Leap Group

11/14/2024

We’re excited to announce that Leap Group was recently named a Davey Awards Visionary. Kenny Friedman, Executive Creative Director at Leap Group, spoke to the Davey Awards about Leap's creative ethos of making clients matter more to their audiences, how Leap anticipates a client’s needs before the client even knows them, and how AI is helping the creative team break down silos. ​

The Davey Awards are the largest and most prestigious competition for smaller creative agencies (you know, the “Davids” among the global agency “Goliaths”). Leap Group agencies have taken home more than 35 Davey Awards since 2020. Head over to the Davey Awards website to check out their great interview with Kenny! ​

https://bit.ly/3AuPYlM​
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11/12/2024

Leap Group’s agencies are growing by, well, leaps and bounds! Collectively, our agencies added 30 new employees last year alone. And since Leap attracts top talent from around the country, it’s not often we’re all in the same room together. So, at our annual in-person, network-wide gathering, Matter More, we showed this short video reel to introduce some of the smiling new faces we’ve seen in our Teams windows (or in one of our four different offices). Check it out and then head over to the Leap Group website to see our latest career opportunities!​
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11/07/2024

All the agencies in the Leap Group Network use the Slack platform so we can communicate, collaborate, and stay connected. But sometimes, well, things just get a little weird! Our internal marketing team put together a collection of our favorite one-liners, strange observations, and quirky remarks to share at Matter More, our all-agency in-person gathering that took place earlier this year. Check out some of Leap's Slack poetry!​

11/01/2024

🍾 We’re thrilled to announce that Leap Group agencies were awarded eight 2024 Davey Awards, including two Golds for AAF-Louisville's Battle of the Brands VR Experience and our mini-documentary City Spotlight: Decade. 🏆​
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Other winners include branding and campaign work for Pure Spout, design work for Atlas World Group, video work for Confluent Health, animation for Beacon Building Products, and another mini-doc from the (spark) studio. ​

The Davey Awards are the largest and most prestigious competition for smaller creative agencies, so we’re honored to add another eight wins to our growing collection of Davey Awards (more than 30 since 2020!). Congrats to all our winners! 🎉​

10/23/2024

Colleagues across all our agencies were together in Louisville last month for our annual Matter More — our yearly in-person gathering where we learn more about what our teams have been working on and where they’re headed in the coming year. Of course, we had plenty of time to mix, mingle and socialize, too! Here are a few photos from the event.​

10/09/2024

We’re super excited to announce that Kenny Friedman, Executive Creative Director at Leap Group, placed first in the Hive3 AI challenge, making it through increasingly competitive rounds of AI video submissions. Asked about the project, Kenny said, “I got to compete against some really talented folks and I saw AI change a ton in the year... I went from an AI video hater to a little bit of a fan.”​

Congrats, Kenny! We can’t wait for your next AI workshop here at the office.​
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10/01/2024

The Leap Group team is looking forward to returning to the CONNECT CMO Leadership Summit this month, both in person from October 6th – 8th in Chicago, Illinois and virtually from October 14th – 18th.​
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We’ll also be attending the GDS Group’s CMO Insight Summit from October 16th – 17th at the Ritz Carlton Tiburon in Naples, Florida.​
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There’s still time to register, so let us know if we’ll see you in person or online!​

Register for CONNECT CMO: https://bit.ly/4gQzKE3​
Register for GDS Group Summit: https://bit.ly/4gFjzsW​

09/11/2024

09/04/2024

It’s been more than a year since our beloved colleague Lillian passed away unexpectedly, but she’s never been more in our hearts. It was decided that we would dedicate the main conference room in our Louisville office to her memory. To inaugurate the new Lillian Winn Conference Room, we created this plaque and gathered to share stories, pay tribute, and of course crack open a few Coors Lights. Thank you for everything, Lillian.

