About us
Launch is much more than our name. It’s what we do for brands big and small, new and old. Through creative marketing and branding services, we give them the boost they need to connect to the right audience at the right time in all the right places. Ready to come aboard one of the top ad agencies in Dallas? Let’s Launch.
Experience
We are a fiercely independent, full-service ad agency with over 60 years of combined experience launching and relaunching brands.
LAUNCHERS ARE HARD WORKERS, BIG THINKERS, STORYTELLERS, SEASONED PROBLEM SOLVERS AND PRACTICAL JOKESTERS. LAUNCHERS DEFINE US AS AN AGENCY. AND WE BELIEVE WHEN YOU TREAT THEM WELL, THEY TURN AROUND AND DO THE SAME FOR EVERY CLIENT THAT WALKS IN OUR DOOR.
Meet the Main Three: Back in the day an art director named David Wilgus met a copywriter named Diane Seimetz at a place called TracyLocke, where they rose the ranks and became a creative directing duo. Up next was Temerlin McClain (now TM) where they crossed paths with a media planner turned account guy named Michael Boone. The chemistry was instant. The creation of Launch would soon follow. Over 19 years later, these three are still having a blast with many of the same clients and crew that have been on this crazy ride with them right from the start.
Diane Seimetz
Principal
Diane Seimetz
Principal
A founding Launcher and award-winning copywriter by trade, Diane Seimetz is constantly making something. Be it ads, soaps, lotions or the latest gluten-free Instant Pot recipe. Her never-ending desire to create makes her our go-to gal when it comes to developing smart, clever strategic platforms that deliver results-driven ideas for our clients.
Throughout her years at TracyLocke, Temerlin McClain and Launch, Diane has worked on many local and national brands, such as Frito-Lay, American Airlines, Match.com, Sam’s Club, Promised Land Dairy and many others. And that work hasn’t gone unnoticed, with nods from The One Show, New York and International Festivals, the national ADDYs, Effies, and she was even named a Woman of Excellence by the National Association of Executive Women. But perhaps Diane’s most surprising accolade is her late-in-life culinary arts degree from the El Centro College of Food & Hospitality.
In her spare time (ahem, when most of us are sleeping), Diane serves on the board of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collin County, is a sponsor of the North Texas chapter of the Network of Executive Women and spearheads Informed Instinct, a brand consultancy that serves growing companies.
She’s married, with one husband, four children, five dogs and cats, and a partridge in a pear tree.
David Wilgus
Principal
David Wilgus
Principal
Dave is part creative director, part dad and part grandpa. This might surprise you, as Dave still has a righteous and enviable full head of hair. But even more impressive than that are all of the accounts and accolades Dave has racked up during his fruitful career at places like Temerlin McClain, TracyLocke and now Launch.
Dave’s lent his talents to such brands as American Airlines, Subaru of America, Pace Picante sauce, JCPenney, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, KinderCare, Bank of America, Paris Las Vegas Hotel and many more. For his efforts, he’s received many creative industry awards from the Clios, the New York Art Directors Show, International Festivals, and the national ADDY and Effie competitions. He is also past recipient of the Dallas Ad League’s Eagle Award for “Best Creative Director.”
A rare species known as a Dallas native married to a Dallas native, Dave and his wife are proud parents of four and grandparents of twelve. Dave currently serves on the board of the College of Visual Arts & Design at the University of North Texas, where Launch sponsors a merit-based scholarship for rising seniors: Launch-UNT Scholarship.
Michael Boone
Principal
Michael Boone
Principal
Michael Boone is married to Debbie Boone (not Debby Boone). Although she does light up his life and has done so for over 25 years. But that’s just a fun fact to start Michael’s bio.
Michael heads the account service arm at the agency. He actually started life as an assistant media planner at TracyLocke on the Taco Bell account. While flowcharts and long nights making endless last-minute revisions had their charms, an early career move to The Bloom Agency—now Publicis Hawkeye — would change his trajectory into account service. There and in subsequent roles at Dallas ad agencies Puskar Gibbon Chapin and The Maxfield Group as vice president and management supervisor, Michael collected a depth of experience in consumer packaged goods, retail, restaurant, telecommunications and hospitality industries.
Michael is the current chair of the 4A‘s Dallas Council Board of Governors. A ring-bearing Aggie and Jesuit High School grad, he and wife Debbie (an agency print producer and yoga instructor) have three children, none of whom are threatening to go into the ad biz. The couple is undecided on whether this is a fail or victory on their part.
Jason Giles
Principal/Account Director
Jason Giles
Principal/Account Director
Jason is an original Launcher. He’s a former car dealership dude turned account dude who is technically still a car dude since he owns three. When not dreaming about his next ride, Jason is looking for ways to improve business for key accounts like Baylor Scott & White Health and Park Place Dealerships. The results are always happy clients and impressive KPIs. Clients love Jason, coworkers too. In fact, he charmed one of our art directors into marrying him back in the day. They are still married and have an adorable little dude together.
Ray Ives
Principal/Controller
Ray Ives
Principal/Controller
Ray’s career in advertising started when media unbundling was still a concept, digital advertising wasn’t even on a sticky note yet, and the car phone was still cool. Throughout all this industry transformation, he has kept the business side of the business in order. After work, Ray lets his hair down on more than one type of green: He’s a former competitive tennis player and now an avid golfer. He and his wife have two children who have their own careers, one of which is in advertising.
April Steinbach
Principal/Group Creative Director
April Steinbach
Principal/Group Creative Director
April is a writer, creative director and semi-pro baker. She’s spent the last two decades creating and guiding campaigns for American Airlines, AT&T, Bank of America, Bausch + Lomb, Captain D’s Seafood Kitchen, Community Coffee, Discover Network, Japan Airlines, Match.com, Perot Museum of Nature and Science and Pier 1 Imports. She’s received high fives from Communication Arts, the New York Times, Ad Age Creativity, Webbys, DFWIMA and the AAF Addys. Her kids and hubby like her words, but probably love her cookies more.
Launch Sequence
Intelligence:
Customer Journey, Brand Audit, Competitive Review, War Room, Market Research, Customer Profile
Insights:
Key Document, Marketing Plan, Brand Affinity, Naming, Brand Story, Brand Architecture, Content Strategy, Brand Expression
Ideas:
Brand Identity, Graphic Standards, Customer Experience, Packaging, Advertising Campaign, Web Development, Mobile, SEO/SEM, Social Media, Email Marketing, Content Creation, 360-degree Media Planning
Impact:
Data Visualization/Analytics, CRM, Reputation Management/Local SEO
Culture
From Happy Hours to Hawaiian Shirt Thursdays, culture is a priority. Browse the gallery to see how hard we work at having fun at work.