The Social Lights, the woman-owned social-first agency, has named Dave Bullen VP of Creative. Bullen joins from MONO, the Minneapolis creative agency where he spent 16 years, most recently as group creative director.
Bullen has spent more than 20 years as an art director, leading award-winning work for Google, Apple, Harley-Davidson, Alfa Romeo, Target, Sherwin-Williams, PepsiCo, Capital One and the National Hockey League. Before MONO, he held art direction roles at Olson and Carmichael Lynch. At The Social Lights, he will work across the agency’s entire client roster, helping brands sharpen their creative point of view and turn brand strategy into bigger social opportunities.
The hire reflects the sophistication of social. Social now demands the same brand rigor and creative craft as any other component of a marketing plan, said Stephanie Schafer, president and chief growth officer at The Social Lights.
“Dave’s entire career has been built on getting to the truth of what makes a brand distinct and connecting people to brands in a way that breaks through the noise to build relevance with key audiences,” said Schafer. “It’s easy to get swept up in trends and let an algorithm or an influencer speak for you rather than hold your own POV. Dave makes sure we’re helping our brands win in real-time without losing their long-term narrative and translating the principles of building great brands to the world of social. That’s the gap we built this leadership team to close.”
Bullen said the move marks a deliberate step outside his comfort zone — and a chance to put into practice the advice he’s given clients for years.
“I’ve always told brands that if you keep doing the same thing, you’ll get the same result, so stepping into something new felt important for me, too,” he said. “There’s a lot of pressure to move fast because the world moves fast, especially on social. But speed and meaning don’t have to be at odds. My creative mantra has always been be brave or be dead, and the bravest thing a brand can do right now is slow down long enough to know exactly who it is in order to move forward.”
Bullen’s arrival adds to a leadership bench The Social Lights has built to pair deep social expertise with senior brand and creative experience, as the agency takes on larger, more integrated briefs from its growing roster of clients.
ABOUT DAVE BULLEN
Dave Bullen is a classically trained art director with more than 20 years of experience inventing and reinventing some of the world’s most iconic brands. He likes to create work that is strategically thoughtful, but also creatively impactful. He believes disruption and innovation are essential to a brand’s success in today’s competitive marketplace, and that creativity is one of the most powerful, yet underutilized, tools a brand has to reach its full potential. Bullen’s brand experience includes Apple, Google, Firefox, Target, Harley-Davidson, Alfa Romeo, Bauer Hockey, Advance Auto Parts, Sherwin-Williams, PepsiCo, Capital One, BlueCross BlueShield, Fifth Third Bank, Honeywell, the National Hockey League, Macy’s, Wilson Sporting Goods, La Colombe Coffee, Heaven Hill Distillery, L’OR Coffee & Espresso.
ABOUT THE SOCIAL LIGHTS
The Social Lights is a fast-growing, woman-owned indie agency headquartered in Minneapolis that partners with global brands to decode culture and activate fandoms at the speed of social. The agency’s services span content and social strategy, creative production, social media planning and buying, social care and engagement, measurement and optimization, creative technology, training, video production, and event marketing. The Social Lights’ work has been recognized on the Inc. 5000 six times, along with repeat Shorty and Webby Award wins.
