Lauren Hystead and Lauren Swago have joined Chicago-based agency SOCIALDEVIANT as associate creative directors who will work across multiple pieces of new business.
Hystead and Swago first worked together at FCB Chicago from 2012-15, where their creative director thought it would be fun for two Laurens to work together–with Hystead as copywriter and Swago as art director. Their work together proved so successful that they joined Chicago’s Trisect Agency as a creative team in Dec. 2015, where they remained through 2018.
What started as a project for Valsar Paint developed into a partnership for the Laurens that’s going on six years and their third agency together. Other clients the pair has worked on include Kmart, Slim Jim, and the Chicago Bears.
“From our first conversation with agency president Linda Johnson and COO Dave Shuck, we could feel the energy of SOCIALDEVIANT,” said Hystead. “There’s an immediate sense that big things are brewing and we really just want to be a part of that.”
Added Swago, “With all the work coming in, we’re excited for the opportunity to help SOCIALDEVIANT expand their capabilities and grow relationships with new and existing clients.”
According to agency CEO and founder Marc Landsberg, SOCIALDEVIANT’s revenues shot up by almost 70% in 2018 (fueled by the win of seven new clients in recent months, including CareerBuilder, E.& J. Gallo and The Disney Channel). This growth led the agency to actively recruit to fill these and several more roles.
Hystead graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a B.A. in journalism and strategic communication in 2011, joining FCB Chicago shortly after graduation.
Swago attended the University of Georgia, graduating with a B.B.A. in finance in 2007. She taught English for a year before switching gears and attending The Creative Circus from 2010-12. She landed at FCB Chicago in Aug. 2012, where the seeds of the Hystead-Swago creative partnership then took root.
Kamala Harris Receives Chairman’s Prize At NAACP Image Awards
Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped on the NAACP Image Awards stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump.
"While we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter in our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the oval office nor by the wealthiest among us," Harris said after receiving the NAACP's Chairman's Award. "The American story will be written by you. Written by us. By we the people."
The 56th annual Image Awards was held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the Los Angeles area.
Harris, defeated by Trump in last year's presidential election, was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president. She had previously been a U.S. senator from California and the state's attorney general.
In her first major public appearance since leaving office, Harris did not reference her election loss or Trump's actions since entering the Oval Office, although Trump mocked her earlier in the day at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Harris spoke about eternal vigilance, the price of liberty, staying alert, seeking the truth and America's future.
"Some see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy and ask 'What do we do now?'" Harris said. "But we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before. And we will do it again. We use our power. We organize, mobilize. We educate. We advocate. Our power has never come from having an easy path."
Other winners of the Chairman's prize have included former... Read More