A founder departs
Jarad O’Hara, who was a founding member of .99 and most recently served as the client services manager, has left the Clemenger-owned agency to start his own consultancy called O’Hara, which offers services to both agencies and clients, specialising in retail communications and pitch consultancy.
O’Hara was with .99 for over 11 years, playing a key role in developing the agency to a business that today employs over 100 staff and has over 20 clients.
In his time with the agency, he enjoyed significant success on the awards circuit, picking up over 30 gongs.
And as someone who has led over 25 successful pitches in that time, O’Hara is well positioned to now share his industry insights with the new clients.
In an interview with NBR, O’Hara said that he has “had a lot of fun” in his time with .99, but that he felt it was the right time to move on.
Neither O’Hara nor JustOne/.99 managing director Ben Goodale could not be reached for comment this morning.
Update: Goodale says: “Jarad is a fantastic guy who has made a massive contribution to the agency over the years. It’s an exciting time for him and we really wish him well.”
Asked whether he has found a replacement, Goodale said that it’s not easy to replace someone like O’Hara and that the agency would make an announcement in that regard in the near future.
PHD coaxes Bird away from FCB
PHD Group has poached FCB planning director Simon Bird and appointed him as group strategy director.
The news follows the group’s recent appointment announcements of Nikki Grafton to managing director of Spark PHD and PHDiQ, and Jane Stanley to managing director of Resolution Media and programmatic buying arm Accuen. Bird replaces Stanley in her previous PHD group strategy director capacity.
PHD chief executive Louise Bond says Bird is a very welcome addition to the agency.
“Simon brings with him a wealth of strategy experience, having worked in a number of large creative and media agencies, both locally and internationally,” she says. “Working together with Gareth O’Connor and James Davidson, this trio will continue to deliver great strategic thinking across Spark PHD, PHDiQ and Spark PR & Activate.”
Bird also looks forward to the challenge and adds: “Insight driven strategy is what PHD was founded upon, it remains at the agency’s heart, and this approach is becoming increasingly important for clients as media choices continue to expand. I’ve worked and played with a number of people at PHD and have a huge amount of respect for the team there. I’m really excited to be joining them and the fact that Gareth also happens to be a keen golfer is a nice bonus.”
He starts the new role in May.
Flying solo
Designworks head of strategy Chris Meade has left the agency after 11 years to run his own business called Foundational NZ, which according to the Companies Office was registered on 9 March and is also located in Wellington.
Meade’s Linkedin page says Foundational NZ “helps build an enduring adapt ability inside businesses, through assisting business leaders define and articulate their core strategic thinking in a way that’s unique, powerful and actionable.”
Designworks group chair Sven Baker described Meade as a valuable team member, who he enjoyed working with over the last decade. Baker added that wished Meade well and that he looked forward to seeing his progress at Foundational.
When asked whether Designworks would be appointing a replacement for Meade, Baker said that one would not be made on account of the team being reshaped.
In other Designworks news, the agency has also appointed branding and design industry heavyweight Brad Doble to the role of managing director of the Australian side of the business. His appointment is effective immediately.
Doble returns to his native Australia to take up the role following a successful 20-year international career with various consultancies, including the UK’s Landor Associates and Siegel+ Gale. Most recently, he held the position of managing director of Munich for Lambie-Nairn, prior to which he was executive client director at Lambie-Nairn London, where he ran major client accounts including O2 and Direct Line insurance.
Baker said Doble would spearhead the continued growth and evolution of Designworks’ operations in Australia.
“Over the past 12 months both the Sydney and Melbourne studios have significantly enhanced their strategic innovation and customer experience design capability with the appointment of some key talent and new client partnerships,” he said. “Identifying a strong leader aligned to our strategy and the rapidly changing client needs is key to our ongoing evolution and growth in the Australian market. It’s been an extensive search but patience has paid off. In Brad we’ve found a genuine design thinker who shares our passion for designing brilliant user-centered experiences. Brad’s return to Australia will be an exciting addition to the Sydney and Melbourne teams as he brings more than 20 years of invaluable experience in Europe, the Middle East and Asia to the business and our client relationships.”
Doble replaces Tim Riches who left the agency late in 2014.
Director’s chair
Broadcasting minister Amy Adams recently announced the appointment of Joan Withers as the chair of TVNZ.
“Withers is a highly experienced director, having held several challenging and high profile positions in some of New Zealand’s most iconic companies,” said Adams in a release from the government. “Her background and expertise in media positions her well to take the helm of TVNZ at a time when it’s growing its online presence. As deputy chair of the TVNZ board since 2009, Withers brings continuity, solid industry knowledge and significant governance leadership experience to the role.”
Withers is currently the chair of Mighty River Power and also sits on the board of ANZ. She formerly chaired Auckland International Airport and was previously chief executive of Fairfax Media New Zealand.
Her term runs from 1 May 2015 to 30 April 2016.
Adams thanked the retiring chair Wayne Walden for his stewardship of TVNZ over the last four years.
Springloaded
Springload has announced the appointment of Lee Tucknott to the position of UX director.
