Publicis Chemistry Restructures Planning

Publicis Chemistry has strengthened its planning department with two new senior hires. It has appointed RAPP London’s Planning Partner Sharon Curr and retail specialist Toby Richards as Planning Directors.

Both report directly to Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Allen, the former Proximity Global Head of Planning, who joined the agency in March this year.

It comes off the back of a number of wins and organic growth, including most notably Royal Mail Group’s DM business in June, and is part of a wider overhaul of Publicis Chemistry’s planning provision.

Allen says: “We’re changing the model to make it as easy as possible for clients to justify the investments they make in our ideas. This means having people who can demonstrate how those ideas deliver value across the organisation, and how that value can be measured. Sharon and Toby share the rare ability to see equally through the eyes of clients and their customers and identify opportunities to create ideas that work for both.”

Curr has a wealth of senior experience at some of the UK’s top agencies. She joins from RAPP London, where as Planning Partner she was strategic lead on Virgin Media’s customer communications business. She has also worked or freelanced as a Planning Director at agencies including Targetbase Claydon Heeley, Kitcatt Nohr Digitas and Proximity London, and on brands including Capital One, Norwich Union/Aviva, Diageo and Royal Mail.

Richards joins from Chris Wall Creative, where he was Strategy Director, and brought in to bolster client service capability. Previously, he helped set up Cubo Shopper, part of Cubo Group, which brought specialist strategic communications planning and activation across existing Cubo channels including creative, digital, social and PR.

He has also worked at Starcom Mediavest Group as Strategy Director, working across brands including Stella Artois, Beck’s, Samsung and Porsche.

It is the second set of senior hires that Allen has made since joining the agency. In late May Tullo Marshall Warren’s senior data planner Mark Lindridge joined as Publicis Chemistry’s first Head of Marketing Effectiveness.