Tag: Droga5

Australia – Accenture Song’s Droga5 has announced that its ANZ executive creative director Barbara Humphries and Droga5 Aotearoa chief creative officer Damon Stapleton will step into new roles as co-chief creative officers of Australia and New Zealand, working in conjunction with Matt Michael, CEO of Droga5 ANZ.

Meanwhile, Droga5 Australia chief creative officer Tara Ford has been named the chief creative officer of Droga5 London. Based in London, Ford will take on the creative helm, working closely alongside Droga5 London CEO Bill Scott and chief strategy officer Will Hodge.

The new ANZ creative line up is part of an orchestrated creative restructure to reinvent Droga5’s worldwide offering and reposition the expanding global network for its new phase of growth and ambition under Droga5 Global CEO Mark Green.

Speaking on this move, Damon said, “Droga5 has always been a bastion of world-class creativity, and it makes me proud to be able to work with all the great and talented people of Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne to add to Droga5’s story. Having the larger playing field of Australia and New Zealand with so many more Lego pieces to push creativity forward is always going to be fun. On top of that, I get to partner with somebody as massively talented as Barb which makes that journey even more special. I look forward to great ideas and making great stuff.”

Meanwhile, Barbara commented, “I’m really proud of the recent momentum as part of The Monkeys, Song and now Droga5, and learning from a creative force like Tara over the past few years has been invaluable. Now, with the opportunity to bring together more of our talented people across three offices, partnering with the brilliant Damon Stapleton and long-time collaborator Matt, I’m super excited about the opportunities ahead of us.”

It is worth noting that in 2024, Droga5 acquired award-winning Brazilian agency SOKO as well as welcomed The Monkeys in Australia and New Zealand – co-founded by Mark Green – to its network.

Matt Michael, CEO, Droga5 Australia & New Zealand, stated, “I’m excited for Tara and looking forward to seeing her make the incredible kind of impact she has made in Australia in another part of our global network. Her move to head up London further underscores the incredible regional and global opportunities available to our creative talent. Having worked closely with Barb and Damon over the years, I’m thrilled to see these two heavyweights unite, strengthening our creative firepower for clients across the region.”

He added, “This move reinforces our commitment to borderless creativity, driving transformative impact for our client’s businesses, brands, and reputations in a way that continues to lead the world. With the creative calibre of Damon and Barb leading the charge, the next phase of Droga5 ANZ is set to be truly exciting.”

Mark Green, global CEO at Droga5, said, “It is always great to see people you have worked with closely for many years take on new challenges. With Tara moving to London, we didn’t hesitate to elevate Barb and Damon, and it felt like the perfect opportunity for everyone to advance their careers and bolster the creative pedigree of Droga5 globally.”

Meanwhile, Pelle Sjoenell, worldwide chief creative officer, Droga5, commented, “We’re fortunate to have such extraordinary talent within the Droga5 global family. It’s an embarrassment of riches to have world-class creative leaders like Tara, Barbara and Damon. As we welcome Tara into a new chapter in London and unite Barbara and Damon’s creative firepower for ANZ, it allows us to work without borders — harnessing our people, capabilities, and influence to make a real impact for our clients and move us closer to our ambition of being the most influential creative company.”

Speaking on her new move to the agency’s London office, Tara said, “I’ve had an amazing time at The Monkeys, now Droga5 ANZ, working with some exceptional talent but the opportunity to take on my next big challenge of Droga5 London was just too alluring. Droga5 ANZ is in great hands with Barb and Damon at the helm and I have no doubt the agency will flourish under their leadership.”

Australia – Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is back with its yearly lamb advertisement, this time it encourages online users to get out of the comments and enjoy lamb cutlets, as the country enjoys a renewed success in exporting lambs.

Created by Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song, and directed by Max Barden from The Sweetshop, the ad was created with 100% real Australian comments sourced from online platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Facebook and YouTube.

From how to make the perfect cuppa, to some of the year’s most viral moments – this year’s ad was created using real online comments that divided our nation on so many topics.

With its typical tongue-in-cheek humour, the ad encouraged people to get out of the comments and get stuck into a lamb cutlet instead, as the shared love of lamb is one thing Aussies can all agree on.

Nathan Low, general manager for marketing & insights at MLA, said that the Summer Lamb campaign showcases lamb as the protein that brings Aussies together.

