESIGN Duncan Miller Ullmann. She also studied abroad in Sydney, Australia for a semester. While Down Under, Rebecca studied Australian media when she wasn’t working on becoming a hardcore adventurer. Rebecca has described herself as “Christmas Day + Parks and Recreation Marathon + endless supply of fountain drink Diet Coke” excited about interning at Launch.
To better understand the mind of Launch’s newest intern, we gave her a Q&A so we could figure her out:
Rebecca Lauten
Q: Who would play you in the movie about your life?
A: Tina Majorino who played Deb in Napoleon Dynamite. I used to get asked constantly if I was the girl from Andre. Yes, the movie about a seal.
Q: Play, opera, or symphony? TV, movie, or concert?
A: Play and concert. No contest.
Q: Favorite kind of games?
A: Board games. Monopoly, Scrabble, Scene It…doesn’t matter since I always win. Unless it’s Risk, I never win at Risk.
Q: Celebrity you’d most like to meet.
A: John Krasinski. Mostly so I could give him a very thorough list of reasons to marry me.
Please join us in welcoming the newest member of the Launch Agency team.
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Launch Agency digital & social media planner, Alexandra Watson, just passed Google’s AdWords certification exams in advanced search engine marketing. She is now a Google AdWords certified professional. Alexandra was also awarded a DFWIMA (Dallas-Ft Worth Interactive Marketing Association) scholarship for excellence in interactive marketing.
Watson attended DFWIMA’s 2011 Excellence in Interactive Marketing awards dinner at the Dallas Museum of Art on April 19th, to be recognized as a scholarship recipient. The scholarship program is new to DFWIMA this year. The fund was established in 2010 to support the study of interactive marketing at DFW area universities. Outstanding students were selected by faculty nomination and included recipients from Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas at Dallas and University of North Texas. Watson was selected by Temerlin Advertising Institute faculty as SMU’s first recipient of this prestigious award.
Watson graduates from SMU in May 2011 with a Master’s degree in Advertising-New Media. She maintained a 4.0 grade point average while working full-time at Launch to build the digital and social media planning discipline at the agency.
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Launch principal David Wilgus has served on the University of North Texas CVAD board for the past two years.
“I’ve been a big fan of the school over the years,” UNT alum Wilgus said. “We’ve hired several art directors from their award-winning design program, and I’m always impressed by the talented students they produce.”
UNT’s College of Arts and Design is considered one of the best art schools in the southwest, offering 30 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Wilgus has been closely involved in helping the school launch its new Design Research Center (DRC) in downtown Dallas. The DRC opened in January to serve as an “urban laboratory” where graduate students and faculty members can spark and sustain design-driven solutions to real world problems.
To learn more about UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design visit http://www.art.unt.edu.
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Launch’s 2011 winning streak continued with four awards at the Tenth District ADDY Awards, held Friday in Oklahoma City. The Tenth District of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) represents the affiliate advertising clubs and federations of the AAF in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.
This time around, the Launch Agency trophy haul included a gold for its “Guillotine” poster, created for the 2011 Dallas ADDY Awards, as well as a silver for the overall “Suffer for Your Art” Dallas ADDYs poster campaign. Launch also took home two silver trophies for its Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County public service posters, titled “Bear” and “Robot.”
As a result of these wins, all four awarded pieces now move on to the National ADDY Awards as finalists. The winning work will be judged in San Diego and announced in early June. Here’s hoping the streak continues.
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