HLK to help accelerate growth across altafiber and Hawaiian Telcom.
ST. LOUIS, MO — July 20, 2026 — HLK, an integrated brand and marketing agency with offices in St. Louis and Chicago, has been named media and creative agency of record for altafiber and Hawaiian Telcom following a competitive review process. The partnership brings together HLK's integrated strategy, creative, media and analytics capabilities to help both brands accelerate customer acquisition through audience-led, full-funnel marketing, performance media and connected brand-building.
altafiber, formerly known as Cincinnati Bell, is a leading technology provider headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, with operations in Hawaii under the Hawaiian Telcom brand. The company delivers high-speed fiber internet, voice and video services to residential and business customers through an expanding fiber network and continued investments in connectivity infrastructure.
"We're making significant investments in the future of our business, and we needed a marketing partner that shared our long-term perspective," said Michele Lehmkuhl, VP Marketing & Consumer Sales, altafiber. "HLK brought a strong understanding of where our brands are headed and a clear point of view on how to build a more audience-led, performance-driven marketing approach that supports growth across our business."
The engagement spans both consumer and business audiences and includes integrated media, creative and measurement strategies designed to strengthen audience segmentation, improve marketing effectiveness, accelerate customer acquisition and build long-term brand preference across both brands.
"What stood out to us throughout the review process was the aspirations of both the altafiber and Hawaiian Telcom marketing teams," said Emily Kircher, Chief Marketing Officer at HLK. "The opportunity is bigger than launching campaigns. It's about building an audience-first growth engine that connects brand and performance, using smarter insights, more relevant creative and measurable media strategies."
The partnership reinforces HLK's continued momentum in highly complex, competitive categories and underscores the agency's ability to connect long-term brand building with performance-driven growth.