• by Fern Siegel , Yesterday

L.A.-based creative agency Haymaker has opened a New York office and tapped Amy Travis and Sam Wright as group creative director and head of strategy, respectively.

The agency's brand work includes Pluto TV, Topo Chico, Amazon Fire TV, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Olipop. It bills itself as "big agency brains without big agency bloat."

“Looking at today’s advertising industry, there’s never been a time like this where a small group of dedicated creative individuals can accomplish so much by being nimble, fast, and able to crack things quickly,” said Jay Kamath, who co-founded Haymaker with Matt Johnson in 2017. “That’s the kind of energy that drove us when we started, and now, those qualities are supercharged by the addition of a New York location and team.”

Travis joins the agency with nearly 20 years of ad experience in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, working on accounts for Google, Apple, Nike, T-Mobile and Godiva.

Wright's agency background includes strategy director at Droga5, as well posts at Mother and 72andSunny, servicing major brand clients such as Coors, Meta, Chase, the NFL and Activision.

“New York isn’t just another new market,” said Johnson. “It has been the epicenter of advertising for decades — and we can't wait to leave our mark.”