SpotCo, the advertising and branding agency that counts 24 Tony-winning Broadway productions among its client roster, has promoted Shelby Ladd and Stephen Santore as the company’s new managing directors.
Ladd, who has been with SpotCo’s for the past eight years and served as the company’s vice president of Media and Analytics, is joined by Santore, a 10-year SpotCo veteran who founded the company’s ticketing and sales department.
Ladd and Santore assume their leadership roles at SpotCo effective immediately, as the company’s CEO and Co-Founder Jim Edwards is set to officially retire in June. Edwards, who helped found SpotCo in 1996, exited the company in 2013 to pursue other projects. He returned as CEO in 2016 to solidify SpotCo’s place among Broadway’s vanguard marketing agencies.
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“Jim has served us brilliantly over the past few years, when he returned to the agency at a crucial time,” said Marc Boyan, CEO of SpotCo’s parent company, Reach4Entertainment, in a statement. “He will be part of the SpotCo family for many years to come.”
“Shelby and Stephen are part of our next generation of talent and have shown great leadership, both within SpotCo and in the live entertainment industry at large,” he continued. “Their forward-thinking strategies in the fields of ticket management, analytics, and data-driven marketing are exactly what the industry needs right now, as Broadway audiences continue to grow and expand.”
“Integrity and creative excellence have always been the backbone of SpotCo’s work,” Ladd and Santore said in a joint statement. “It’s our job to preserve that legacy while embracing innovation in marketing and technology. We look forward to delivering on this promise to our incredibly talented staff and respected clients.”
London-based Reach4Entertainment also houses Dewynters and Newman’s Displays under its shingle.
SpotCo has been a driving creative force in the theatre industry for the past 20 years, introducing show artwork for productions including Rent, Chicago, Annie Get Your Gun, The Vagina Monologues, Bat Boy, Avenue Q, Doubt, The Color Purple, The Drowsy Chaperone, Kinky Boots, Rocky, Fun Home, In the Heights, and Hamilton. Its current client roster includes Mean Girls, Carousel, The Book of Mormon, King Kong, Pretty Woman, School of Rock, and Hello, Dolly! The agency also services Lincoln Center Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York City Opera, and The Park Avenue Armory, as well as special projects for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
