ZURU Group has appointed Stu Mallarkey, formerly of creative agency Special, as executive creative director, marking a moment in the company’s evolution from product disruptor to global brand builder.
Mallarkey joins at a moment where ZURU is intentionally shifting its focus from building great products, to building the greatest brands for the future, brands that live in culture.
With a background at Special, one of NZs most recognized and awarded creative agencies – Mallarkey brings a proven track record of delivering culturally resonant, globally recognised, digitally-oriented work.
Special picked up a host of trophies at the B&T Awards including the coveted Grand Prix.
“This is an epic opportunity, to help build and shape world famous brands that live in social and culture is incredible. The ambition, scale and energy at ZURU is infectious and I can’t wait to build something that can re-define what an internal creative agency can look like,” said Mallarkey.
At ZURU, he will lead a newly formed internal creative agency function, tasked with elevating social & content creative output, filling feeds around the world with the best thumb-stopping, fomo-inducing, culture-defining ideas for ZURU’s brands across all categories, from Toys to FMCG.
“We built ZURU by refusing to accept that incumbents couldn’t be beaten — moving faster, thinking bigger, and backing ourselves. The next chapter is about turning that same energy into brands the world genuinely falls in love with. Stu is one of the most talented creative minds out there, and bringing him in is a clear signal of how serious we are about becoming one of the great brand-building companies of our generation,” concluded Nick Mowbray, co-founder of ZURU.
