With a background in journalism and cultural studies, James was drawn to advertising through his passion for big brand ideas and how they connect with consumers. He started his advertising career at Publicis Mojo Melbourne in 2003, working across Nike, Hertz, Tourism Victoria and Cadbury Australia. With a planning role that straddled across a range of clients, James developed a desire to progress the agencies thinking in inspiring and holistic ways. This was apparent in the Nike Stuff History World Cup Campaign which won Campaign of the Year at the Australian AdNews awards. James joined AMV BBDO as a Planner in October 2006, working across Norwich Union, Johnson & Johnson Global and Heinz. The balance between international planning and working with iconic UK brands was ideal. He returned to Australia after 4 years abroad and took a role at TBWA / Tequila as a Senior Strategic Planner. It was here that his combination of traditional and digital planning skills was brought to bear across TBWA’s broad client base. In 2013, James has taken on a fresh challenge as the Head of Brand Planning at CHE Proximity, where he rejoins the BBDO network. As a leading agency in the digital, direct, CRM, data and social media fields, James brings a unique skill set to this modern and energetic agency with a focus on making brands more valuable to people and people more valuable to brands. Specialties: brand strategy, communications strategy, brand management, research & insight generation, digital integration, creative development.