Former M&C Saatchi Group Head Nick Russo Joins DDB Sydney as Managing Partner
Nick Russo has joined DDB Sydney as managing partner on Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
"I'm looking forward to helping drive
Volkswagen to great sales results, and cutting through in really
competitive markets with some stand out creative.
Says
DDB Australia CEO Andrew Little: "We're really pleased to welcome Nick
to the DDB Sydney family. He's a brilliant fit for our culture and where
our business is heading."
Russo
was most recently group head at M&C Saatchi for 10 years leading
the Lexus business. He has a range of other high-level experience across
telcos, FMCG and retail.
Russo said he's
passionate about building relationships and delivering creative
excellence with solid business outcomes: "The opportunity to work at DDB
Sydney on Volkswagen was a no brainer. An iconic agency, and an iconic
brand.
"I
jumped at the chance to work with the DDB Sydney crew, particularly
with Ben (Welsh, DDB CCO) again because we share a passion for great
work, and work that works," he said.
DDB Sydney has a long history with Volkswagen, first winning the
Volkswagen Passenger Vehicles business in Australia in 2001, and then
the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (CV) and Skoda accounts in 2015.
Volkswagen
CV's most famous campaign via DDB Sydney was the 2016 'The Naked Ute'
Amarok campaign, which picked up a bunch of awards including a Silver
Cannes Lion. This was followed up by the 'Mad Max-inspired' Korama work
for the Amarok V6.
"I was a big fan of 'The
Naked Ute' and its success, and I'm looking forward to seeing what we
can do with the Amarok in the future. Commercial Vehicles is such an
exciting segment. There are so many established utes to take on, we want
to continue to shake things up and prove that what people call a 'posh
ute' is actually a very serious player," Russo said.
