company

“Advertising to women requires some insights that are often overlooked. All women are not the same. Each segment has a different point of view on everything that touches their lives.”

 

Senior Vice-President, Co-Director of Planning

Elissa brings with her an incredible wealth of strategic planning experience from working at J. Walter Thompson and Foote Cone & Belding. Part of her success includes helping launch Tombstone Pizza for Kraft and Quaker Granola Bar, as well as winning an Effie for marketing effectiveness with the introduction of Quaker Rice Cakes.

“This has been a fabulous, eye-opening experience. To make this work, you have to literally check your gender at the door.”

 

CEO/Co-Director of Strategic Planning

Troy was among the first American-born account planners to practice the discipline here in the U.S. when Fallon became one of the first U.S. agencies to embrace account planning. In addition to his planning background, Troy has logged time in nearly every agency discipline, most notably media and research and most recently in direct and interactive.

During his time at Campbell-Mithun and Fallon he had ample opportunity to grow in his understanding of women as the primary marketing targets for clients like General Mills, Kimberly Clark, Land O’ Lakes and Lee Jeans. This skill-set has been further refined at HY Connect working on our many entries in the home products, health care and quick service restaurant categories.

“I am surprised how much more we learn with each research study.”

 

Vice-President, Director of Research

Incorporating novel and creative ways to have people reveal their Inner Voice – their true, hidden attitudes – makes Ken a perfect fit for HYC’s marketing to women division. For the past six years he has spearheaded the design and analysis of our independent research endeavors. With a strong background in the Chicago market where he worked for most of the major brands at Foote Cone & Belding – including Citibank, Coors, Kraft, Sara Lee, Frito Lay, SC Johnson, Payless Shoes, Ace Hardware and Zenith Electronics – Ken is on the front line with this initiative.

“I see tremendous opportunity to take what we’ve been learning and apply it to areas outside the boundaries of advertising. Viral, Internet, promotions…you name it. The chance to bring innovative thinking in these areas to women had not been tapped as much as it could or should be.”

 

Senior Vice-President, Public Relations

Sharon’s background includes working on major brands like Birdseye, Hershey Foods, Rubbermaid Commercial Products and Lawn Boy. For nearly 20 years she has helped take “knotty problems” and find clear solutions to help clients succeed. And she views the question of marketing to women as just one more “knotty problem” for her to solve.

“What’s fascinating about consumers is that they are ever-changing, and the multitude of communication channels to reach those consumers continues to evolve. There’s nothing I like more than finding a better path.”

 

Vice-President, Associate Media Director

Emily’s experience brings more than just traditional solutions to media. Her constant exploration of new and better avenues including guerilla efforts and an understanding of emerging digital media brings an invaluable added asset: An open mind.
Having spent several years in Chicago working at BBDO, DDB and one of the world’s foremost media communications companies, OMD USA, Emily contributed to the success of leading brands like Dell computers, Northwestern Mutual and Wrigley. She’s since brought her passion to HY Connect for researching and tracking the connection between diverse audiences, especially women, and the media environments they are exposed to.

“Getting to know the product is important, but it’s more important to ask a million and one questions to understand the mindset of the consumer.”

 

Vice-President, Senior Artistic Designer

Laurette has the unique ability to take the analytical insights from research and infuse it with emotion that is both believable and moving. She has a very left-brain meets right-brain approach to finding the right images, colors and textures that will resonate with women.

In her 15-plus years in advertising she has learned a lot about both women and good design, and has been able to apply that knowledge to award-winning work for clients such as Merillat cabinetry, LG Electronics, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and KFC.

“More women than ever are using the Internet to shape, define and control their buying decisions. As advertisers, those of us in the interactive space have a unique opportunity to reach women in a very targeted way. We can communicate with them at precisely the right moment with precisely the right message thanks to social and mobile media.”

 

Associate Creative Director

Kristina has worked for both b-to-b and consumer focused agencies doing integrated campaigns across all media. She has experience in how to deliver impactful messaging while maintaining a strong brand perspective. Her current position focuses her experiences online. Her careful blending of design with user experience allows her and her team to bring positive, meaningful online interactions to consumers.

“Recreating the way I felt the first time I saw the Dove Real Beauty campaign is what drives me in this category. It was the first time I felt a ‘beauty product’ was speaking to me, and I was 20 years old! By really understanding the product and the audience, the team behind it created something both honest and aspirational. It was so simple but so groundbreaking. Every campaign deserves such insight and care, companies can’t afford to do things any other way.”

 

Account Supervisor – Public Relations

Kelley has spent her career getting people to talk about brands – through research-based campaigns, strategic events, media relations, social media with a cause and building relationships with key audiences. With a passion to know a client’s business and have honest conversations about the opportunities, she shepherds fresh and memorable ideas that build brands. Working on everything from chocolate to motorcycles, home appliances to baseball, Kelley knows marketing to women requires messaging as varied and colorful as, well, a Kaleidoscope.