Remember the local B*G campaign? It was a monster Instagram hit that drew residents and visitors to stand in as the visual “I” in “BIG,” as in “Big things happen in Dallas.” Noelle LeVeaux, who at the time was chief marketing officer and senior vice president for Visit Dallas, made that program happen. That’s when I first met her, about a decade ago. I took her to dinner and asked if she’d ever want to work in the marketing operation of D Magazine Partners. As I recall, her answer was “nope.”
That’s how it happens, right? I wasn’t even fully sold on the B*G campaign. (“Can’t we be something besides big and yadda yadda?”) But I was crazy about the creative thinking and execution that brought it to life. It was a logistical triumph. I know a talented marketer when I see one.
When we launched our search for a new publisher for D Magazine, D CEO, D Home, D Weddings, DMagazine.com, and our massive events programs, we spun our wheels at first, looking for a killer sales leader. Then we had a realization that got us going. Our teams know how to sell. But it’s 2022. We need to offer our advertisers and sponsors custom marketing solutions. Like, actual original campaigns. Their needs have changed, and we needed to change, too. What if our killer sales leader had a secret weapon, a genius marketing brain that she could bring to the aid of our advertisers and sponsors?
I am thrilled to announce that Noelle LeVeaux will be the publisher of D Magazine Partners beginning in May.
As far as I can tell, she is the first math major we have ever hired, a graduate of Spelman College. She most recently served as chief marketing officer at one of the most beloved institutions in the city, the Communities Foundation of Texas. There are no two greater allies than CFT and D Magazine Partners, and I know going forward that our partnership will be stronger than ever.
The move allows Gillea Allison, our president, to address company strategy and profitable partnerships. It aligns with our company’s new focus on solutions, whether it is creating marketing programs for our sponsors and advertisers or publishing analyses that show City Hall how it might conduct business differently. Sometimes, on the editorial side, the solution is to identify problems in ways that make our readers care. Other times, we offer examples where other cities have gotten it right. We will always publish the brilliant good deeds and scandalous shenanigans that make Dallas a fascinating place to live. But going forward, we also want to be part of the solution.
Noelle brings that spirit and independence and solution-mindedness to her new home at D Magazine Partners. For our culture, she is a natural fit. For our business partners, she will deliver high-impact marketing strategies that take our company from very good to great. Most important, she loves this city as madly as we do. The future for our company (and our city) just got brighter.
Thank you all for being part of it.
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