M&C Saatchi Bolsters Creative Department With Five New Creative Directors

M&C Saatchi has made seven creative hires to kick off the new year, including five creative directors, LBB can reveal.

Stephanie Allen and Andrew Torrisi have joined as creative directors from DDB, while Hannah Melanson joins in a CD role, after almost two years spent at Innocean, and Christopher McKee moves from the UK to become a CD in Melbourne. Christopher was previously at McCann London for two years, and has worked with clients like Sky Sports, Xbox, eBay, and Nurofen.

Hannah, originally from Canada, has been based in Australia for 12 years, and has worked with the likes of Tourism Australia and Hyundai.

Dan Borghesi has also been promoted to creative director after five years at the agency, during which he has gained global recognition for his work on Minderoo’s The Plastic Forecast.

“This influx of talent is the driving force behind our evolution as a creative powerhouse,” said Steve Coll, group chief creative officer at M&C Saatchi.

The slew of CD-level hires come as the agency gears up to officially launch its new global positioning, ‘Cultural Power’, in March.

Steve told LBB, “The talent that we needed to bring in needed to understand brand ads, but then needed to understand how to deliver that to culture. They need to understand PR thinking. They need to learn how to build utility and digital experience. They need to understand the power of activations.” 

He argued “consumers are more powerful than they’ve ever been,” which makes truly great creative work critical. “If you’re not relevant, the message you’re delivering for your brand just isn't gonna get through.”

M&C Saatchi will focus on “the principle of interruption” closely this year, he added, to create brands that add, not brands that ad.

“As a part of ‘Cultural Power,’ we’re looking to build brands that add to conversations and culture. That creates things that I care about, creates things in a world that I want to be a part of, that I feel benefit me.”  

In addition to the five CDs, the agency has also appointed Bryce Waters as senior creative and Amy Morrison as copywriter.

Bryce joins after working for agencies such as VML and Host across brands like Bankwest, Pizza Hut, Colgate Palmolive, and McDonald’s, while Amy, like Stephanie and Andrew, joins from DDB. She has worked on accounts including McDonald’s, Lifeblood, and Bundaberg Rum.

“Our culture power proposition recognises the potential of ideas that go beyond paid space to actively engage audiences, become part of news and conversation, create fame, and add real value to communities,” he said.

“To this end, we have deliberately sought out what we call ‘bridging talent ’- globally awarded creatives who think in a way that unites specialist skills across our Group, bringing media strategists, social influencers, designers, and experiential creators into big ideas. Their fresh perspectives, passion, and expertise will help us deliver world-class work that transforms brands and inspires audiences.”