Interpublic Group and Omnicom Group alum helps tech-driven agency accelerate growth as the premier media solution in North America.
Arm Candy, a full-service media intelligence agency that helps brands, advertising, and ad-tech clients drive profitable and measurable outcomes—today announced the appointment of Andy Von Kennel as its first president, partner. Reporting to Arm Candy CEO and founder John Lods, Von Kennel will be responsible for driving the agency’s growth and operations.
Von Kennel brings over two decades of business development, client management, brand, sales, and media strategy expertise to Arm Candy. He has held past executive-level roles at agencies including Initiative, IPG Mediabrands, RAPP, and PHD. Additionally, he has worked client-side for brands such as Keurig Dr. Pepper, Frito-Lay, and American Airlines.
“Andy’s an optimistic, passionate leader and a true advertising veteran. He is the only person fit for this role as he understands our mission, shares a passion for creating the best agency experience for our people, and understands what it takes to scale responsibly,” said Lods.
Founded in 2019 by then 26-year-old Lods—a media planning, data and analytics entrepreneur —Arm Candy has partnered with agencies including Citrus, Lippincott, The Marketing Arm, Tierney, Valtech, as well as brands including, Caliber Collision, FC Dallas, and Fan Controlled Football. In just over three years, the agency has quickly earned a reputation for its full-service media offering, proprietary media planning capabilities, and its data intelligence solutions.
“John and I are a great combination of complementary skills and experiences. We share a get-it-done, eternally optimistic attitude that’s relentlessly focused on strategic growth,” said Von Kennel. “I’m excited to work with our amazing clients and our teams.”
As part of its focus on building out its senior leadership, earlier this year Arm Candy brought on another agency veteran, Marian Leonard, as its first managing director. Leonard is responsible for driving the agency’s talent, operations, and finance and is the key stakeholder focused on delivering an agency experience that is rewarding for Arm Candy’s teams.
About Arm Candy
Arm Candy is a media intelligence agency blending the experience and leadership of media agency executives with the innovation and spirit of technology and data savants to deliver smarter, more effective campaigns. In an industry struggling with trust and transparency challenges, our mission is to create engagements that are equitable for all parties involved and that ‘we win, when our client’s win’ mentality has been the catalyst for our extraordinary growth. Arm Candy’s goal (and our name) is to serve as an extension of our clients teams. Whether it is working in partnership with other agencies or with brands directly…our mission is to make them look good.