Magic Camp

We made it into Ad Age! A bucket list for Magic Camp 🥂 😍 From the beginning, we've believed that the advertising industry doesn't have a talent problem. And that's pretty evident when you look at the list of amazing, brave individuals starting their own shops in hopes to make this industry better. Thank you to Lindsay Rittenhouse for giving such an honest overview of the founder journey. Starting an agency doesn't have a rubric, checklist or clear path to success. And so much of our success so far can be attributed to fellow founders that have championed us both behind the scenes and on stages. So, if we can provide any support, ideas, or information to make this journey a little easier, our DMs are open! https://lnkd.in/eqz7aGyj

We've had a 4-day work week model (the day is currently flex) since we launched in March, and so far so good! Working smarter and with more passion, doesn't have to mean more hours. We believe that if our teams are filled up and trust each other, and our clients, our work is better. Plus, when you get a day to get all your "life errands: done, you actually get to rest and recover over the weekend. Thank you for chatting with us Ewan Larkin and big shout out to the other Indies trying to make advertising a happier, more fulfilling industry!

Love this clashing piece from our brilliant Founder, Holly Willis. The stories of how & why many of us end up in the ad industry are good ones— often nuanced, sometimes weird. Many times they’re about misfits trying to fit into the business world. This time it’s about putting together mismatched puzzle pieces and making something magical, perhaps all for the sake of trying to find joyful refuge for the people around you 💫 🌪 ✨ https://lnkd.in/gVHWSfXf

Think you know the best dip? Careful, those are #fightingwords! Mandi Bright, our CCO, has been a dip aficionado long before #girldinner was trending. 🧀 🥑   Check out her Print Magazine interview for even more recipe inspiration.

The advertising industry is at a big inflection point and has lost a lot of its joy. Plus, less than 5% of investments go to female founders. But we hope to change that :) We couldn’t be more excited for the feature in Campaign US to help us launch. And the biggest thank you to Bailey Calfee! Let’s go make magic!

It’s official. Magic Camp is out of stealth mode. I’m thrilled for my friends Holly Willis & Mandi Bright on the launch of Magic Camp, a new, independent marketing & advertising agency thoughtfully designed to lead with transparency and a can-do spirit to build your brand easier and faster. Loren & I are the primary investors in Magic Camp & I’ve been personally helping them launch the company over the last several months (I even built them some cool AI tools, including a marketing brief generator I’m very proud of 😆.) I’m beyond impressed with Holly & Mandi’s experience, creativity & their vision for the company. They’re embracing positivity & action-oriented thinking to address longstanding issues that are plaguing the marketing & advertising world with a new agency model that will help their clients thrive & feel the magic. It’s really cool & I’m so excited to watch them grow Magic Camp into a powerful force for good. I’ll drop the link in the comments if you want to know more. LFG!

TLDR: today I’m launching a new agency with my partner-in-good, Mandi Bright! You're all invited to Magic Camp 😊 . A year ago I was burnt out, overwhelmed and had stopped learning. I quit my job and went to Mexico to celebrate my friend's wedding. It was also the first vacation of my adult life that I didn’t work - not a single email. We had a blast! But on that trip I also realized how much I had sacrificed for my career. At times advertising can be the best job in the world! At other times, it can be really brutal. Long days, tons of not-sexy travel, bad pay for a long time, and the need for super tough skin. And it usually incentives toughness and endurance over creativity and collaboration. IMO, we’re now only seeing the beginning of a big shift in the agency model. It’s led to tons of layoffs, unfair advantages, and a lot of people who are really unhappy all the time. And really tension-filled relationships with clients, that no one really talks about but everyone knows exists. But I’m not ready to give up on this industry yet, and especially don’t want to give up on the people in it. I’m a dreamer by nature. And my dream was to create an agency that people loved to work for and with, doesn’t sacrifice the quality of work, or the relationships with its clients, and everyone gets to keep learning and growing. So, I spent the last ten months in my “quiet era”: listening, lots of honest self-reflection (especially on how I benefited from/contributed to the model), therapy, meditation, and tons and tons of research. I came out on the other side with a pretty bleak overview of the advertising landscape, but with a lot of potential solutions that look at the systemic root of the issues. More importantly, I came out the other side a completely different person. My values are stronger, I’m healthier and far happier. That’s the best gift I could’ve been given. I hope that there’s a way to keep this industry going and still put people first. This is the best way I know how to start that trend and I don’t want to waste any more of my time not trying to create joy. The biggest of thank you's to Mandi Bright for being the best partner I could ask for! Mike Nellis and the team at Authentic for being the MOST incredible investor partners! Beau Oyler and the Enlisted Design team for the logo/design system of my dreams :) And the countless friends, colleagues and clients that listened to my dreams, let me listen to their experiences, gave advice, or found ways to champion behind the scenes, THANK YOU! Only a few ;) John Queally Kaitlyn O'Connell-Keleghan Mike Norgard Maggie Keen Caitlin Siracusa Gregory Dickinson Amanda Welsh Veronica Appleton, Ph.D. Anthony Tharpe Eric G. Jonathan Keating Johnny Gomolka Bianca Marcus Kim Laughlin Lizeth Medina Steven Piper Laura Welsh Chloé Mathieu-Phillips Nicole Hering Timothy DeRodeff Eric Zapfe Shelley A.D. Sandoval Michael Fox Michelle Parks Anne Kelly, CPA Sarah Gavish Strauss shawn bohigian Nikkie Jones