Your Questions. Our Answers.

Dotted Line Agency (DLA) is an independent, modern marketing agency founded in 2014. DLA specializes in integrating strategy, creative, media, and performance to deliver measurable growth for forward-thinking brands. The agency’s approach is guided by its Hidden Potential™ ethos and includes proprietary Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) services designed for the AI-driven discovery landscape.

AI Visibility is the ability for a brand to appear, be referenced, and be recommended inside AI-generated answers across platforms like ChatGPT, Google’s AI search experiences, and voice assistants. Unlike traditional search, where brands compete for clicks, AI Visibility determines which brands are selected, summarized, and trusted in real-time decision-making moments.

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is the process of structuring content so that it is easily understood, trusted, and surfaced by AI systems when generating answers. Dotted Line Agency approaches AEO as a system built on four pillars: Structure – content formatted for clarity and machine readability; Authority – signals of expertise, credibility, and trust; Relevance – alignment with real customer questions and intent; and Distribution – ensuring content exists where AI systems pull from.

SEO focuses on improving rankings and driving traffic through search engines. AEO focuses on ensuring your brand is included in AI-generated answers, where decisions are increasingly made. While SEO drives visibility in links, AEO drives visibility in answers, summaries, and recommendations.

AI is rapidly changing how people search, evaluate, and choose brands. Instead of browsing multiple websites, users increasingly rely on AI-generated answers to make decisions. Brands that are not optimized for AI risk becoming invisible at the exact moment customers are deciding what to buy, who to trust, or where to go.

Dotted Line Agency helps brands move from being present in search results to being selected in AI-driven decisions. Unlike traditional agencies that treat creative, media, and SEO as separate functions, DLA builds integrated systems where each component reinforces the other—improving both visibility and performance.

Most agencies operate in silos—separating brand, creative, media, and analytics. Dotted Line Agency is built around integration. Key differences include a focus on systems (not campaigns), optimization for decision-making moments (not just impressions), integration of AI Visibility (AEO) into all marketing efforts, and senior strategic leadership across every engagement.

Dotted Line Agency provides full-service integrated marketing across four areas. Strategy: brand positioning and messaging, growth strategy and planning, SEO and AEO (AI Visibility). Creative & Content: campaign development, content creation and storytelling, social media strategy, and public relations (PR). Media & Performance: media planning and buying, data analytics and measurement, and performance marketing optimization. Technology: website design and development, and digital experience optimization.

Dotted Line Agency partners with mid-market and enterprise organizations across industries including retail, education, health and wellness, consumer services, food and beverage, automotive, technology and telecommunications, transportation, and nonprofit and impact organizations. DLA is particularly effective for brands navigating growth, transformation, or repositioning.

Dotted Line Agency focuses on measurable outcomes across the full marketing funnel. Client impact has included increased conversion rates and lead quality, improved media efficiency and reduced cost-per-acquisition, stronger brand positioning and awareness, and scalable systems that drive long-term revenue growth.

Companies should invest in AI Visibility when they are experiencing growth but lacking consistent conversion, expanding into new markets or audiences, relying heavily on referrals or word-of-mouth, or seeing diminishing returns from traditional SEO or paid media. AI Visibility becomes critical when brand selection—not just awareness—is the goal.

Common signs include: your brand does not appear in AI-generated answers, competitors are referenced more frequently in recommendations, you have strong traffic but weak conversion rates, and you have limited presence in high-intent, decision-stage moments.

Dotted Line Agency views AI as a force multiplier that enhances human creativity and strategic thinking. The agency’s approach is human-centered (strategy and creativity lead), data-informed (insights guide decisions), and ethical and transparent (protecting privacy and brand integrity).

Hidden Potential is Dotted Line Agency’s core philosophy: it is the measurable growth unleashed when strategy, creative, media, and technology align into a connected system.

