Digital agency Isobar has promoted creative director Dave Budge to the role of executive creative director (ECD), Australia.
Budge was creative director with the original Visual Jazz Isobar team, after which he spent five years directing film, television and digital content before re-joining the agency in January this year.
Isobar’s managing director, Konrad Spilva, told AdNews that the agency embarked on a global search after its former ECD left the business, but that the person who was right for the role was already working in the agency.
“Dave’s been back in the business for a year nearly, he came on as a creative director and it's interesting because we worked together 10-12 years ago. He was our tenth Visual Jazz employee,” Spilva said.
“Once our previous ECD left we did a big global search, we flew a few down to Melbourne, but it was interesting working with Dave all the way through that process, and the right person to fit with the agency was right under our nose.”
During the search, Spilva said, they had many applicants with portfolios filled with award-winning work, but what was best for Isobar was an ECD who didn't have to learn digital but was already a native.
“Dave has completely grown up in this industry, in digital, and is a complete native. He doesn't even need to think if it's a beautiful movie that he's created or a great digital experience. I think he's exactly the right appointment for us.”
Budge told AdNews that digital agencies have really matured since he was last in the business that he was really looking forward to working from a strategic standpoint, not just a creative one.
“Digital agencies have really matured in the last four or five years. When I left iPhones had just come out. The landscape and the involvement of digital communications in people's lives was much less and our budgets were less,” Budge said. “So coming back I saw the maturity in the digital agengy: that the spirit could be there and the fun is still there, but its now backed by really strong thinking and structure that actually comes from people understanding strategy and experience.”
As part of the agency's digital make-up Budge explained it won't be needing to hire a creative technologist anytime soon.
“We don't have a creative technologist, we don't need one, everyone is digital, everyone gets it. We can say: 'Hey we just need some last-minute help with a technology project' and our staff can say they can help.”
It's been a little over a year since the agency dropped the Visual Jazz from it's title as part of a global rebrand and Spilva said moving forward the agency is going to continue to focus on what it always has, "creating the best experiences it can" for consumers and clients.
“It's not as sparkly or shiny as saying: 'We're going to do this thing to win a big award'. But if the work gets the results for our clients, and people love playing with it, the work will ultimately succeed anyway.”
For more news:
Visual Jazz by nature if not by name
Isobar wins Foxtel Networks
Isobar appoints Rod Farmer as Sydney GM
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