About Us
Who Is LAUNCH?
We’re smaller, which makes us both nimble and committed. We’re strategic, which should be a given. We’ve demonstrated success with the brands we’ve had the honor to work with. Our people represent a deep bench with experience across the marketing communications spectrum. And we’re ready to go.
The Flight Crew
Joe Garbarczyk Digital Strategy Manager
For over seven years, Joe Garbarczyk has worked on award-winning brands in numerous industries including CPG, retail, technology and insurance. Joe leverages considerable agency experience working with Fortune 500 companies on original brand content, social media, email, online advertising (display and rich media), website strategy, mobile, SEM and direct response campaigns. His diverse marketing skills include branding, analytics, media planning and project management. He has extensive knowledge of business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and international marketing and wide-ranging experience that he has fine-tuned over the years while working for agencies such as Digitas and OgilvyOne.
Wes Henry Senior Art Director
Wes Henry brings fresh, innovative design expertise to all areas of the digital world. As a “hybrid designer,” Wes has the ability to develop digital projects in a number of Web and scripting languages. He understands that having an underlying grip on user experience and interaction is essential in this age of design and usability. This understanding is clearly demonstrated in the large breadth of clients he has worked with, including Ball Park Franks, State Fair Brand, ACH, Sanford, BERNINA, EarthGrains and Quaker.
Kelly Juravic Senior Account Executive
Kelly cut her teeth as a key player on the ConAgra team. Working closely with the in-store, shopper marketing and shopper insights teams, Kelly compiled a deep understanding of the shopper mindset and retail environment. And through her work across a portfolio of 40+ brands, she had a hand in creating successful customer-specific programs via POS displays, category solutions, destination centers and aisle redesigns. For BERNINA USA, Kelly spearheaded the 2011 brand planning for all integrated consumer promotions and successfully fought for expanding the brand’s reach to new consumers via online and social media outlets.
Brie Gutmann Account Director
With a broad background in CPG promotions, sampling and event marketing, interactive marketing and radio, Brie is able to lend a valuable and varied expertise to a multiplicity of client service solutions. Brie graduated Columbia College Chicago and earned her stripes at Viacom, PromoWorks and Arc Worldwide before joining LAUNCH. In addition to a focus on food brands—including work with ConAgra, ACH Foods, Nestle, Del Monte and Coca-Cola—Brie has also brought promotions to life for Whirlpool, Purina and Motorola.
Ross Freedman Creative Director
As a copywriter, he’ll write it in 140 characters. Or 140 thousand. Or anything in between. But he’s also a strategist. Armed with a Master's in Marketing Communications from Northwestern University, Ross has been “in marketing communications” since the mid-1980s—at retail, and as a radio promotions director, legislative and campaign aide, account executive, strategist and marketing manager. Ross plied his trade at Frankel (now Arc Worldwide) and The Marketing Store, and as a freelancer with a host of Chicago-area companies (both agencies and brands). Ross works across the entire LAUNCH client roster, and counts McDonald’s, Jim Beam, Visa, Motorola, Coca-Cola, Ebay and Tropicana as past clients.
Kerry McCrory Digital Motion Art Director
Resident tech enthusiast who’s also known in these parts as the secret superhero Squirrelman, Kerry boasts two B.F.A. degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in Graphic Design and Art History (and a rich media minor). For the past few years, Kerry has brought his expertise to bear on every project that has required something to move in two or three dimensions, providing LAUNCH—and our clients—with some thrilling and consumer-motivating results. In addition to taking great appreciation for well-designed movie credits, Kerry would like you to know that he’s a Pisces.
Christine Monahan Creative Director
A wild imagination and passion for art led Christine from the Minneapolis area to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a B.F.A. More than a dozen years of font obsession later, Christine has leveraged her training and experience, elegantly translating business objectives into visual communication, client satisfaction and project success for a diverse range of client such as ConAgra, Sara Lee, Kraft, McDonald’s, S.C. Johnson, Discover Card and Mirage Resorts.
Erin Pearson Associate Creative Director
Erin drives award-winning creative from concept to completion across the in-store spectrum. Collaborating closely with the strategy and account teams when developing in-store elements and new business pitches, Erin has a keen design eye and an expert-level understanding of display structure. Putting her B.F.A. from Eastern Illinois University to good use, Erin has developed innovative solutions for clients like ConAgra, Epson, Alberto Culver, Kellogg’s, Sanford and Keebler.
