Chicago-based artistic company Highdive is opening a New York workplace in SoHo to assist its work for KFC.
“This can be a massive second for us,” Megan Lally, co-founder and CEO of Highdive, instructed ADWEEK. “We’ve been speaking about it for some time: ‘someday we’ll be in New York.’ That day is right here.”
The brand new location at 56 Greene Road will open in August. Highdive has introduced on govt artistic administrators Steven Fogel and Doug Fallon from Ogilvy New York to guide work on KFC from the brand new workplace.
Lally stated the New York workplace will initially focus simply on KFC, however might increase to different accounts.
“Doug and Steve are going to be instrumental in serving to convey that to life,” Lally stated. “We’re beginning small, however with massive expertise.”
Highdive received the KFC account within the fall of 2024, and earlier this month launched a multi-year model marketing campaign geared toward luring clients again to the chain amid heightened competitors within the fried hen class. KFC same-store gross sales rose 2% in Q2 after shopper spending declined 4% year-over-year in 2024, in response to Circana. In the meantime, rival chains like Wingstop grew shopper spend 41% year-over-year.
The brand new marketing campaign work and relationship with Highdive seeks to reset the model’s voice whereas tapping into its cultural legacy.
Highdive is hiring for a number of artistic roles to assist the account, together with artistic administrators, with flexibility on location. “New York permits us to look past Chicago,” Lally stated. “It’s not about staffing an workplace—it’s about discovering the suitable match for our purchasers.”
Lally stated the Soho house is modeled on Highdive’s early Chicago days—simply sufficiently big to satisfy present wants.
“We by no means go larger than what we want,” she stated. “We outgrow it after which transfer on.”
Highdive has grown double-digits yearly because it launched in 2016 and now employs greater than 130 folks, Lally stated. In 2024, the company took personal fairness funding from Svoboda Capital, which Lally stated introduced “rigor” and “stability” to its operations whereas preserving management in management.
The company just lately prolonged its relationship with MSC Cruises following a Tremendous Bowl marketing campaign, and its longstanding work with State Farm was nominated for an Emmy.
“All of the credit score to our progress goes to the work,” Lally stated. “Nice work attracts purchasers who wish to do nice work.”
