With the holidays approaching, we thought we’d take a moment to introduce Launch Marketing’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chris Leger. Following his acquisition of the agency in October, Leger became CEO and hit the ground running. With this exciting change, we wanted to give you, our audience, partners, clients and more, the inside scoop on who Chris is and what is on the horizon for Launch Marketing. To get that scoop, we interviewed him! Read on to learn more about Chris and what he has in store for Launch.
Can you share a little about your career journey and what led you to the opportunity to become Launch Marketing’s new CEO?
Chris: I started my career after graduating from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, and found myself almost immediately in the B2B marketing world. My first role was in customer service/sales on the events side of things at IDG’s (now Foundry) Computerworld. As my journey with Computerworld continued to develop, I moved into more of a sales role, creating a custom event product line, and eventually transitioning from events to the digital marketing and lead generation team. It was then that I started to really embrace more of a sales and marketing-focused interest, learning so much about how technology companies engage their prospects.
In 2012, I found myself in the agency world, joining DWA in Singapore, which was later acquired by Merkle. In 2017, I moved to Texas and started DWA’s Austin office, which in two years, grew to become the largest DWA office in the world. After 10 years driving agency growth across some of the largest brands in technology, I found myself wanting to do something different, something smaller and where I could get back to feeling the impact of the work we were having for our clients. Fortunately, with the help of my network, the opportunity to acquire Launch Marketing came up. It was everything I was looking for if I were to start my own agency but had a long history, a great reputation and a killer team. Excited about the possibilities, I took the risk on October 1st and haven’t looked back!
What excites you about Launch Marketing? What do you think sets Launch apart in the industry?
Chris: What excites me the most is the amazing people I get to work with every day – our team, and our diverse clients! The Launch team is such a fun, super-smart group of marketers. I will say that I am learning A LOT. I am getting closer to the upfront work, such as working with clients on branding and messaging – it’s a bit of a departure from my previous roles focused more on media investment. Aside from the great team, what sets Launch apart, is that we have a specific ideal customer profile (ICP), which enables us to focus on what we’re great at. There are a lot of organizations in this ICP that need resources and could use marketing help whether they know it or not. If Launch continues to remain focused on who we can help drive results for, we are set up for great opportunities and continued success.
What is your vision for the company in the upcoming years?
Chris: Growth. I’m always focused on growth and with Launch Marketing, that means honing our message and expanding both our service offerings and geographical footprint. Launch’s expertise is the ability to become a VP of Marketing, or marketing team for our clients to meet their needs and work proactively as part of the leadership team to drive results. When you hire Launch Marketing you not only have a VP of Marketing, but you also have a Designer, Project Manager, Content Writer and much more. Our experience and agility enable us to work quickly and with the utmost quality. As we sharpen our messaging, growth will happen for us, and our customers.
Aside from focusing on our mission and messaging, I also see us adding more media services, technology and marketing automation and demand-gen capabilities to our portfolio. Adding these will diversify us even more and bring something else to the table with clients.
Lastly, I see the company expanding its footprint. Many of our clients are local to Austin, but it’s a big world out there. There are so many opportunities, and I am excited to see how Launch can expand, both domestically and internationally. Plus, I’ve heard that Europe is a popular travel destination for many team members!
What changes do you believe will impact the clients the most?
Chris: With the vision to add new services, I think this will deliver results for our clients’ pipelines and growth. As we make additions and continue to focus our expertise, one thing that will impact clients is a deeper focus on, and understanding of, data and metrics. While Launch is already a full-service firm, I want to continue this emphasis and show prospects that from start to finish, Launch Marketing can handle everything from strategy to execution with demonstrable results.
Let’s get personal!
What is your favorite vacation spot or place you have traveled to?
Chris: Fun fact, I’ve been to more countries than I have states, so there are lots of amazing places to choose from. I would say my favorite spot is San Jose del Cabo in Mexico. Mexico is such an amazing country, and I enjoy how close it is and how you can go from a big city to a small village, have amazing food and beaches to unwind. If I get to pick two spots, my second favorite place to be is London.
What are some of your favorite Austin things?
Chris: As a Massachusetts native, Austin weather is top of the list. There’s also so much to take advantage of like Austin City Limits (ACL), which is a yearly tradition. Between the planning, spending countless hours discovering new artists and spending three days outside with the crowds, it’s one of my favorite times of the year. When I’m not heading out for a concert, I play golf, explore Austin’s incredible restaurant scene and spend time with my two incredible kids.
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