Imagination Australia Leads Two Global Launches As Creative Team Expands

Imagination is ramping up its Australian operations, and two major automotive appointments are leading the momentum, with the company selected to lead global launches for both Nissan and Ford.

For Nissan, the agency handled the creative and production of the LEAF’s global reveal.

“It's a challenging time for all automotives, with everything from geopolitics to tariffs to the cost of transformation and electrification," Alistair Wilson, managing director of Imagination Australia told LBB.

"To be given this one was pretty extraordinary. We did a pretty epic launch video, which we filmed out in Japan in May, and went live last week."

For Ford, Imagination led the brand’s 100-year celebration in Melbourne, which included the global debut of the Ranger Super Duty and a celebration of its centenary partnership with the Geelong Cats.

“Imagination Australia has done a lot of work on centenaries, from the Royal Australian Navy to the Commonwealth Bank. We did Westpac’s bicentenary. It's a real strength that we have, but it's also one of the jobs that the team absolutely love doing, because you get to dive into the archives and unearth a lot of amazing stuff as part of that journey,” said Alistair.

As well as the new client wins, the agency has expanded its team by over 30% in the past year, with a string of senior creative appointments to strengthen its output. These include: Stephen Van Elst, global creative innovation director; Vanessa Tucker, creative director; Brett Glover, creative director, screen and content; Rowan Marchingo, creative communications director; and Drew Scott, creative lead.

The creative team is led by Dan Simon, a long-time Imagination creative, who was recently appointed head of creative for Australia.

“One of the things that has always set us on a really good path is just really doubling down on our creative -- that’s why we’re called Imagination. A real focal point for me is seeing how we can supercharge that,” Alistair said.

“These are really extraordinary times for all our clients, and we just want to give them our very best. A lot of our success over the last year has been really around doubling down with our existing clients and diversifying with them. And then really being very strategic around some of these new business wins like Nissan and Ford, where we've got a real clear strength and a real unique point of difference of what we can offer.”