John McGill connects the dots — and the people holding them.
Dallas-based brand strategist, partnership builder, television producer, and professional connector. For years, brands, destinations, and entertainment projects as well as iconic brands have called John for the same reason: he’s connected, he sees how the pieces fit, then he picks up the phone.
John McGill — Most often the most experienced and connected person in the room…
Brand strategist / Media relations / Licensing & brand partnerships / Event marketing / Ski week founder & producer / LGBTQ+ strategist / Television producer / Writer / Speaker & emcee / Nonprofit chairman / Martini lover / Maui man / To be continued…
What he does
01 — Partnerships & licensing: Brands have more value sitting in them than they realize — a name, an audience, a product line that wants a partner. I find the match, structure the introduction, and help turn a good fit into a new revenue stream.
02 — Tourism & destination marketing: Putting places on the map for the travelers others overlook or have preconceived notions. Visit Dallas retains John as its agency of record for the national LGBTQ+ strategy and initiatives. He builds the organization’s partnerships throughout the country authentically supporting and celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in a big way. From Aspen Gay Ski Week to Gay Wine Weekend in Sonoma to P-Town Film festival, Visit Dallas brings its commitment to ALL visitors who look for welcoming destinations.
03 — Television & content: Developing shows with real people and real stakes. Co-creator and executive producer on The Inquisitors, an unscripted show using high IQ individuals digging deep into unsolved crimes. Amazon Studios shot the pilot that is now being developed in Europe then eventually in the US. In addition, he has created both a game and a design show, both in early development.
So far…So good.
A few of the rooms he has been in — and a few he built himself.
American Mensa — Director, Brand Partnerships: John has served his client, American Mensa, the high IQ society, as its Director of Brand Partnerships for some time. From forging partnerships with the likes of Hasbro to 20th Century Fox to helping launch one of the first “learning to code” robots for kids with the popular smart game company, Educational Insights. He also served as its Director of Marketing for several years working side by side with their membership director to take the association to an all-time high number of members.
Visit Dallas — Agency of record: Retained by Visit Dallas (the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau) as agency of record for its national LGBTQ+ strategy and initiatives. The goal is to make Dallas the Signature LGBTQ+ Destination of the Southwest and is well on its way.
Telluride Gay Ski Week: Founded and produced it for 15 years, growing it into the second-largest gay ski week in the country — taking one of the slowest weeks of the ski season and turning it into the second busiest under his watch.
The Inquisitors: Co-created with entertainment executives Leeza Gibbons, Steven Fenton, Vin Di Bona, and Hugh Wright, this real-life crime-solving series. With the pilot shot and aired, it is now headed for its international launch throughout Europe before it debuts in the US.
1418 Coffee: Most recently John has come on board to help the popular high end Texas coffee brand grow — with an expanded brand strategy, elevate its presence and explore and develop new locations throughout the state and beyond.
Boards & community: Chaired or served on the executive boards of the national boards of GLAAD, DIFFA, the American Foundation for the Blind, the March of Dimes and the American Heart Association — plus the national launch of the Leeza Gibbons Memory Centers and co-founding the Bill Bates Foundation for Kids with former Dallas Cowboys player Bill Bates.
The longer version
Ask John what he does, and he’ll get right to the point: his biggest talent is connecting the dots. He gets hired for that — and for who he knows and networks with — more than for anything else, and he works at staying relevant enough to keep both sharp.
The dots have included building a ski week for Telluride Resort that became a national institution, television series in development and licensing on two continents, a tourism board marketing Dallas to the LGBTQ+ travelers he’s championed and most recently a coffee brand plotting its next move. Varied? Extremely. Random? Not once you see the introductions underneath.
Underneath it all is a long record in public relations and strategic marketing — launching products, programs, events, and services across media, entertainment, hospitality, destinations, finance, and the nonprofit world. It’s why media organizations themselves continue to call him.
Community work is the other through-line: the national launch of the Leeza Gibbons Memory Centers, co-founding the Bill Bates Foundation for Kids, and a board résumé that runs from serving on the national executive board of GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) to DIFFA (Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS).
A “let’s stay relevant” junkie who plans trips months out mostly for the joy of planning them, and a firm believer in telling people they do have talent — out loud, while it still matters. He and his partner, Mark, have been together for more than 30 years — a life together mainly managed by a determined pup named Hudson.
“Tell people they do have talent — out loud, while it still matters.”
John’s ‘tell them’ theory — and not a bad summary of how he works, either.
Clients & collaborators, past and present include…
Visit Dallas · American Mensa · WFAA-TV · 1418 Coffee · Educational Insights · Leeza Gibbons Enterprises · The Dallas Morning News · iHeart Radio
Got a brand that needs a growth strategy, partnership development, a place that needs visitors, or even a show that needs a room it can’t get into? Reach out…he loves new relationships.
Instagram: @jmcgilldallas