The Distillery Project

The Distillery Project

Creativity and brand strategysimple, pure, and potent.

1639 W Hubbard St, Chicago, Illinois 60622, United States

The Distillery Project Overview

Number of Employees
Under 49
Minimal Budget
$50,000 & Up
Average Hourly Rate
Inquire
Year Founded
2012
We are an independent, creative and strategic agency dedicated to giving clients more of what they want, and less of what they don't.

We filter out the nonsense and the noise, the prima donnas and the jerks. We eliminate the bloat, bureaucracy, and crazy overhead that gets in the way of doing really great work. And so far, nobody seems to miss any of it.

We're small, but big is in our DNA. We're experienced, big-agency professionals who left that world to find a better way.

We specialize in clear, sharply-refined thinking grounded in insight and understanding, coupled with a powerful brand of creativity. We create ideas that are simple, pure and potent enough to change the way people think, how they feel, and even what they do.

And, that's why we call it The Distillery Project.
Headquarters
1639 W Hubbard St, Chicago, Illinois 60622, United States

The Distillery Project Team Bios

  • Founder, Chief Creative Officer
    John Condon
    Founder, Chief Creative Officer
    John began his career as a trainee copywriter at Leo Burnett. He worked his way up to eventually become Chief Creative Officer of the largest creative department in America. Since founding The Distillery Project in 2012, he's helped earn Ad Age's Small Agency of the Year in 2012, 2014, and 2017.
  • Founding Partner, Creative Director
    Per Jacobson
    Founding Partner, Creative Director
    Early on Per joined Ogilvy & Mather in New York where he worked on IBM. His "Blue Letterbox" campaign received numerous accolades, including Adweek's Campaign of the Year. In 1998, Per joined Leo Burnett where he partnered with with John and together they worked across the agency portfolio.
  • Founding Partner, Chief Strategy Officer
    Ben Kline
    Founding Partner, Chief Strategy Officer
    Before joining The Distillery Project, Ben served as Chief Marketing Officer for Ogilvy & Mather. Prior to that, he was the Chief Strategy Officer at Leo Burnett. And at one time at Wieden + Kennedy, he ran the global account of a teeny little gym shoe company called Nike.
  • Head of Operations
    Kim Tanner
    Head of Operations
    Kim joined The Distillery Project from Leo Burnett, where she got her start as a Client Service Associate. Kim quickly rose through the ranks, eventually claiming the title of Senior Vice President, Director of Operations where she managed the day to day functioning of the Kellogg's account.
  • Head of Production
    Nik Traxler
    Head of Production
    Nik is also a Leo Burnett alumni but his natural curiosity led him on a tour of duty at companies and agencies including Google Creative Lab, Wieden+Kennedy, Sid Lee, Johannes Leonardo, Y&R NY and The Martin Agency. And the opportunity to work with brands like Nike, ESPN, Discover Card, and Walmart.

The Distillery Project Clients

  • Meijer
  • CAT
  • ARROW
  • Lifeway
  • Athletico
  • Dehnco
  • RetailMeNot

The Distillery Project Awards

  • AdAge Small Agency of the Year 2012
  • AdAge Small Agency of the Year 2014
  • AdAge Small Agency of the Year 2017