Co-Founders
Any agency that touts itself as “The Planet’s Most Interesting Agency” is going to gain attention; however, in the case of Walton Isaacson, it’s particularly deserved.
In 2005, Aaron Walton and Cory Isaacson had a conversation about building a type of agency that didn’t exist—one that would indeed aspire to be the planet’s most interesting agency. Their discussion simply started with the kind of people they wanted to work with—as both believed that the right mix of individuals with culturally-diverse backgrounds would create larger, yet more inclusive, ideas.
From this spark of innovation, and the addition of a third partner, NBA Star, businessman and investor Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Walton Isaacson (WI) was formed in 2006 with four employees.
A provocative concept has now grown to a full-service advertising agency with nearly 150 employees and headquarters in both Los Angeles and Chicago with additional offices in New York, Miami and Tokyo. Earlier this year, Walton Isaacson was named to Inc. Magazine's 33rd annual ranking of the fastest growing private companies in the US. In 2013, the shop was named “Advertising Agency of the Year” by Black Enterprise, while Aaron Walton was selected by Ebony Magazine for their POWER 100 list. WI was an Ad Age “Small Agency” Winner in 2012.
What makes Walton Isaacson interesting is they go beyond being just a full-service advertising agency by providing strategic and creative solutions to some of the world's largest and most aggressive brand marketers. They also may help their clients as a brand-building agency, design shop, digital/social agency or venture-capital firm. Their agency model means marrying research and target marketing with creative design to influence consumer behavior. They have also expanded into content creation and development with Verses and Flow, an NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Image Award-nominated variety show for Lexus featuring poets and singers on TV One. Additionally, their expertise leverages sports, lifestyle, entertainment and pop-culture, as well as cultural relevance—back to the original kernel of their idea for creating a new agency—in General Market, Black, Hispanic and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender customer segments.
This forward-thinking approach of being a general market agency, a multicultural shop and a specialist in contemporary culture and lifestyle choices has won Walton Isaacson a stellar line-up of clients including: Lexus, Samsung, McDonald's, Wells Fargo, MillerCoors, Unilever's Degree, Suave and Clear brands, Beam Suntory's Skinnygirl Cocktails, Jim Beam, Courvoisier, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden's, 2 GINGERS® and Cruzan Rum, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hillshire Brands including Jimmy Dean, State Fair and Sara Lee Sweet Goods, One.org, The Los Angeles Dodgers and Avión Tequila.