Carmichael Lynch Names Neil Goodspeed Its First Chief Media Officer

Carmichael Lynch proudly announces the promotion of Neil Goodspeed to chief media officer. The agency’s media department has been an integrated offering at Carmichael Lynch since its inception, partnering across key departments including Creative, Strategy, Social, and Public Relations. Over the past two years, the team and its revenue have grown approximately 10%. Recently, the team won several marquee accounts, including United States Golf Association, Hi-Chew and Bush’s Beans, of which the agency is also strategy and creative AOR. Neil and his team will continue to work with agency clients as well as team up with other agencies across the network.

“This promotion reflects the hugely central role that Neil and his team play in our whole creative process at Carmichael Lynch,” Marty Senn, chief creative officer. “I’ve partnered with Neil for over a decade and have the benefit of seeing first-hand what happens when creative and media are genuinely joined at the hip. It allows the whole agency to expand our thinking past our individual disciplines and work on what’s best for an audience, what’s best for our clients, and make just about anything happen.”

At Carmichael Lynch, media is both a strategic and creative discipline. All teams start with a unifying brand idea to deliver a cohesive plan. In that process, Neil’s team takes an audience-first approach to media plans, which are platform-agnostic and enhanced by media partner collaborations. By connecting signals across platforms and mirroring consumer behaviour, they streamline the customer journey. The media team’s distinctive offering includes an internal trade desk with a hands-on keyboard approach that allows the team to activate high-value audiences and optimise in real time.

During Neil’s tenure, the department has been a seven-time winner of Adweek’s Media Plan of the Year, most recently winning Total Campaign $1 Million–$5 Million, Best Use of Branded Content/Entertainment in Campaigns Spending $1 Million–$2 Million for the Frigo “We Are All Cheese Heads” campaign. They are frequent winners at the MediaPost OMMAs, this year taking home Best in Show. He’s proud the agency has been an Ad Age Best Places to Work seven times.

“I’m excited about this new role as media continues to be a catalyst for creativity and innovation in our integrated model,” said Neil. “I’m proud of how our team continues to push past what is expected, guided by consumer behaviour and driven by client results. My collaboration with creative and other disciplines has been influential to our success as my peers believe in the power of media and what it brings to our campaigns.”

Neil’s work has included brands ranging from financial to automotive, including State Farm, Subaru, United Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson, Wrigley, and Harley-Davidson. He began his career at Campbell Mithun, then spent time in Chicago at DDB and OMD before returning to the Twin Cities for a tour on the client side working for General Mills. He joined the ranks of Carmichael Lynch in 2004 and has become a thought leader for the agency and the industry, bringing innovative thinking and progressive strategic approaches to media partnerships and activations. Neil has been recognized by Adweek as a Media All Star and his work has been heralded with multiple Effie awards, OMMAs, including 2023 Best in Show, and multiple Adweek Media Plan of the Year awards among many others.