Sean Crane joins Mintz + Hoke as Chief Creative Officer

Former Executive Creative Director at Grey Group, New York resets creative approach at established Connecticut-based agency

Sean Crane, formerly Executive Creative Director at Grey Group in New York, has joined Mintz + Hokeas the Chief Creative Officer. In the newly created position, Crane will be elevating the role of creative—further evolving the creative product as Mintz + Hoke approaches a half century of playing a pivotal role in creative output for local, regional, national and global brands. 

A graduate of the University of Richmond with a Bachelor of Arts, Crane held previous creative posts at many highly regarded large and mid-sized U.S. agencies, including Grey Group, Leo Burnett, Doner and JWT. He is well known in the industry for his work on major brands, including Folgers, the National Park Service, the NFL, Pontiac and HP to name a few. His contributions to the creative industry have won awards at Cannes, the One Show, the Clios and the ADDYs.

“Mintz + Hoke was the perfect next step for me,” said Crane. “After meeting with the various department heads, it was clear that we shared many of the same values. My leadership style and belief in embracing the core essence of each brand aligned with their philosophy as an agency. It’s all about a laser focus on the fundamentals. If you can accomplish that, clients will start giving you the leeway to push the creative product to more interesting places.”

Mintz + Hoke’s leadership team has fully embraced Crane’s vision for the creative product. Principal and Chief Executive Officer, Ron Perine, said, “When you think about the creative approach, it’s not the purview of one department. Sean has already infused a new direction for our creative team and that has extended out to all areas—from media and public relations to our development and account services teams. We are working together to approach all our efforts in new, creative ways for all of our clients.”

Crane believes that “sensibility is everything, it keeps smart from becoming corny—emotional from becoming sappy—and cool from becoming pretentious.” And the time was right for him to bring his unique brand of sensibility to Connecticut. “I’m really walking into a great opportunity to make an impact — lots of very smart people across all departments, a highly supportive senior leadership team, and a media department eager to collaborate on innovative ideas for our diverse lineup of clients.”

Crane joins Mintz + Hoke after traveling the country, living and working in Boston, Denver, Detroit and New York. When he is not hard at work on behalf of clients, Crane is out photographing wildlife. His personal photography and writing have appeared in textbooks, calendars and magazines including Outdoor Photographer, Popular Photography and National Geographic, and has even made its way to Broadway, serving as a backdrop to the hit play, Impressionism. His photography won awards from the likes of the Smithsonian, the BBC, NatGeo and the Sierra Club.