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The Martin Agency has elevated Jerry Hoak to chief creative officer. He takes over for Danny Robinson, who was promoted to CEO. The move will not be immediate, but during the transition period, Robinson will act as CEO/CCO.
Hoak is currently an executive creative director at the agency. He joined Martin in 2016 as svp, group creative director, working across multiple accounts and on new business.
During his eight-year tenure at Martin, Hoak has been a major contributor to agency growth, winning 18 new business pitches, with a nearly 90% win rate. He has led pitch teams that won signature clients including DoorDash, AB InBev, Carmax, Google and Papa Johns.
Hoak said he learned a great deal from Robinson and Karen Costello, who is now at Deutsch LA, that helped him take on his new role.
“Coming up with Karen and Danny, and just watching them lead with service and empathy and charisma has been a great learning curve for me,” Hoak told Adweek, adding that he learned drive and ambition from David Droga and Kristen Cavallo, who recently transitioned from Martin to MullenLowe. “I am hoping that I can combine the drive and the unrelenting ambition, but also with the empathy and making sure that we keep this culture as special as it is.”
Hoak has also been integral to Martin’s creative surge in recent years with activations and campaigns including Buffalo Wild Wings’ Jewel Stool, Door Dash’s #OpenForDelivery and Busch Light’s “Head for the Mountains” Super Bowl spot starring Kenny G. He was also an early adopter of the agency’s Cultural Impact Lab.
“What [his hiring] is really going to allow me to do is execute this job without worrying that the job I’m leaving isn’t in good hands. It was a really easy and obvious choice for me,” Robinson told Adweek.
Hoak’s work helped propel Martin to back-to-back ADWEEK U.S. Agency of the Year wins in 2020 and 2021.
Hoak began his career at Ogilvy as an art director, but also held positions at Taxi and Droga5 before joining Martin. At Droga5, his Titanium Lion winning work for Prudential’s Challenge Lab, which helped people imagine their future so they could plan accordingly, was featured on “Freakanomics” and led him to be named “One of the 24 Most Creative People in Advertising” by Business Insider. And his work for Android’s “Be Together, Not the Same” campaign, including films “Rock Paper Scissors” and “Friends Furever,” became internet sensations.
“It really makes me happy when the right things happen to good people,” said David Droga, CEO of Accenture Song who hired Hoak at Droga5. “Jerry is a wonderful talent and an even better human.”