Doug Miller Senior Art Director
With nearly two decades of experience in both the food & beverage and wine & spirits categories, Doug brings a vast knowledge, as well as an armful of branding and packaging awards, to his work at LAUNCH. Doug boasts a B.F.A. from Northern Illinois University, and has put his craft on display for clients like Keebler, Quaker Oats, Brach & Brock Confections, Ralcorp, and Beam Global Spirits and Wine. Current work includes packaging, branding, in-store displays and B2B materials for Sara Lee Brands, ConAgra Foods and PetSmart.
Grady Covington Account Director
Grady’s time in the Cleveland Indians’ farm system prepared him well for a career in marketing. Breaking into the industry in radio promotion, Grady ran sales events, concert coordination and marketing events. Called up to the “bigs,” Grady’s spent nearly a decade-and-a-half in event, experiential, consumer and retail marketing. His roster of clients includes Gatorade/Propel, Kellogg’s, Hamilton Beach, Office Max, Diageo, Equal, ESPN, Kraft, Discover Card, Pernod Ricard and MillerCoors.
Maura Duffy Account Supervisor
A proud Chicago native, Maura enthusiastically began her career as a production assistant on the hometown Sears account, but quickly learned that account management would be her yellow brick road. For the last 7+ years, she’s been doing just that. Armed with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Maura has experience in advertising, consumer promotions, digital, and shopper marketing for a variety of different brands including Hyundai Motor America, Dove, Suave, Sunsilk, Degree, Nestea Chilled, Kraft, Dairy Management Inc., CDW, Sanford, Oscar Mayer, Popeye’s Chicken and Biscuits, and Glade.
Rob Soltan Senior Copywriter
Rob’s more than eight years of copywriting experience has honed his verbally-assaultive creative wit for such recognizable names as ConAgra, American Licorice Co., Chevrolet, Nestlè and Kraft, to name a few. Brandishing a B.A. in Advertising from Michigan State, Rob packed his copywriting pencil and brought it down to the Miami Ad School for further sharpening. An adept ideator, Rob finds inspiration everywhere, and brings a sharp focus to thinking big.
Heather Magnussen
Vice President, Client Development & Strategy
In her leadership of LAUNCH’s account and planning teams, Heather’s unbounded enthusiasm to partner with clients positions LAUNCH to tackle any business challenge itching for an efficient and effective marketing solution. A graduate of DePaul University, Heather began her career 15 years ago as a market researcher—the kind of experience that grounds everything she does in a solid strategy. By adding event marketing and in-store promotion to her resume, Heather, along with her trademark sparkle, has become a shopper marketing sensei, building successful programs for such brands as G2-Gatorade, Kraft, DelMonte, Pepsi, Tropicana, Walmart, Tyson and Keebler. She knows intuitively what today’s impatient shoppers want next, and helps LAUNCH’s clients navigate shopper demand by encouraging communication that is both fundamentally strategic and more personal than ever.
Casey Aull Associate Designer/Digital
Drawing and dribbling are Casey’s two fortes. Sporting a B.F.A. from the University of Kansas, Casey is classically trained in Printmaking and Illustration, adding his deft touch to a variety of Sara Lee and BERNINA USA projects in his three years at LAUNCH—in both the print and digital realms. We like that Casey’s able to use his hands at work, something he’s not really allowed to do on the soccer pitch.
Jim Gelder
Vice President, Creative & Emerging Media
While growing up in New Jersey, Jim realized early on that there wasn’t much demand for the job of “superhero.” So instead, he followed in Darren Stephens’ footsteps—combining his own love of drawing and comic books—to work in advertising. Now Gelder is an accomplished and award-winning creative with a B.F.A. from Rutgers University. Jim boldly leads LAUNCH’s creative and digital teams in the development of strategically based creative solutions that demonstrably build brands and drive sales. An expert in creative direction and integrated marketing solutions, Jim has spent 18 years crafting in-store, branding and packaging, digital, mobile and promotional marketing. His roster of clients includes Pepsi, Visa, AT&T, Frito-Lay, U.S. Postal Service, The Centers for Disease Control, Tropicana, McDonald's, Staples, Corona, Keebler and Kellogg’s. Honors include a guest speaking slot at the 2011 PMA Conference and judging at the 2011 Reggie Awards.
Andrea Roth Associate Account Executive
One of our many University of Illinois alums, Andrea left Urbana-Champaign in 2010 with an Advertising & Business degree, landed an internship at LAUNCH, and was so impressive that we just couldn’t let her go. Since she arrived, Andrea’s been to “not enough” Cubs games for her liking, but has definitely played an instrumental role on the ConAgra and PetSmart teams. She’s also supported our work creating and developing the Salcomp brand.
