The Formation As a kid, Holmgreen had an uncommon infatuation with advertising. Watching cartoons on Saturday mornings, he would place a boom box next to the TV and record the episodes to listen to them later. But he always found himself replaying the commercials most. Although he was a youth football player (and would even go on to play his freshman year at Macalester College in Minnesota), he realized he cared more about the commercials during the Super Bowl than the game itself. It was the ’80s, and Nike was churning out aggressive campaigns that especially impressed and inspired him, from “Just Do It” to “Bo Knows” and the creation of Air Jordan. His office wardrobe now includes several pairs of Jordan’s in rotation. Originally, Holmgreen majored in psychology but switched when he gave up football and moved back to Texas. Marketing, he says, is just psychology in business form. He became an ad man after school, working for one of the largest firms in the world, McCann-Erickson, then later advanced his career through more boutique agencies. His work has supported 7-Eleven, Texas A&M University, E-Z-Go Golf Cars and Bell Helicopter, as well as the state of Texas tourism bureau. As governor, George W. Bush was once technically his client, Holmgreen points out. Memorabilia and branded mementos from some of these projects now line the windows of his office. It was at one of those boutique agencies, Belmont Icehouse in Dallas, where Holmgreen displayed the kind of appreciation for branded merch that would eventually lead him to PPAI. There, he learned under firm president Tim Hudson, whom Holmgreen says has the best visual marketing mind he’s ever known. It’s Hudson’s philosophy that a brand’s logo should always look good on a baseball cap. “We started realizing that when we were pitching creative strategies to our clients or prospective clients, we always needed to include some type of merch,” Holmgreen says, “because that was the tangible expression of the brand.” The products weren’t just brand representation, Holmgreen realized. They were a connection to it. And when done well, that connection came with a spark of joy for the recipient. He was leading strategy for the firm, and a significant portion of the clients came from the tourism industry. So Holmgreen committed to help drive the success of a new division, Belmont Swag. Tagline: Think outside the tchotchke. “Branded merch is a natural fit for selling the experience of a destination, although most of our clients at that time saw it just as an afterthought,” Hudson says. “So, we decided to fold merchandise into the conceptual development of all our marketing campaigns, with amazing results. “Instead of just putting a logo on a trinket, we now use branded merch to expand our Brand Drew During his ad agency days, Holmgreen's clients included Bell Helicopters and the State of Texas tourism bureau. Must Read | A Vision of Joy 48 • APRIL 2025 • PPAI
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