Overview

Company Summary

McKinney is a creative, media, and influencer agency that gets attention for brands. It is one of Ad Age's 2024 Best Places to Work and a 2024 A-List Agency Standout, reinforcing the agency’s commitment to providing an exceptional workplace culture where employees thrive and creativity flourishes. McKinney has offices across the country, including Durham, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and New York, McKinney has been recognized by Cannes Lions, Effies, The One Show, D&AD, ANDY, CLIO, LIA, the Shortys, and The Webby Awards, among others. Current client partners include brands such as Popeyes, Blue Diamond Growers, Little Caesars, Pampers, Henkel, Samsung, Indivior, Sherwin-Williams, Biogen and the Ad Council. For more information, visit mckinney.com.

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Staff

Total Number of Employees

Office Employees: 201-500
Total US: 201-500
Total Worldwide: 500+

Joe Maglio
Chief Executive Officer
Joe became CEO in October of 2018 — the fifth CEO in McKinney’s 52-year history (and the first to live outside of our Durham HQ by way of Connecticut). Since then, the agency has enjoyed new partnerships with Pampers, Little Caesars, Netflix, Choice Hotels, ESPN, People’s United Bank, Stop & Shop, and others. Prior to McKinney, Joe was managing director at Havas NY, where he oversaw a portfolio of clients across packaged goods, financial services, travel, and food & beverage. He has also held leadership roles at agencies such as Publicis and Ogilvy. Other ventures include founding a food concept in Yankee Stadium, film production, angel investing and charitable work, specifically serving on the advisory board of the NYC organization Hoodies for the Homeless.

Gretchen Walsh
President
Gretchen has spent her career helping design, successfully launch, and nurture ideas at some of the most creative shops in the business. Her experience covers brands such as Levi’s, Coors, HP, MTV, eBay, Hotwire, Nationwide Financial, E*TRADE, Adobe, and Choice Hotels. After starting her career in San Francisco at FCB and Goodby, Gretchen joined The Martin Agency. In 2004, she joined McKinney, spending time honing her skills in media, strategy, and account management before being named chief client officer late last year. Gretchen’s role is to identify opportunities with our clients to generate growth for their brands. It is fair to say more than a few of those opportunities have been thought up on weekend marathon training runs. Gretchen serves as a Girls on the Run coach and is an active volunteer for PORCH, a grassroots hunger-relief organization in Chapel Hill.

Jasmine Dadlani
Chief Strategy Officer
Jasmine joined McKinney in early 2018 as Director of Strategy before being promoted to Chief Strategy Officer in late 2020. Her strategic insights have led McKinney to Little Caesars, Pampers, People's United Bank, and Stop & Shop wins. In her 20-plus years in the business, Jasmine has worked at some of the best strategic and creative agencies, including Chiat\Day, Arnold, Deutsch, and Cramer-Krasselt. She has driven successful brand and business growth for a diverse range of clients, including Domino’s, Yellowtail Wine, Kraft, IKEA, Patrón, and Nikon. Her inspiration for consumer insights comes from a myriad of sources — from observations on the subway to the field of behavioral psychology. Although not a cook, she loves all things food, and for over a decade has served as a guest lecturer for the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City.

Chandra Guinn
Executive Director, D, E, & I
Chandra joined McKinney from Duke University, where she was Director of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture. In that role, she provided leadership and direction while also curating Black intellectual, cultural, and historical offerings, helping cultivate young people prepare to change the world. At McKinney, she helps create greater diversity, enhance belonging, and provide clarity around systems to ensure that equity is experienced at every level of the agency. Chandra received her B.A. from Bucknell University and a master’s degree from the UNC at Chapel Hill in sociology. Other than working to change the world, Chandra enjoys cooking, playing with her six-and-a-half-pound Yorkie, Max, traveling, and listening to podcasts.

Swapnil Patel
Managing Director
Over the past 19 years, Swap and his teams have managed the complex media needs of brands across numerous categories, from brands that spend hundreds of millions in broadcast inventory, like Domino’s, Nationwide, and Lowe’s Home Improvement, to those that rely more heavily on digital media, like Sherwin-Williams, PopSockets, and Crocs. He joined McKinney in 2012, coming from CP+B, where he spent almost nine years working alongside in-house creatives, strategists, and account leaders. Swap is an ardent believer in the creative power of media and loves connecting ideas to new and emerging media platforms. Swap is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan.

Walt Barron
Managing Director
Walt joined McKinney in 2005 as an account planner from McGarrah Jessee after being a Capitol Hill reporter during the Clinton years. He brought experience working on brands like Whataburger, Zatarain’s, and Shiner Beer. From 2015 through 2021 he served as Chief Strategy Officer where he brought insight and ideas to our clients with a collaborative and humble approach to iconic brands like ESPN, fast-moving technology companies like Samsung, and complex retail operations like Choice Hotels. In 2021, Walt was named Managing Director where he will continue to deliver his thoughtful insights to both prospective clients and the McKinney teams. Walt is a native of the Volunteer state and a graduate of Davidson College and the VCU Brandcenter.

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Clients and Brands

Client & Brands	Start Date
Little Caesars Little Caesars	N/A
Samsung US, Global	N/A
Stop & Shop Stop & Shop	N/A
Choice Hotels International Choice Hotels International	N/A
PulteGroup PulteGroup	N/A
Next Gen Personal Finance Next Gen Personal Finance	N/A
Procter & Gamble Pampers	N/A
ESPN College Sports, ACC Network, SEC Network, College Football Playoff	N/A
Sherwin-Williams Sherwin-Williams	N/A
Popeyes Popeyes Popeyes Popeyes Louisiana Chicken	N/A
Blue Diamond Growers Blue Diamond Almonds	N/A

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Billings & Revenue

Billing / Revenue Ranges	Number of Clients

Total Gross Media Placed by this Office

Allocation Percent of Media Placed by this Office
Local Broadcast: 30%
National Broadcast: 12%
Digital: 48%
Print: 6%
Out of Home: 4%

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Types of Services

Service Offering	Revenue
Advertising - General Market/ Traditional	42
Media Planning	18
Social Media	12
Digital/Interactive | Blogging Discussion Forums, Community Building	9
Media Buying	7
Direct Marketing	6
Digital/Interactive | Website Development, Hosting, Monitoring	4
Marketing Data Analytics	2

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Industry Experience

Media | broadcasting
Education
Apparel & Fashion | footwear
Non-profit, associations & public services
Technology | communications
Travel | hotels & resorts
Gasoline/Petroleum
Food & Beverage | soft drinks
Technology | .com business
Industrial, Manufacturing & chemicals
Travel | tourism
Technology | consumer electronics
Financial services | Banking - Consumer
Appliances
Food & Beverage | alcoholic beverages
Travel | airlines
Apparel & Fashion | apparel
Technology | electronics
Automotive | vehicles
Financial services | insurance
Entertainment & Culture | motion pictures
Consumer Services
Food & Beverage | pet food
Home Products | housewares
Telecommunications
Financial services | investments
Luxury & Imported products
Food & Beverage | food
Home Products | Home Improvements (hardware, paint, plumbing, gardening)
Home Products | home furnishings
Recreation & Sports | sporting goods
Restaurants
Household Supplies
Real Estate | buildings & construction
Retail
Automotive | aftermarket

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