Spark44 the joint venture agency part owned by Jaguar Land Rover has named former Saatchi & Saatchi group business director Jasmin Bedir as its new MD.
Spark44 was founded as a 50:50 venture with Jaguar Land Rover in 2011 to act as the global lead agency for the luxury auto brand. In 2014 it acquired Australian shop Morris & Partners, which was led by David Morris.
Morris and Partners had held the Land Rover account locally since 1989. Following Bedir’s appointment, David Morris, founder of Morris & Partners, is scaling back his responsibilities - as planned when the agency was aquired.
Bedir, who has spent 15 years working with luxury and automotive clients both in Australia and in Germany, previously ran the Lexus account at Saatchi & Saatchi before the business moved to M&C Saatchi last year. She also worked on BMW/Mini and luxury watch brand IWC.
The agency, while part owned by its sole client, Jaguar Land Rover, could if it wanted to, take on new business, but it’s not on Bedir's agenda,
“It’s a great luxury not having to chase new business and do pitches, because it means you can just focus on the client,” she told AdNews.
“The client has the same ownership as the agency so it's a relationship you wouldn’t normally get but both sides own the projects together.”
Spark44 draws on the talent in the global network but locally is also looking to scale up its operation taking on new staff as its output for Jaguar increases. It is taking on social media for the brand in addition to the creative.
“We need people who understand the future of advertising, not the past,” Bedir told AdNews.
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