“Creativity Is Having A Comeback”: Lee Leggett Is Bullish About Clemenger 2.0

Lee Leggett has only been at the helm of the new Clemenger — an agency now comprising Clemenger, CHEP Network, and Traffik — for five weeks, but she’s already confident about giving clients access to more capabilities with less complexity.

“Interestingly, whilst it's the creation of something new, it's almost the creation of something that was always there,” she says of the three businesses merging, in her first interview as CEO of Clemenger.

“There were these three businesses that were separate and distinct for a reason. But clients have been saying to me all year [in] all the big pitches we've been on … 'Can you help us connect this? But can you do it in a way that doesn't complicate things for us?'

“There are some clients that will continue to use us in exactly the same way they have, and that's absolutely fine. But there are clients that have already said, 'Can you tell us more about this capability?’ … Those conversations are happening.”

When BBDO’s global CEO Nancy Reyes revealed the merger in an exclusive interview with LBB, Lee, formerly CHEP Network’s leader, was appointed CEO, but the remainder of the leadership team, including the critical CCO and CSO roles, remained unfilled.

In the weeks since, the business has made some early decisions: Clemenger’s Simon Wassef remains chief strategy and experience officer, and CHEP’s deputy CCO Glen Dickson stays in his post, while former Clemenger CCO Adrian Flores, CHEP CCO Gavin Macleod, CHEP CSO Lilian Sor, and Clemenger chief growth officer Anita Zanesco have exited the business, in addition to former Clems CEO Dani Bassil.

The next, and arguably biggest, decision is the national CCO appointment, for which a global search is underway. Lee says she’s looking for a “phenomenal” partnership, like that which global boss Nancy shares with her global CCO Chris Beresford-Hill.

“That's the partnership that I'm looking-- not to emulate, we're not going to do it exactly the same way, but they are super connected in driving the next era of growth for BBDO globally.

“It's a great time to be joining our agency. It's really the chance to be joining a new agency that has such phenomenal heritage, but building and creating the next chapter.

“So I'm looking for somebody that's got big ambition, big talent, that wants to make big impact … I'm looking for somebody that wants to come in and be a partner, not just with me, but the rest of the agency and the rest of the leadership team. We do our best work when we have diversity of talent around a problem.”

The right creative leader will understand the scale of the opportunity and set of capabilities, including the drawcard of creative and media being housed under one roof.

“There are agencies out there now saying they do media, or saying, 'We're putting media back in.' We've had it for over a decade. It's such a powerful part of what we do.” It’s that end-to-end thinking that makes ‘Do Big Things’ feel immediately true, according to the CEO.

“It is a creative agency, but it's also an agency that has media at the table, technology at the table, data at the table, experience at the table. That's the opportunity.”

She’ll take her time finding Clems’ new CCO; she knows it’s a crucial hire to get right, and isn’t worried about the creative product in the meantime.

“There is a team of people here that have been here for a long time, that will continue to be here for a long time. And we’ll take the time we need to take to find the right person. I'm genuinely not worried about the stability or our creative output, because everybody else is still here.

“I don't have a timeline. It will be something that we give real consideration to. It's not something we're going to rush. We don't need to rush it, but it's a really important hire, so certainly on my top five things to do.”

Strategically, Lee believes “there is no one better positioned” than Simon — who rejoined Clemenger in late 2023 from whiteGREY — to drive the local roll out of BBDO’s new strategic framework.

“Simon brings the kind of strategic mind you don’t come across often. He’s modern in every sense -- sharp, inventive, and deeply connected to culture. But what sets him apart is how he blends that with heart and real-world impact.

“His thinking has shaped some of the most iconic campaigns of the last two decades. He’s worked at the world’s best agencies but it’s not just the names or the awards that matter. It’s how he shows up. Simon knows how to get to the truth of a problem fast, and more importantly, how to turn that truth into something powerful.”

Nancy told LBB key motivators for the merger included stamping out a culture of transactional creativity, restoring pride in advertising and greatness in BBDO, and ensuring the business is tackling client problems upstream.

