Poem has appointed Alex Sol Watts as executive director to lead strategy and social for the business.
Lead image: Alex Watts, executive director, strategy & social, Poem
Alex has spent his career building some of Australia’s most lauded brands as an integrated strategist and social expert. He has led local and global transformation for brands including Skittles, Wotif, Coca Cola and American Express, and won some of advertising’s most prestigious awards, including a Grand Effie for his work on McDonald’s and Gold Lions and Webbys for his work on Tiger Beer and KFC.
Alex Watts joins Poem following a period working as a consulting strategist and advisor to a number of Australian businesses, from blue chip to start up. Prior to his recent stint freelancing, he was a partner at Bullfrog and former head of social for DDB, and Ogilvy, working on both local Australian and global accounts, Alex oversaw significant commercial growth for both his clients and agencies.
“Lots of agencies talk about differently shaped work but at Poem, they’re actually making it happen. A proper obsession with effectiveness matched with endless enthusiasm for approaching things in a meaningfully different way. It’s a real treat to be part of, and to help define the next generation of Australian commercial creativity,” said Watts.
“The future of commercial communications is about having a deep understanding of the humans you’re talking to, and the cultures they’re part of. I’m thrilled to have Alex properly embedded into the team to keep elevating our strategic and social practice and further our vision to be the leader in earned-first effectiveness,” added Rob Lowe, co-founder and managing director.
“We’ve been searching for the right skillset to join our evolving leadership team in this particular role for some time and Alex was an obvious choice. He brings a unique perspective on the future of comms and huge experience in the industry – in social and beyond. Alex is already playing a key role in helping us define the future of creative communications that merge both social and PR thinking for greater effectiveness,” commented Katie Raleigh, managing partner.
Alex joins the business to support a growing team of integrated communications experts, across strategy, social, content and creative, which includes the recent appointment of Jess Cluff as creative director and promotion of Rhania Farah to general manager. Poem’s current social clients include the likes of Sony PlayStation, Oporto and Salad Servers, amongst others.