“When you delve into the world of online commentary, it would leave you thinking we’re all at each other’s throats, no matter how trivial the topic. But in real life, we don’t treat each other like that. The Summer Lamb campaign is an irreverent reminder that we’re at our best when we’re united, and there’s no better way to bring everyone together than an Aussie Lamb BBQ,” he explained.

The annual lamb ad comes off the back of another incredible year for lamb production in Australia. For the year to September 2024, Australia produced 488,566 tonnes of lamb meat. This was almost as high as the number reached for the full year of 2023, which was the highest on record.

“As producers have continued to send their lambs to the market leading into Summer, we can expect plenty of lamb on the shelves as the campaign launches. Consumers have also continued to show their support for lamb on the back of these campaigns. For example, during the six-week campaign in 2024, purchase volume increased 18.9% compared to the previous year and purchase volume per trip increased 9% compared to the previous year,” he further added.

Building on the ‘Share the Lamb’ brand platform, the five-week integrated campaign features topical jokes, a good dose of satire and of course, lots of mouth-watering lamb. It will feature prominently across online video, cinema, retail out-of-home, paid social and PR.

To keep lamb top of mind and drive purchase in store, the campaign will also connect consumers with a presence in major retail environments including Coles, Woolworth’s, IGA, Costco, Drakes and butcher stores. Product-focused online promotion, digital screens, catalogue, digital assets and point of sale activity will deliver meal inspiration and drive purchase in store. The current issue of Rare Medium magazine will also feature Australian Lamb as a key focus, and have content promoted via paid media.

The full-length ad premiered during the national evening news of Seven and Nine on the 7th of January. This will be followed by a national rollout across free to air, catch-up and subscription TV, cinema, paid social and retail out of home (OOH) channels.

Australia – Accenture Song has recently announced that Hugh Gurney and Joe Sibley will assume executive creative director roles to lead creativity at Droga5 Melbourne, which has been part of Accenture Song.

As part of the continued move towards a more national approach, Hugh and Joe will report into Tara Ford as CCO Droga5 Australia and will work closely with Milla McPhee, chief strategy officer at Droga5 Australia and Matt Michael, CEO at Droga5 ANZ.

“Hugh and Joe are tremendous creatives and wonderful leaders of talent, who we’re sure will continue to help create world class work from Droga5 in Melbourne,” Ford said.

Meanwhile, Michael commented, “Hugh and Joe were our first team in Melbourne and as long-term members of our creative team, we’ve had the chance to see them grow, so it’s a pleasure to have them take roles as Executive Creative Director I Melbourne as we transition into the future as Droga5.”

“Droga5 make some of the best work in the world, so we jumped at the opportunity,” said Hugh and Joe in perfect unison.

The Monkeys became Droga5 at the start of this month, with the aim of delivering outsized impact through outsized ambition and provocative thinking.

Auckland, New Zealand – Accenture Song, a tech-powered creative group, has appointed Storm Day as its New Zealand lead and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Monkeys Aotearoa ahead of its rebranding to Droga5 in December.

Since joining the company in 2022, Day has been leading The Monkeys Aotearoa’s marketing operations, contributing to the team’s growth.

With over two decades of experience in the marketing and consulting industry, Day has worked with brands such as Tourism New Zealand, ASB, New Zealand Story, Fonterra, Mazda, and Asahi.

Accenture Song recently appointed Bronwyn van der Merwe as Accenture Song lead for Australia and New Zealand and Matt Michael as CEO of Droga5.

Justin Mowday, country managing director at Accenture New Zealand, said, “Storm has been instrumental in expanding the team at The Monkeys Aotearoa and making Accenture Song’s global expertise relevant to the New Zealand market.”

“She is a formidable leader with unbeatable local knowledge and experience and is the best person to help steer us into the future as we continue to champion purpose-led growth for our clients in New Zealand,” Mowday added.

“I am extremely excited to be leading this very talented team and working with our clients to join up purpose and customer experience. We help Kiwi organisations put a meaningful purpose at the heart of their culture, operations and experiences to drive growth,” Day commented.

“Combined with the Droga5 name and our incredible creative leader, Damon Stapleton, we will continue to build and sustain Aotearoa’s most influential brands,” Day added.

New York, USA – Droga5 has announced the appointment of Emma Montgomery as its global chief strategy officer. She is the third global appointment for the agency this year, with worldwide CCO Pelle Sjoenell appointed this past March, and global CEO Mark Green recently appointed this fall. 