By bringing Clemenger, CHEP, and Traffik together, the aim is to show up with scale and a true end-to-end offering in a complex and competitive market: Wieden+Kennedy has set up in Australia, independents continue to crop up and lead a conversation on craft, Accenture Song is building a local media practice to accompany Droga5, and holdcos are emphasising their breadth and scale.

“I don't subscribe to one model [being] better than the other. I really don't. There are great agencies that are inside networks, and there's great independents, and there's room for all of the good ones,” Lee says.

“This industry is always changing. It's one of the things that I love about this industry is that no day is the same. It's a super interesting time. But actually, that's exactly why we've done this. The combination of these three businesses, really now offers clients end-to-end, brilliant scale, brilliant capability, all under one roof.”

The state of the market confirms the importance of a proposition as zealous as ‘Do Big Things’, Lee argues. The reason it has resonated, not just internally but among clients and competitors, is because it’s a “really brilliant rallying cry”.

“The proposition is universally welcomed and applauded. People from all sides of the hall, lots of different agencies, have been like, 'Yes, finally, somebody's championing that for us,’” she says.

“Creativity is having a comeback. There is a renewed ambition, globally and locally, to make sure that we are reasserting creativity as an engine of growth. That is a theme that is bigger than just our agency. 'Do Big Things' sets the tone for that. Creativity must be bold, culturally resonant, but commercially impactful. That position is already resonating with our clients and attracting new ones.”

The first local client to buy into the new Clemenger, and ‘Do Big Things’, is Kmart. LBB revealed Clems won the business last week.

“They're a phenomenal group of people over there, and they're to be credited for taking the time to sit down with me and talk about what this [the integration] means and how we can help them,” Lee says.

“So we're delighted to be working with that client. It's exactly the kind of brand and brief that we want to do more with.”

She promises the proposition is just as compelling in ongoing pitches. Big brands with big problems want an easily-accessible depth and breadth of capabilities. “It's one P&L, it's one way of working. Clients are looking for that.

“The clients that I've spoken to are like, 'Great, we get all of the great stuff that we had in the agency that we work with, and now we get more capability when we need it'. And that's a conversation that I'm really looking forward to having through the year. It's as relevant for existing clients as it is for new conversations.”

The merger supercharges and unifies what already existed across Clemenger Group, Lee says, and marks "a brilliant moment in the history of these three brands."

“It's us doubling down on the 75-year strong legacy that has shaped the creative industry in Australia. At a time when many agencies are erasing their history in pursuit of the new, we're doing the opposite. We're honouring our past whilst building a big future.”

Clemenger BBDO was founded in 1946, and grew into a creative force. In 2017, ‘Meet Graham’ became the most awarded campaign in the world, leading Clems Melbourne to become Cannes Agency of the Year. CHEP launched in 2012 as Clemenger Harvie Edge, later becoming CHE Proximity. In 2022, it launched ‘Flipvertising’ for Samsung, and in 2023 was crowned Effective Agency of the Year. And since 2001, Traffik has led activations, retail experiences, and integrated campaigns for key clients like Bundaberg Rum and Swisse.

As a combined entity, Clemenger’s client list now includes Samsung, Mazda, Officeworks, Bupa, CUB and Asahi, Latitude, 7-11, Kmart, and Simplot.

“All three agencies have been doing big things for a very long time. When you go back into the archives and look at the work, it's incredible. And then when you look forward, our ability to 'Do Big Things' is made easier, and accelerated by, the breadth of capability we have."

While she doesn’t want to become distracted by nostalgia, iconic Clemenger work like ‘Meet Graham’, Snickers’ ‘Hungerithm’, and the tagline, ‘Not happy, Jan!’, for the Yellow Pages reflect an ongoing ambition to create campaigns that become part of culture.

“I hope one of the things that we will continue to have in the next era of Clemenger is work that continues to surprise and redefine creativity," Lee says.

“We've always been at the forefront of this industry, and we've also always been at the forefront of creativity. And so that is the rallying cry, to keep doing work that pushes us forward, that pushes our people forward, that pushes brands forward, that pushes the industry forward.

“Creativity is in the soul of this organisation. It's in BBDO. It hasn't been bolted on, it hasn't been bought. It is in the fabric of this place.”