Currently head of design at Trade Me, Tucknott has a long career in the development of UX teams across the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Tucknott’s appointment comes at a good time for Springload. The company recently opened an Auckland office in Britomart and also moved back into the newly earthquake-strengthened Hope Gibbons Building in Wellington.
“I’m delighted to be joining Springload,” Tucknott says. “The challenge of growing the company both here in New Zealand and internationally is a really exciting one that I’m keen to be a part of. The Springload team show genuine integrity and a desire to deliver meaningful and useful digital experiences, working collaboratively alongside their clients. These ideals are things that I share.”
Springload’s managing director Bron Thomson said that he looked forward to welcoming Tucknott into the team in early May.
“We’re extending and refining our offering in providing end-to-end, insight-driven digital solutions, and having Lee on board will help greatly with this,” Thomson said in a release.
Kerr steps onto Facebook’s global stage
DDB New Zealand’s digital creative director Haydn Kerr has been selected as the only representative from the southern hemisphere to attend the very first Facebook ‘Creative Hackathon’ in the United States.
DDB Worldwide chief creative officer Amir Kassaei chose Haydn as the global representative from the entire DDB Network in large part due to the strong digital campaigns to come out of New Zealand recently, including the #Bringdowntheking campaign for Sky, which was so well awarded at the recent Axis Awards.
Kassaei says: “We’ve always known that New Zealand is home to a hub of digital, creative talent, and the Kiwi team has proved this time and again with their incredible work. I thought it only fitting to reward them by giving them the ultimate challenge; to see what they can create at Facebook.”
Kerr has been given a live brief to develop a campaign for one of DDB’s clients that will push Facebook’s technology with the intention of trying to ‘break Facebook’, something encouraged by Mark Zuckerberg himself, by building new elements and creating new solutions for the platform.
DDB has chosen to develop a campaign for the Westpac Chopper Appeal in the hackathon.
Supported by a team of DDBers, and working with some of the world’s best tech-smarts from Facebook, Kerr had until 17 March to develop the campaign, before joining 14 other leading creatives and digital experts from the United States and United Kingdom to present his response.
Kerr will present the campaign to a judging panel featuring 20 advertising stalwarts that form the Facebook Creative Council. Judges include the founders of Droga5, Mother and Barton F Graf 9000, as well as the global creative heads of R/GA, JWT, Leo Burnett, TBWA, Y&R, Publicis, McCann and DDB (Kassaei).
Hackathons are a big tradition at Facebook. They serve as the foundation for some great ideas and give budding experts the opportunity to try out new ideas and collaborate with other people in a fun environment. This is the first time that creatives from advertising industry have been invited to take part.
Kerr says: “This opportunity is an absolute privilege for not just myself, but DDB NZ. To be selected from the entire network and to be the only person from outside the UK and US is exciting, and a little nerve-racking. It proves that not only do we make great ads, but we’re recognised as leaders in creative digital thinking.”
Taking the Kiwi reins
Interbrand has appointed Mark Jenner as managing director of its New Zealand operation.
According to a release, Jenner will be responsible for growing Interbrand’s business with existing clients, developing new relationships and designing new products and services, all with the aim of helping New Zealand organisations build growth strategies and unleash value from their brands.
He previously held senior commercial roles with organisations around the world, including stints as managing partner for Hourigan International New Zealand, head of digital for Telecom NZ, international marketing director for Heineken (based in Malaysia) and global marketing manager (based in the Netherlands). In the early years of his career, Jenner held marketing roles with DB Breweries (NZ), SmithKline Beecham (UK) and Unilever (NZ).
Interbrand regional chair Marty O’Halloran says he’s excited to have someone of Jenner’s calibre, brand background and senior leadership experience on board. “Mark will play a pivotal role in driving the business forward in New Zealand and help it meet the growing demand for business and brand strategy counsel,” he says.
Jenner added: “Interbrand has an unrivalled array of powerful brand building and business strategy IP that helps grow their clients’ businesses every day, in every corner of the globe. I’m excited at the prospect of leveraging that knowledge and creativity for the advantage of our New Zealand clients and the benefit of the wider business community here.”
He starts his new position on 30 March.
Our judges
The 62nd Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, which celebrates creative excellence in advertising and communications, has announced the appointment of seven New Zealand jury representatives. New Zealand will be represented on the Media, Cyber, Design, PR, Direct, Promo & Activation, and Radio Lions juries for 2015.
The jurors are:
- Creative Effectiveness: Lucinda Sherborne (DDB)
- Cyber: Guy Roberts (Saatchi & Saatchi)
- Promo and Activation: Tony Clewett (FCB)
- Design: Musonda Katongo (Y&R)
- PR: Trish Sherson (Sherson Wills)
- Media: Robert Harvey (Dentsu Aegis Network)
- Radio: Bridget Taylor (Contagion)
Suzie Lamborn, sales director of Val Morgan, the official New Zealand Cannes Lions representative commented: “Once again we have a stellar line up of industry professionals who are able to represent New Zealand at the jury table and reward the best international work at the Festival”.
Entries are now open for this year’s Festival, which will take place from 21 to 27 June 2015. Entries can be made online at the Cannes Lions website.