Montgomery will be bringing her strong leadership expertise to Droga5, and will be responsible for connecting and supercharging Droga5’s strategy and creative offerings globally. She will be based in its headquarters in New York City.

She joins Droga5 after serving as CEO of DDB Chicago. She’s been in the industry for over 20 years, and has served in several high-level leadership positions throughout her career, including as President and CSO of Leo Burnett Chicago, Global CSO of TBWA, and CEO of Leo Burnett Australia. 

She has also worked across a breadth of categories and multiple global clients, including Kraft, Aldi, Diageo and Molson Coors, among many others, including challenger brands and startups.

Montgomery’s multidisciplinary background across business, creative, media, experience design and data and analytics makes her uniquely placed to navigate the current disconnected marketing environment for agencies, clients and consumers alike.

Speaking on her new role, Montgomery said, “I’m excited to join Droga5 and have the opportunity to help carve out a new path for the brand globally, building on its tremendous legacy of creative leadership. The potential of Droga5, combined with the possibilities of Accenture Song, was too exciting to pass up.”

She added, “No other agency has what they have, and as marketing shifts, the chance to make creativity a genuine partner to business is real here. I’m eager to return to my strategy roots and work with Pelle, Mark and our network of Drogans to show the world the force that creativity can be.”

Meanwhile, Annette King, global lead of marketing practice at Accenture Song, commented, “I’m delighted that Emma will complete our new Droga5 global leadership line up, along with Pelle and Mark, and that our clients and our people will get to benefit from the huge contribution she will make to their business and to what we do. She has one of the most interesting, varied, brave and relevant backgrounds of anyone in her field and she is beyond match fit for today’s world and the opportunities it presents to us. We are lucky to have her.”

Lastly, Sjoenell stated, “Emma is a world-class strategic leader and authority that I’ve long admired and dreamt of being partners-in-crime with. Her work inspires the creativity that connects people and brands in ways that move business and culture forward, so I’m excited to finally be able to work with her alongside Mark, and to see her lead and further strengthen our leadership and strategy teams around the world.”

Australia – Accenture Song, The Monkeys and Droga5 have been appointed by Tourism Australia to provide the agency with creative and digital services for five years from July 2024, structured as a three-year initial contract with options for two further one-year extensions.

According to Phillipa Harrison, managing director at Tourism Australia, the contract with Accenture Song has been finalised after a competitive tender process.

“We have a very specific brief at Tourism Australia with a global footprint that sees us actively market into 15 key international markets. Our campaigns have set a high benchmark over the years and as our operating environment continues to evolve we need to ensure Australia stands out on the world stage,” Harrison said.

She added, “During the tender process Accenture Song, along with The Monkeys and Droga5, proved they were best placed to provide Tourism Australia with the integrated global creative and digital services we need. We look forward to working with them to showcase the best Australia has to offer to the world.”

Meanwhile, Susan Coghill, chief marketing officer at Tourism Australia stated that the brief for the tender was for a panel that would allow Tourism Australia to respond to future opportunities and challenges.

“We will be working closely with Accenture, The Monkeys and Droga5 to remind the world why ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ and are excited to learn more about the creative ideas and big thinking they can bring to the table as we look to get Australia’s tourism industry back on a path of sustainable growth,” Coghill said.

She added, “I would also like to take this opportunity to thank M&C Saatchi and Digitas for all of their hard work over the past five years. It was a challenging period and thanks to both agencies we were able to pivot into the domestic space, with the ‘Holiday Here This Year’ campaigns, and once international travel resumed we launched our current global campaign ‘Come and Say G’day’ welcoming travellers back to Australia.”

David Droga, CEO at Accenture Song, commented, “This win means a lot. Professionally and personally. We are thrilled by the wonderful opportunity, immense responsibility and the rekindled partnership.”

Lastly, Mark Green, president of Accenture Song ANZ as well as the co-founder and group CEO of The Monkeys, stated, “It’s a privilege to partner with Susan and her team of outstanding marketers to help transform and elevate Tourism Australia’s global creative and digital marketing approach. Combining the creative firepower of The Monkeys (Australian agency of the decade) and Droga5 (US agency of the decade), underpinned by the technology and global footprint of Accenture Song, we have some of the best Australian talent from around the world coming together to bring the best of Australia to the world.”