WPP’s Ogilvy Sydney has announced significant changes to its creative structure, fully integrating its social creatives into the department, and adding a raft of new recruits.
Derek Green, executive creative director at Ogilvy Sydney, said the hiring spree and merging of creative, social and content creatives under his stewardship marked one of the most exciting times in the evolution of his creative department.
“These days, we’re constantly fighting to keep our ideas as simple as possible in an ever-so-complex environment,” he said.
“With so many ways to talk to consumers, it makes no sense to get the so-called ‘mainstream creatives’ to create the big idea and then hand it off to the social/content team to adapt the idea for their platforms.
“We’ve changed how all work is briefed and how teams are structured, and this way their diverse skills will cross-pollinate to create richer thinking. This is about anticipating our clients’ future needs and doing something to address them.”
To support this focus, Ogilvy has added a raft of new talent to its creative department.
“We’ve hired a wide range of talent with diverse skills and to fit with our creative strategy – that cut-through comes from engaging in more than just the inner-city advertising community,” Green said.
“It’s a necessary approach in a fast-moving market, and our clients are already reaping the rewards as we continually produce work that works.”
Clemenger Sydney’s Ben Smith and Luke Hawkins have joined Ogilvy as creative directors, working closely with creative group head and digital chief Shaun Branagan to service the KFC account
“Shaun has transformed the KFC business over the past five years, and with Ben and Luke on board, we look forward to seeing more great work to come,” Green said.
Also boosting the team are copywriters Farah Ahmad, Fred Corazza, Georgie Waters, and Ava Frawley, as well as art directors Jasmine Subrata, Raphael Valenti and Felix Ettelson.
“These creatives represent very different styles of creative teams – always keeping us on our toes, developing ideas from a totally different direction, and taking creative risks I love to see. I can’t wait to see what they all do next,” Green said.
The social and content specialist creatives joining Ogilvy Sydney’s main creative department are Nathan Moraza, Wilson Kwong, Tom Macphail, Maddi Hoskin, Lucy Hay, and Joshua Tan.
“Their integration reflects an agency wide commitment to best-in-class content that extends beyond the standard ways we approach channels,” Green said.
Alex Watts, head of social at Ogilvy Sydney, said: “Our team has a long history of doing incredible social work, and bringing them into the fold of the creative department centres our offering around content and social.
“I’m incredibly excited for them and for where our team goes next.”
