Mike Sullivan, the CEO of brand agency Loomis, at the company’s Dallas headquarters in August 2026.
Courtesy Loomis
Last month, Meet The People, a New York-based media holding company, announced that it bought Dallas’ Loomis Agency. The news was pretty much met with a collective yawn.
To most, the deal was just another Manhattan-based ad group doing the obvious, expanding its footprint in the red-hot market here by using the well-established Loomis Agency as its Southwestern growth hub.
But for Mike Sullivan, the 61-year-old Loomis CEO and principal shareholder, and Julie Ondrusek, 57, its COO and minority owner, the deal is much more than that.
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“The marketing and advertising landscape is changing much faster than I’ve ever experienced in my entire career,” Sullivan said recently. “Certainly, the advent of AI is no small part of that. I didn’t want Loomis to spend the next five years trying to build capabilities that our clients need today. This partnership lets us move much faster without losing who we are.
“Julie and I aren’t ready to go off and do something else. We simply need more rocket fuel. That’s what’s happening with this deal.”
Loomis will function independently within the Meet The People network and keep its clients. That includes longtimers Texas Oncology, Golden Chick and Texas Dairy Queen.
‘Had me at hello’
Even more important than the money — terms were not disclosed — is the meshing of people-first cultures, Sullivan said.
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Loomis has been named a Top Workplace by The Dallas Morning News 19 consecutive times.
“We talked to a variety of firms. That was exciting because there was a lot of interest in us,” Sullivan said. “But the first discussion with Tim [Ringel], the CEO of Meet The People, was the only call that began with his belief that he’s building an entire enterprise based on this being a people business.
“He had me at hello in that respect.
“Everything important that happens for us as an agency is downriver from creating a great culture,” Sullivan said. “That has sustained us through the hard knocks over the years.Tim sees it the same way.”
Trophy, Trophy, Trophy Nissan
Loomis was founded in 1984 by its namesake, Paul Loomis, now an industry icon, primarily as a jingle production house. Loomis called his catchy musical ditties used in radio and TV ads, “mind sludge” — stuff that seeps into your brain that you can’t get out.
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Among his stickiest sludge were Trophy Trophy, Trophy Nissan; “Call 1-800-STEEMER, Stanley Steemer gets carpets cleaner!”; Dalworth’s “Call 267-8433, because the next best thing to new is Dalworth Clean!” and Dairy Queen’s “That’s What I Like About Texas.”
When Sullivan came in as CEO 25 years ago, he shifted the agency’s scope into what has become a full-service agency.
“Paul told me that I gave him his music back because he could concentrate on building the sound studios while I ran the business,” Sullivan recalled.
Sullivan and Ondrusek bought out Loomis, who is now 74, just before COVID in 2019.
“I think he’s out on his boat as we speak,” Sullivan said with a chuckle. “I don’t dare say he’s retired.”
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When COVID struck, Sullivan shifted to work from home like every other business. “We managed to help our clients through a really difficult spot, and in the process, we were able to hang on to every single employee.
“We could have justified letting folks go, but we’re a culturally driven shop. I knew it was temporary, and knew we’d get through it if we just held our ground. I’m really proud of that.”
No talent strip mining
Five years ago, Ringel, a seasoned ad veteran, co-founded Meet The People as an “anti-holding company” for independent marketing, creative and data agencies. He wants to avoid “talent strip mining and impersonal scaling typical of legacy corporate giants.”
The company is financially backed by Innovatus Capital Partners LLC, a New York-based portfolio management firm and registered investment adviser.
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Loomis director of media Aimee Bové talks during a meeting with the company’s digital arm iluminere.
Courtesy Loomis
Meet The People also bought Loomis’ digital joint venture, Iluminere, which connects businesses with target audiences online through search engines, social media, email and websites.
With this buyout, Meet The People has a dozen agency brands and more than 850 employees across North America. That includes 36 Loomis team members and 22 from Iluminere.
Under the agreement, Sullivan is CEO of the Loomis Agency, Ondrusek is COO and Josh Whitaker is chief digital officer of Iluminere.
“We’re a people-and-customer-first agency,” Ringel said. “That fits perfectly with the culture we have experienced at Loomis and Iluminere over the last two months.”
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Underdogs and big dogs
The agency has built a highly regarded name representing “challenger brands” — in other words, underdog clients: “Outgunned, outmatched, cannot spend their way to success,” Sullivan said. “They’ve got to outthink the competition.”
A lot of clients want to run with category dominators, and he gets that. “But this agency is filled with people who love taking the fight to the big dogs. You can draw a lot of inspirational energy from people not taking you seriously and then surprising them.”
This mentality is something Loomis wants to amplify within Meet The People’s mindset.
“They appreciate our underdog philosophy, but their clients include Google and IBM, which are hardly challenger brands,” Sullivan said. “Michael Eisner once said something like, ‘As long as you think and behave like you’re coming from behind, you’ve got a shot at staying ahead.’
“As a kid growing up in Detroit that really resonated with me watching the Big Three — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — act like they were invincible and then getting their butts kicked by the Japanese.
“When you act like you’re No. 1, you’re prime to be shot down.”
Ondrusek, who joined Loomis in 1992, is excited about Meet The People’s commitment to analytics.
“Great creative still matters,” Ondrusek said Wednesday. “But today, the agencies that create the most value are the ones that can connect business, customer and marketing data to make better decisions. MTP gives us the people and capabilities to do that at a level that’s difficult for an independent agency to achieve.”
So is this deal with Meet The People chiseled in stone?
Nothing ever really is, Sullivan said, but the long-range future looks promising.
“If you need to be 100% sure of yourself, you’ll never make a move to begin with,” he said. “But if you’re aligned on values, the rest will take care of itself. That doesn’t mean it’s going to go smoothly or be perfect. But I feel like we’re co-creating the next chapter of the Loomis Agency and Iluminere.
“I have a great friend who says, ‘However you think it’s going to be, it’s going to be something else.’ I’m all in with that. But I also have a lot of faith that it’s going to be what it needs to be.”