Jamie Mack Account Executive
Growing up “in the business” and having the opportunity to attend brainstorms as part of “Take Your Daughter to Work Day” seem to have rubbed off on Jamie. After she received a B.A. in Art History (Dance minor) from Barnard College/Columbia University, a couple of agency internships after graduation confirmed that she belongs at an agency. Part of the LAUNCH family since 2009, Jamie’s main focus is our work with BERNINA USA, but she’s also provided account service to our Sara Lee, ConAgra, Cuisine Solutions, and American Girl clients. For the past year, Jamie’s been getting back to her dance roots, developing moves for a series called “Housercize.”
Collin Williams Financial Analyst
Collin holes up in LAUNCH Financial HQ, where his B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois has him ensuring we invoice on time and have money coming in. Since 2007, Collin has handled the monthly financials and a host of general office needs, including welcoming new hires and hounding the rest of the agency as sweetly as he can to make sure our timesheets are up to date. A sports fan to the core, Collin admits to spending “way too many” hours watching or attending Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs and Illini games.
Diana Maes Associate Designer
With us since 2010, Diana first came to LAUNCH as an intern right after receiving a B.S. in Advertising (Art History minor) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her role at LAUNCH sees Diana bringing in-store displays to life across our ConAgra client portfolio and working on other special projects. In addition to being creative on the job, Diana crafts, bakes and blogs on her own time (and though our waistlines would disagree, we enjoy partaking in the results of her handiwork).
Kevin Keating President
Defining his career with a passion for design and marketing innovation, Kevin has harnessed this passion to grow LAUNCH into an award-winning agency that’s consistently ranked in the Promo 100. As the leader and “chief vision officer” at LAUNCH, Kevin focuses wholeheartedly on strategy and client needs, and has expanded LAUNCH’s capabilities to keep pace with these needs. An expert in his field, Kevin is a graduate of both the University of Illinois and California State University (M.S.). His approach encourages retailers and brands to leverage their Owned Media and achieve stronger results at less cost than with paid or earned media. Kevin has also invested in the agency’s digital and mobile practices—they fit perfectly into the Owned Media model and create deeper engagements with shoppers, and deliver on a brand’s promise one-to-one. Kevin boasts experience on notable accounts such as Keebler, Kellogg’s and Mars Candy, among others.
Renee Perrino Marketing Coordinator
Renee joins LAUNCH straight out of DePaul University, where she received a B.A. in Public Relations and Advertising. As a contributor to LAUNCH’s New Business Group, Renee puts her internships at Radar Production Studios, Intersport Sports Marketing and Margie Korshak PR to great use, coordinating timelines, research and other key ingredients that ensure our workflow runs as smoothly as it possibly can.
Michael Leone Studio Director
First sowing his marketing “oats” at Quaker as an intern, Michael graduated DePaul University in 1987 with a B.A. in Advertising Art & Design. Throughout his career, Michael has worked to keep pace with technological changes and understands the craft of production quite directly. His background includes typesetting, traditional film stripping and assembly, a variety of printing output processes, electronic pre-press, mechanical art and keylining. Michael is also one of the few people in the world who are both Mac and PC, and he’s responsible for making sure LAUNCH’s servers stay cool when the heat is on.
Alex Buehler Studio Artist
Somewhere between the idea and the execution is where Alex resides. Armed with an oversized mouse pad, a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University, and a Graphics Design degree from Columbia College Chicago, Alex is a key player in making sure our work looks its best, with responsibilities including keylining, retouching, color correcting and building print-ready files for all of LAUNCH’s print work.
Victoria Vitsur Account Coordinator
Originally from Florida, Victoria gets plenty of sideways looks from her LAUNCH coworkers when she tells us how much she loves the snow and cold weather. Since 2010, Victoria’s snowphilia and B.S. in Advertising from the University of Florida have been our gain. Prior to her trek northward, Victoria provided some marketing expertise to Motivated Design and worked as a promotional specialist for Team Enterprises, an event and on-premise marketing company. Victoria currently works across a host of LAUNCH clients and splits her time with the Project Management group.
Eric Anderson Account Coordinator
We’re not sure if Eric is on “Team Jacob” or “Team Edward,” but we do know that he received his B.S. in Advertising from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. While an intern at Allied Integrated Marketing, Eric corresponded with businesses and bloggers about promotional opportunities for movies like Twilight: Eclipse, The Expendables, and Robin Hood. While in school, Eric was very active in the American Advertising Federation and was the Digital Team Leader, U of I National Student Advertising Competition. Now getting paid for his love of marketing, Eric coordinates our activities across quite a few LAUNCH clients, including ConAgra, PetSmart and Sara Lee.
