We are connection makers. Pathway seers. We are a North Star in a landscape of misdirection.
Who We Are
Dotted Line combines strategy and creativity to foster the growth of ambitious businesses. We use branding, content, and creative to grab your audience’s attention, connect on a human level, and deliver measurable business impact. Founded in 2014, Dotted Line began with the simple belief that strategy and story help businesses grow. It’s a belief that drives us today.
Expertise
Brand thinking ›› Branding is the perpetual expression of who you are, what you believe, and what you value. Every brand deserves a team of smart, inquisitive borderline fanatics to fuss all the angles of who, why, where, and how. Our focus is always on building unexpected, imaginative brands that are also honest, engaging, and addicted to staying relevant.
Audience-Informed Strategies ›› Using strategically informed creativity to solve brand problems is our core product. We value being both smart and clever, attacking every brief with innovation, imagination, and, often, the unexpected.
Content Craft ›› Great strategy demands great execution. We exercise our craft through exceptional storytelling, design, and process-driven implementation. Great executions cannot watch themselves, so our team deftly connects content to the right paid, owned, or earned channels to continuously drive viewership, engagement, and of course, results.
Audience-Informed Strategies ›› Using strategically informed creativity to solve brand problems is our core product. We value being both smart and clever, attacking every brief with innovation, imagination, and, often, the unexpected.
Content Craft ›› Great strategy demands great execution. We exercise our craft through exceptional storytelling, design, and process-driven implementation. Great executions cannot watch themselves, so our team deftly connects content to the right paid, owned, or earned channels to continuously drive viewership, engagement, and of course, results.
Partners
Our clients work in a variety of industries with challenges big and impactful. Using a collaborative approach that combines strategy and creativity, we partner with companies to find solutions that are forward-looking, human-centered, and deliver measurable impact.
Team
Lauren Sweeney
Founder / CEO
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Lauren is a visionary entrepreneur, a trusted advisor to business executives and leaders, and a champion for the advancement of women and entrepreneurship.
As Founder and CEO of Dotted Line, a modern agency built on partnership, creativity and results, Lauren has reimagined the practice of marketing and communications to help brands grow. She continues to redefine strategic brand marketing for today’s social/digital world, with a strategy-first approach that creates best-in-class solutions for brand challenges. Under Lauren’s leadership, Dotted Line is consistently recognized as a top-growing marketing agency and best place to work in Virginia and the mid-Atlantic region.
Lauren is a business trailblazer who has garnered several recognitions in 2022. She was recognized by Virginia Business with a 2022 Women in Leadership Award. Meanwhile, Dotted Line debuted on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies at No. 2,039 (and the highest-ranking advertising business in Richmond) and on Virginia Business’ Best Places to Work in Virginia. Earlier accolades for Lauren include being named as a Tory Burch Foundation Fellow and a Woman Business Owner of the Year finalist by the National Association of Women Business Owners.
A Richmond native, Lauren graduated from Randolph-Macon College. Prior to starting Dotted Line in 2014, she spent her early career at a Fortune 200 company holding various leadership roles in communications, operations and human resources. She currently is on the board for the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, and she is a member of both the global leadership community YPO and the Virginia Council of CEOs.
Lauren is a proud wife of a fellow entrepreneur, a stepmother to a towering college student, and a mom to a busy preschooler. The Sweeney family is actively involved at Richmond’s Hope Church, and they enjoy outdoor activities and traveling. Recent adventures have taken them hiking in Utah, exploring the Holy Land in Israel, and exploring vineyards in France.
Ron Villacarillo
Head of Creative
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Ron brings a wealth of experience, having worked with agencies nationwide, shaping brands from Fortune 100 companies to non-profits. His diverse portfolio reflects his deep industry understanding. While his background is in visual storytelling, he takes pride in collaborating with teams to discover and express the soul of a brand through any medium. He believes in creating work that is authentic, entertaining, and culturally resonant.
Before joining DLA, Ron served as Executive Creative Director at Yebo, leading accounts such as Virginia Lottery, SweetFrog, and Elephant Insurance. Prior to that, he balanced his career as a staffer and freelancer at renowned agencies like TBWA\Chiat\Day, Martin Agency, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, DDB, Saatchi & Saatchi, and McCann.
Ron’s brand experience spans a wide range, from sports to fast food; banking to beer. He has collaborated with celebrities, athletes, and influencers to create integrated work for brands like Activision, Baskin Robbins, ESPN, IKEA, Jack In The Box, Miller Lite, Microsoft, USTA, Walmart and Yamaha.
In addition to his agency work, Ron serves as an adjunct professor at the VCU Brandcenter. When he’s not working, you can find him at the gym or exploring home renovation projects with his wife. Most of the time, though, he’s just trying to keep up with his spirited toddler and energetic beagle.
Bethany Lanza
Associate Account Director
Hanah Holpe
Client Service Lead and Senior Strategist
Cindi Houtz
Interim Head of Media
Christine Vallee
Senior Project and Production Manager
Jamie Cuthbertson
Senior Social Strategist
Leighton Smith
Senior Media Planner
Claire Glisson
Brand and Content Strategist
Lee Remais
Creative Director and Writer
Erynn Mattera
Creative Partner
David Mattera
Creative Partner
Melissa Barber
Content Writer
Nicole Monzon
Designer
Alex Scheer
Senior Project and Production Manager
Mari Garcia
Designer
Deborah Long
Senior PR/Media Relations Specialist
Melissa Jones
PR/Media Relations Specialist
Laura Hunt
Search and Digital Strategist
Jose Palacios
Web Developer
Z Wang
Web Developer
Julia Bruski
Assistant to the CEO
Michaela Rapp
Bookkeeper