Guest – Matt Williams


Matt joined The Martin Agency in 1991 as an account executive. He moved to the strategic planning department in 1995 and was named partner in 2005. We've yet to find something he can't do well. (Heck, he's even pretty good with both guitars and golf clubs. Which we all find very irritating.)

Since joining the agency, he's managed and led strategic development for accounts as diverse as Saab and UPS. He has led global strategy development for Saab, UPS and Credit Suisse, working with agencies in London, Stockholm, Frankfurt and the U.S., and has managed strategy on EFFIE-winning campaigns for UPS, Signet Bank, Bank One and GEICO Auto Insurance. He has received Account Planning awards from the American Association of Advertising Agencies for both Saab and UPS. And his work for GEICO contributed to the creation of a campaign that won direct marketing's highest award - the Diamond ECHO.

Matt began his career in advertising at Ketchum Advertising in Philadelphia. He holds an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and an undergraduate degree in marketing from The College of William & Mary. Matt is a contributing author Kellogg On Branding (Wiley & Sons, 2005). He has been a guest lecturer in account planning at the American Associat ion of Adve r t is ing Agenc ies , the Ame r ic an Market ing Associat ion and Vi rginia Commonwealth University Adcenter. He has also served as a judge for the EFFIE Awards and the US Account Planning Awards. Matt and his wife live in Richmond with their sons, Patrick and Ethan.