Pioneer of Military Recruitment Advertising Passes Baton to Next Generation

After a 35-year career in military recruitment advertising, including the past 13 years as president and co-founder of the agency that begins with the initial of his last name, Doug Laughlin of LM&O Advertising, Inc. today announced his retirement from day-to-day management of his full-service marketing and communications shop.

Doug Laughlin will assume the newly created role of chairman, LM&O Advertising, Inc. as he hands over the agency’s operational reins to son, Chris Laughlin, who is now president, LM&O Advertising, Inc., effective immediately.

“I am so very proud of the independent agency that my original partners, Dave Marinaccio and Ron Owens, and I were able to build from the ground up,” said Doug Laughlin. “And I could not be more excited than to turn over management of the agency to my son Chris, who has cut his teeth over the years in nearly every facet of our business.”

The elder Laughlin launched his career in 1964 at Griswold-Eshleman Advertising in Cleveland where his clients included WGAR Radio (and a very young DJ named Don Imus), General Electric, Stouffer Foods and National Acme Machine Tools.

He was called to service in the U.S. Army in 1966 and was named Deputy Chief, Community Relations, U.S. Army Europe. Taking an unprecedented assignment for a junior officer, Laughlin planned and organized over 100 public affairs events throughout Europe.

He left the Army in 1969 and joined Ayer, Inc. (then N.W. Ayer & Son) at the inception of the all-volunteer Army. In 1981, Laughlin moved to D'Arcy, McManus, Benton & Bowles to lead the U.S. Air Force account and later, the 1984 Olympic Gold Coin Program (U.S. Mint).

Laughlin joined Bozell Worldwide, Inc. in 1985 to organize their Public Sector Marketing Group, managing offices in New York, Dallas, and Washington, D.C. and advertising campaigns for the U.S. Air Force, National Guard Bureau and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Division.

In 1996, the Madison Avenue man bought out Bozell’s DC office and formed Laughlin, Marinaccio & Owens (now known as LM&O Advertising, Inc.). The National Guard Bureau had been one of his Bozell’s clients and chose to follow Laughlin and co-founder/creative director Dave Marinnacio, becoming LM&O’s first major client. The National Guard remains a client today and LM&O is currently conducting advertising and promotional campaigns for both the Air and Army National Guard in all 50 states and the four U.S. territories.

Over the past decade, the full-service agency has become one of the top-billing firms in Washington and has created campaigns for clients such as Chevy Chase Bank, the Washington, DC Area Metro System, Virginia Railway Express, Arlington County Commuter Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Bell Atlantic Federal (now Verizon) among others. It has also been the pro bono agency for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the National Capital Area for the past 8 years.

“It seems like yesterday that we were sitting in an empty suite waiting for the desks to arrive,” said Laughlin. “The years have flown by, but LM&O is a dream come true and I have enjoyed every minute of it.”

A seamless transition is assured; however, with the passing of the baton to son, Chris Laughlin, who most recently has served as the firm’s general manager.

“Chris has done an outstanding job serving our external clients and supporting the productivity of our internal team,” said the senior Laughlin. “Chris’ promotion is indicative not only of his outstanding personal accomplishment, but also of the strong growth of our agency and the diversification of our client base.”

Chris Laughlin first served at LM&O from 1996 to 1999, when he worked on all facets of the Army National Guard “You Can” campaign launch, including the critical role of lead processing and fulfillment.

Following a successful stint in San Francisco with eGroups.com and NBC Interactive, Chris Laughlin returned to northern Virginia and LM&O in 2001, where he has managed and supported numerous components of the agency business, including a successful building and repositioning of the agency’s Air National Guard client as a technologically advanced military branch of the 21st century.

Now, with nearly a dozen years of strong agency- and client-side performance under his belt, Chris Laughlin will lead a new phase of LM&O’s lifecycle, as a combination of military, federal government and private sector clients – local, national and international – will continue to provide the Arlington, VA-based agency with strong growth metrics and numerous ad industry awards.

“The legacy my father leaves at this agency goes far beyond the business success we have enjoyed, and the client satisfaction we have built,” said the junior Laughlin. “During a time when many firms of our size were selling to larger companies, we remained proudly independent and dedicated to developing our own talented group of employees. It has paid off tremendously, as we have one of the deepest rosters of agency talent in the Washington, DC market.”