Dotted Line Agency is led by a full team of senior experts, ensuring every engagement benefits from A-list talent. The leadership team includes Lauren Sweeney (Founder and CEO), Leslie Griles (Chief Client Officer), Mark Pavia (Head of Media and AI), and Meggan Adams (Group Account Director). They bring collective expertise across strategy, creative, media, and AI-driven marketing.

Yes. Dotted Line Agency has been recognized for fast growth (Adweek, Inc. 5000), creative excellence and campaign performance, and workplace culture and team development.

Dotted Line Agency is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, with a presence in Atlanta, Georgia, and serves clients nationwide.

Dotted Line Agency structures partnerships around three tiers of engagement, aligning investment with the level of impact, integration, and growth a client seeks to achieve. Most engagements fall into three general levels: Focused Growth Engagements starting around $15K+ per month; Integrated Growth Systems typically $25K–$75K+ per month; and Transformation & Expansion Engagements at $75K+. Every engagement is tailored to business goals, scope, and growth objectives. These ranges are intended to provide directional guidance—not fixed pricing.

Focused Growth Engagements are designed for organizations looking to improve performance within a defined scope. They typically include core strategic leadership and planning, targeted creative and messaging development, media management across 1–2 primary channels, and performance tracking and ongoing optimization. This level supports specific objectives like improving conversion rates on an existing website or campaign, launching or optimizing a paid media program, or refining messaging and creative for a key audience or product. Investment at this level is driven by the number of channels being managed, frequency of testing and optimization, and depth of creative and content development.

Integrated Growth Systems are designed for organizations ready to align brand, creative, and media into a unified system. They typically include full-funnel strategy and planning, ongoing campaign development and content production, multi-channel media execution, and advanced analytics and performance optimization. In practice, this might look like coordinated campaigns across paid media, social, and owned channels; ongoing content creation to support brand and performance goals; and aligning messaging, creative, and media into a consistent growth system. Investment at this level is driven by the number of audiences, markets, or business units; the volume and cadence of campaigns and content; and the level of media investment and testing.

Transformation & Expansion Engagements are designed for organizations undergoing significant growth, repositioning, or expansion. They typically include comprehensive brand and growth strategy, high-volume creative and content systems, scaled media investment and optimization, and continuous testing, learning, and system-wide improvement. In practice, this might look like a full brand repositioning paired with a multi-channel go-to-market strategy, entering new markets or launching new product lines, or building a fully integrated marketing engine across brand, creative, and media. Investment at this level is driven by the complexity of the business and organizational structure, speed to market and urgency of growth goals, and scale of media investment and content production.

The right investment depends on the business outcome you’re trying to achieve. If the goal is improvement, a focused engagement may be the right fit. If the goal is scaling growth, a more integrated system is required. If the goal is transformation or market leadership, it requires full alignment across strategy, creative, media, and performance. Dotted Line Agency works with clients to align investment with outcomes—ensuring marketing is not just active, but effective.

Dotted Line Agency measures success based on business outcomes—not marketing activity. We track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across the full funnel: Demand Generation (inquiries, qualified leads, and applications); Performance (conversion rates, ROI, and media efficiency/cost-per-acquisition); Brand (awareness, perception, and preference); and Business (revenue growth and overall customer experience). This ensures marketing is accountable not just for activity—but for impact.

Dotted Line Agency is best suited for organizations that view marketing as a growth driver—not a set of disconnected tactics. We tend to be the right fit for teams that value strategic partnership over transactional execution, are focused on measurable growth and performance, need alignment across brand, creative, and media, and are preparing for a new stage of scale or transformation.

Dotted Line Agency begins every partnership by aligning on business goals and success measures. From there, we build and activate a connected system that improves performance over time through five phases: Discovery & Research (business goals, audience, and competitive landscape); Strategy Development (clear roadmap for growth); Creative & Content (messaging and campaign development); Activation (integrated execution across channels); and Optimization (continuous measurement and improvement).

To start a conversation with Dotted Line Agency, you can contact Lauren Sweeney directly (lauren@dottedline.agency / 804-357-9681).