The recent release of five digital
properties; Kupu (Spark), Convert-it (BNZ), SelfieSTIX Filters
(Pedigree), My Moni (BNZ) and Penny the Penguin (BNZ) marks the end of
the long rebuild for the digital offering at Colenso BBDO, and the
beginning of some very exciting opportunities for the team.
With
the merger of Touchcast Auckland over 18 months ago, the departure of
key people to Wellington and ASB and a multitude of digital startups, it
was time to rebuild the offering.
Colenso BBDO
never has a shortage of challenging problems, great ideas and amazing
clients; getting this team on track was a priority for the company's
leadership team and crucial to their future success.
With the promotion of some of the company's digital stars to lead
roles, the addition of new producers, one incredible Russian lead
developer and a creative technologist who plays a mean guitar solo, it
had its core team back.
Matt Barnes (left) arrived as head of digital, giving Colenso the natural leader it needed and completing the digital puzzle.
Matt's
the perfect partner for Levi Slavin, CCO, and Paul Courtney, COO, to
lead the company wide digital offering, spanning across both creative
and studios capabilities.
Says Levi: "We
welcome Matt into the Colenso family and have loved getting him deep
into our clients' problems and solutions. Having the creative, tech and
production brain in one has its obvious benefits."
Barnes
has a rich history in experience design, production and creativity,
making him the perfect mix for a role as varied as any within the
company today.
Barnes will own the company's
relationships with partners such as Google, Facebook and Amazon, working
with them to strategise and execute more incredible digital branded
experiences.
Leading the 20 strong digital
specialists will not be new to Barnes, as his recent time at FCB showed.
FCB's 'Oat the Goat' work was heavily awarded at the recent BEST
awards.
Says Barnes: "What excites me about Colenso
is not only being surrounded by incredibly smart people, but the massive
opportunity to use technology to change people's lives in a very
tangible way."
Colenso, informed by data, is
using those insights to drive meaningful brand experiences for their
clients and their clients' customers.
Says
Barnes: "Clearly Colenso are already smashing it in this space, and I'm
relishing the chance to help take it to the next level in New Zealand
and on the international stage."