Spike Advertising in Burlington has transitioned to Black ownership and will now be called nuwave Agency, serving clients in Vermont and Montréal, Canada. Spike owner Ken Millman said he donated his company's shares and assets to brothers Emiliano and Jacques Void to create what he believes to be the first Black-owned and operated cross-border marketing firm.
“A lot of business owners talk a good game when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, but few actually walk the talk to combat systemic racism,” said Emiliano Void, owner of nuwave Equity Corporation, the parent company of nuwave Agency. “Ken Millman has stepped up in a big way, and we’re excited to take what he’s done with Spike and move it forward.”
Spike Advertising, founded 24 years ago, made “pigs fly” for Northfield Savings Bank, positioned lawyers as “likable” for Langrock Sperry & Wool, and introduced the world to an “apple Pie-Chi” practitioner for the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing.
In more recent years, Millman focused on helping clients articulate and amplify messaging promoting public good, safety and well-being, including the Vermont Highway Safety Alliance (“Phones Down, Heads Up”), Advance Vermont (postsecondary education as a pathway to high-wage, high-growth jobs) and the Vermont Department of Health (“KnowOD”).