Husband-and-Wife Team Barbara Yolles and Bill Ludwig Launch New Concept to Redefine the Traditional Ad Agency

BINGHAM FARMS, Mich., Aug. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Barbara Yolles, a 30-year advertising industry veteran, and Bill Ludwig, former Chief Creative Officer and CEO of global firm Campbell Ewald (CE), have launched LUDWIG+, a full-service, woman-owned, brand transformation and business acceleration company.

Yolles will serve as owner and CEO, and Ludwig as Creative Chairman. At launch, they will lead more than 25 team members and seven clients, including 21^st Century Oncology, Orlans Group, Trademark and TMS, among other multi-industry clients.

"We have to evolve from 'brand cop' to 'brand and business conductor,'" said Yolles, noting that the role of the marketing department must change to adapt to the downward pressure on modern CMOs. "We have to reimagine the category, inspire advocacy and brand champions, rally the entire organization, and develop growth strategies in which every effort and every action is purposeful and driving ROI."

Prior to LUDWIG+, Yolles served as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for TMS, a national mortgage lender, as well as United Shore and United Wholesale Mortgage, the nation's No. 1 wholesale lender, where she orchestrated brand and business strategies that yielded significant growth for both brands. Previously, she served as Chief Marketing Officer for Campbell Ewald, Chief Growth Officer for McCann NA, and EVP/Client Service Director of Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal. Throughout her career, Yolles has earned numerous awards and accolades, which include being named to HousingWire Women of Influence, Esteemed Women of Michigan and Adweek First Mover.

Ludwig has worked as a brand consultant to many of the aforementioned clients, as well as other prestigious financial services, entertainment and automotive clients since leaving Campbell Ewald in July 2013. At CE, he rose through ranks from copywriter to Chief Creative Officer to CEO. Ludwig is a highly decorated strategic and creative visionary talent whose many awards and honors include being inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement, serving as U.S. Judge at Cannes and appointed Chair of the Michigan Film Office by Gov. Rick Snyder. 

"Stepping away from the big agency/holding company model was eye opening," Ludwig said. "Even respected agencies that I admire were a mile wide and an inch deep. At LUDWIG+, we immerse ourselves in all aspects of an organization and their operations– from new products and services to call center scripts - and we are passionate about creating big, industry-defining brands that change the language of the category and the fate of the business."

Beyond the two principals, LUDWIG+ has assembled a team of top professionals who include Jennifer Grasso, Executive Creative Director; Steve Platto, Creative Director; Eric Livingston, Creative Director, and Chip Humitz, Strategic Planning Director.

"With this powerhouse team of industry visionaries, we're confident in our ability to become a driving force for purposeful change and growth," Yolles said.

LUDWIG+ brings a collaborative, inter-disciplinary approach to its work. Its capabilities include brand image, positioning and architecture; strategy; creative; technology product and development; media planning and buying; digital and social; production, video, editing and animation; and public relations.

"Working with Bill and Barbara has been defining for our business and redefining for our category," said Darius Mirshahzadeh, CEO of TMS. "Not only did they rebrand TMS, map out our growth strategy and position us as an industry leader, but they helped forever change the landscape of the mortgage industry."

Jon Forst, founder of Trademark, a San Francisco-based experiential marketing and event provider, said he selected LUDWIG+ for its innovative approach and desire to change the status quo.

"After an exhaustive search of the hottest creative boutiques in New York and San Francisco, we hired LUDWIG+ because of their ability to change the language of a category," Forst said.  

About LUDWIG+
LUDWIG+ is a full-service, women-owned, brand transformation and business acceleration marketing company that excels in mind-blowing digital technology, infectious social media, brilliant strategic planning, laser-focused media planning, efficient media buying, insightful analytics, and wicked-good creative that contains all those valuable keywords, like the ones found in this long run-on sentence, to drive SEO/SEM. LUDWIG+ is headquartered in Metro Detroit. For more information, go to LUDWIG+

Contact:
Kelli Cesarz
[email protected]

SOURCE LUDWIG+