08/26/2024

Did you know that Leap Group’s very first client (waaaay back in 1999) was based in Chicago? 25 years later, we’re thrilled to be back in Chicago in a big way, opening a permanent office for the dozen or so team members - including Executive Creative Director Kenny Friedman - who call the Windy City home.​

Several of the crew from Leap Group’s (spark) studio were recently in Chicago for some IRL collaboration, so we decided to pull out the camera and shoot some photos and video. Here are a few of our favorites from the day. ​

08/22/2024

At Leap Group, we’re all about open communication, transparency and opportunities for engagement. That’s why we gather a few times a year – most recently in July – for what we call our Town Hall Meetings. ​

It’s a time when all our agencies can discuss important information and updates, and a chance to provide transparent, real-time access to Leap’s principals and owners for feedback, dialogue, and Q&A.​
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We recognize that not everyone is comfortable speaking up in a public forum (especially if it’s about a thorny issue!), so we take anonymous questions in real time as a part of each meeting.​
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We’re grateful for the engaging discussions and honest feedback from everyone who participated, and look forward to the next town hall to come!​

08/14/2024

Two years in a row! We’re thrilled to announce that Leap Group has once again been named to the Inc. 5000 List for demonstrating 238% growth over the past three years. Last year alone, we added 30 new employees and signed 13 new clients, including being named Agency of Record for the American Kennel Club (AKC). And earlier this year, we added a new Chicago office to our current locations in Cincinnati, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Louisville, Kentucky.​

But as proud as we are of these accomplishments, it’s all the work we do, day in and day out, to help our clients make an impact and truly matter more, that matters more to us. Check out our website to see more recent client work and contact us to see how we can help your brand matter more.​

07/25/2024

We may not be the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., but we know our way around a crawfish boil! This Leap Group tradition was started years ago by (human)x principal Michael Wunsch, a proud graduate of Loyola New Orleans. Mike lived in New Orleans for several years after graduating, and we’re so happy he brought this Cajun tradition with him to Louisville.​

Check out some photos from this year’s Summer Crawfish Boil and take a look at our careers page if you’re interested in joining a hardworking team that knows how to have fun!​
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07/16/2024

Happy 25th Birthday to Us! 🥳​

That’s right, this month we’re celebrating a quarter century of helping our clients Matter More.​
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In July 1999, Alan Gilleo and Daniel Knapp took the big leap that created Leap Group, and ever since then, we’ve stayed fiercely independent within a changing advertising landscape and an increasingly competitive global market. ​
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Last year alone, Leap Group added 30 new employees, signed 13 new clients, and was named to the Inc. 5000 list in 2023 for demonstrating 238% growth over the past three years. In short, Leap Group is thriving — and we plan to do so for another 25 years. ​
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We have more anniversary news and celebrations to share, but in the meantime, here’s a fun look through the wayback machine at how our logo has evolved over the years. Cheers!​
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07/12/2024

🔥 So hot right now! 🔥 No, we’re not talking about the weather, we’re referring to the recent Hot 10 Awards dinner hosted by the Louisville chapter of the American Advertising Federation (AAF).​

Leap Group had not one, not two, but THREE team members nominated for this highly coveted (and super competitive!) honor: Blake Chadwick, Rachel Lauver and Michael Noble. The "Hot 10" awards chose to spotlight them as among the ten best and brightest advertising professionals 32 and under. Huge congrats to Rachel and Michael for taking home the award, and to Blake for representing the Leap Group with style! 🎉​
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07/09/2024

We’re excited to be returning to the virtual CONNECT CMO Summer | Online Marketing Leadership Summit from July 22-26.​

The digital event allows us to hear directly from a diverse range of CMOs about their toughest business challenges. All the agencies in the Leap Group Network are passionate about creating the authentic human experiences that make our clients matter more to their customers in a challenging market. ​

Head over to the Quartz Network website to register now, and make sure to let us know if we’ll see you later this month!​
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https://bit.ly/3zE3Tp2

06/19/2024

Leap Group agencies will be closed today to celebrate Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery on June 19, 1865. 

While our country has come a long way, we know there are still many opportunities to create a more just and equitable society for all. That’s why we implemented a robust, data-informed IE&D roadmap to create more diverse, equitable, and inclusive experiences and work at Leap.

As LGBTQ+ owned and women-owned businesses, we’ve always known that the diverse voices and perspectives that make up our group are what drive us to be most creative and impactful. We’re passionately committed to making our workplaces – both virtual and in-person – welcoming, safe and inclusive spaces where everyone feels empowered to do their best work. (And have fun doing it, too!)