PR firm Liquid Ideas has announced the appointment of Narelle Craig (right in photo) as its first ever chief executive officer, commencing next month.
Craig will take the reins of leadership at Liquid Ideas from founder Stuart Gregor (left in photo) who will continue in the business full-time until the end of 2017 before taking on a creative chairman role from the beginning of 2018.
Craig has a long and much lauded 20-plus year career in consumer public relations, marketing and executive management in Australia, Asia, the US and Europe.
In Australia she is best known for being the co-founder and managing director of the multiple award-winning Bang Public Relations from 2005-2015.
Over the decade she ran Bang, the business worked on a suite of long standing clients including Optus, Universal Sony Pictures, Woolworths, Destination NSW VIVID Sydney, Cadbury, Schweppes, Expedia, Pizza Hut and Ferrari. Bang was the agency responsible for the public relations component of one of the most awarded creative campaigns in the world, the NAB Break-Up campaign, which they executed alongside Clemenger BBDO Melbourne in 2011. In 2012 Bang was sold to M&C Saatchi.
Since 2015 Craig has been living and working across Asia, specialising in digital content and most recently as CEO of a Singapore domiciled company running an international lifestyle business out of Indonesia and Hong Kong.
Before her time at Bang, Craig worked between London and New York in global marketing communication roles.
“Joining Liquid Ideas to work with its already stellar team and clients, and building on the fantastic culture Stu and his team are known for, is an opportunity and privilege I’m hugely excited about.” Craig said.
“Anyone who has worked with me knows how passionate I am about great people, great clients and delivering exceptional results. Liquid Ideas is already a great agency with a terrific reputation in lifestyle, hospitality, consumer retail, food and wine. Bringing an increased focus on broader consumer strategies and new technologies for clients means we’ll have great fun together in making a great business even better.”
Liquid Ideas currently has on its roster; Beam Suntory, Dan Murphy’s, Singapore Airlines, Kellogg’s, Unilever, Kenwood, Fever-Tree, Pt Leo Estate, Voyager Estate, Peter’s Ice Cream, Crows Nest Hotel and the New Brighton Manly, Shaw + Smith, The Lucas Group as well as not-for-profits RUOK DAY?, The Kids Cancer Project and OzHarvest.
“After 18 years at the helm I knew it was about time to get a fresh set of eyes, a new attitude and dynamism into the business,” Stuart Gregor said.
“We searched a long time for the ideal candidate and I’m pretty confident we have found it with Narelle – I knew of her work and reputation while she was at Bang and it was always an agency I admired. I think she will take Liquid Ideas on a really great trajectory once she settles into the role.”
From 2018 Gregor intends to spend more time on the Four Pillars gin business he co-founded in 2013 as well as offering counsel to Craig and the Liquid Ideas team for “as long as they will have me – I expect they’ll probably not need me sooner than I might have hoped . . .”
