Party Land Hires 2 Senior Leaders

Image credit: JCPenney

Above: Mike Behrends and Suzy Langdell

​Party Land has hired Mike Behrends as creative director and Suzy Langdell as director of brand and growth strategy, reflecting the agency’s growth as it sees more brands turn to strategic comedy to drive business momentum.

Party Land’s positioning as “comedy’s greatest advertising agency” has attracted a surge of demand from brands of all sizes and across categories that share one thing in common: readiness to explore comedy as a strategic direction, not just a one-off execution. In the second half of this year alone, the independent agency won new work from eight brands and counting – including Truly Hard Seltzer (social and digital agency of record), Google Search, Chewy, Zevia, Peelz Citrus, and REEF.

The agency’s focus on strategic comedy taps into a tangible consumer preference: According to Oracle, 91% of people prefer brands that are funny, 90% are more likely to remember brands that make them laugh, 72% would choose a brand that uses humour over a competitor that does not, and 75% would follow a brand on social media if it was funny.

And it works: Every campaign Party Land launched this year was the most effective in the brand’s history, driving measurable lifts in both sales and perception.

The agency also expanded its social, digital and media capabilities this year to meet demand for social-first comedic ideas. For example, as Truly Hard Seltzer’s social and digital agency of record, Party Land is leading the brand’s organic and paid social strategy and creating humour-driven content for the brand on Instagram and TikTok.

“We spent this last year codifying how different brands can approach comedy. The brand strategy, the process, the audience empathy that’s baked into our approach. That clarity showed up in the work, and new business came with it. So much so that 2025 was our best year for business development in Party Land history,” said Haley Hunter, co-founder, chief operating and marketing officer, at Party Land. “Suzy is a talented account leader who has already sharpened our approach in her first 100 days as a Party Lander. The fact that she’s also a new business whisperer is a huge bonus. Bringing Mike in has been on our wishlist since our Fallon days together. With the growth we’ve experienced this year, we were finally able to make it happen. Our core team is strong and we’re excited about what 2026 has in store for Party Land.”