M&C Saatchi shake-up: the official release
M&C Saatchi has hired Darryn Melrose as CEO, Dave King as executive creative director and Tony Burt as Planning Director to lead a consolidation of marketing channels at the agency, adding a genuine digital element to its traditional advertising, government and retail offerings.
Recognising that the media landscape is moving fast and that integratedcampaigns with specialist digital expertise is what is needed for allbrands, M&C Saatchi worldwide chairman Tom Dery knew the agencyneeded experienced digital leadership: “The way the digital landscapeis transforming globally means these are exciting times foradvertising. New Zealand is leading the way in digital, and now M&CSaatchi has a world class digital team to add to its offering. Ten tofifteen years ago digital agencies were kept separate. Now digital isintegrating with big ad agencies, like what is happening at M&CSaatchi New Zealand. This move, a first for New Zealand, shows a majoragency leading with digital to complement the traditional approach.”
Melrose, King and Burt were headhunted from AIM Proximity, one of theworld’s leading digital agencies and they bring a rich history intraditional above-the-line, digital and direct expertise. Mr Melrosewas CEO at AIM Proximity and is one of New Zealand’s pre-eminent directand digital marketing specialists; he is also the Chair of thepan-industry Digital Leadership Group. King is renowned as one of themost creative advertising and marketing brains in the business. He tookM&C Saatchi Sydney to number two in the world in 2006 and AIMProximity to number one in the world in 2009. Burt meanwhile has workedin digital strategy roles in London for Sapient Interactive and AKQA.Melrose says:
“There is a huge amount of potential that already exists at M&CSaatchi New Zealand, Dave, Tony and I are all experiencedabove-the-line practitioners, but we also bring great digital knowledgethat is vital in today’s market. Clients are looking for a fresherapproach, for strategies and solutions that solve business problems. Wewill give New Zealand an advertising option that has the scope, scaleand ambition of any world class campaign.”
21 Comments
Digital this, digital that. It’s not a silver bullet guys. Average ideas built on hollow insight are not magically transformed into gold with the addition of a Twitbook button.
All of Aim’s work transformed into gold.
This release looks like it came from the 90’s. What’s new about intergration?
What an embarrassment for M&C. Who wrote that?
All they need now is Aim’s old financial controller and they’ve got the perfect recipe for another right royal fuck up!
This has ruined two OK-ish agencies.
Integration, yawn. 7.54am is right, thats embarrassing for M&C. Fire the copywriter who came up with that.
“Melrose, King and Burt were headhunted from Aim Proximity.” Funny how spin doctors have to rewrite history. Like the well-known fact that Melrose ‘left’ Clems under shall we say ‘difficult’ circumstances. No love lost there. Hear he was pushed.
But in the spin doctors version, he was head hunted. Go figure. Yawn.
Digital Smigital. I met a client at a barbie yesterday whose getting told to spend hundreds of grand on digital, but no one can really tell him why, or what is going to happen.
Objective One: Stay for 6 months.
Objective Two: Don’t fire anyone.
and the best bit…. M&Cs biggest client have just put them on notice. Karma’s a bitch.
He was pushed, M&C is desperate.
What a load of spin. And the digital rubbish is just that, rubbish.
The other fella wont get another job in this neck of the woods anyway.
Objective Three: Don’t lose any clients.
Oops.
Someone had their hand on it while they were writing this press release. Jeez. Wanking everywhere.
2.37 they certainly did. And what a mess!
Wank wank wank wank
This is how these things are NOT done. What a balls up.
Big wank on the press release, all over it.
Fap fap fap fap fap
Some of these posts are right on the money; digital has been totally over-cooked in the last 2 years, thanks to the ‘specialists’ who act like randy salesmen trying to get a piece of every client’s wallet. For the new black it’s decidedly grey.
“The Official Release” aka “The Super-Sanitised Bullshit Version.”
Thats pretty bad. 8.07 is right – fap fap fap
Vine Hill.