Globally renowned and highly-awarded creative
Simon Collins has moved back to Australia to head up the creative
capability of 1 Kent Street, a new STW brand, offering a collective of
senior professionals able to quickly respond to large-scale and unique
briefs.
Beginning this week, Collins' role will see him work
alongside chief strategy officer Rose Herceg, group business director
Rob Currie, and other key experts from within the group as and when
required. The 1 Kent St collective will work on "high-level, complex
briefs that require a unique and deep level of engagement," according to
STW CEO, Michael Connaghan.
"The purpose of 1 Kent St is not to replicate anything our existing
agencies currently provide, but to help clients who may need a complex,
high-level response for a major project or to a business, government or
social issue. 1 Kent St is essentially a roving group of executives able
to turn their focus to solving these problems, and developing a response
in an instant. They are unencumbered with the running of any one
specific agency, so they can offer a rare flexibility.
"As a
result, they are able to quickly immerse themselves in developing a
solution without disrupting agency workflow and other client demands,"
he said.
Connaghan said Collins' 25-year plus creative career,
teamed with his local experience and global perspective made him ideal
for the role, and to work within the 1 Kent St collective.
"Simon
is an outstanding creative who has an ability to get to the heart of a
problem quickly, and develop unique and highly effective creative
solutions. He's also worked with, and helped to develop some of the
industry's most talented staff in a range of markets, and will bring a
highly desirable combination of quick thinking and solutions-based
creativity to the role."
As part of his broader remit, Collins
is also tasked with mentoring creatives across the group housed within
the Kent Street campus* in addition to consulting, assisting with
pitches, and developing creative talent.
It is not the first time
Collins has worked with Connaghan; the two first forged a strong
working relationship in 2004 at JWT Australia. Collins said of his move
back to Australia and STW: "I couldn't pass up the opportunity to work
in New York, enjoyed my time in London, but always intended to come back
to Australia if the right job was offered," he said.
"This is
that job. I am incredibly excited by the prospect of working with Mike
Connaghan again, and with the great team he's assembled at STW."
Collins
said apart from the opportunity to work with STW's talented pool of
creatives, he was also looking forward to the challenge of working
within the 1 Kent St collective.
"I have always believed that
every client is unique, and therefore needs a unique response to every
problem," he said. "Quickly immersing myself in a client's business and
getting to the heart of a brief has always been a key part of my
approach, which fits perfectly with the 1 Kent St thinking."
One
of Australia's most awarded creatives, Collins was CD of the Campaign
Palace in Sydney and Melbourne in the 1990's, before launching his own
agency, Collins Thomas Cullen in 2000. The agency was sold to WPP in
2004, and Collins became ECD of JWT Australia (where he first worked
with Mike Connaghan). He then moved to New York, where he worked at
Y&R as global creative director of New Business. He then became
European CD on the Colgate Palmolive business, dividing his time between
the NY and Paris offices.
He also spent several years at Euro
RCG (now Havas) London, where he was global CD on Reckitt Benckiser
business, and a key creative in the successful 2010 Conservative general
election campaign. During this time he also worked as global CD on
Australian Wool Innovation (The Woolmark), creating the global 'No Finer
Feeling' campaign which re-launched Australian wool as the most
desirable fibre in the international high fashion category.
In
2011, he left Euro to set up a London-based international creative
consultancy, with clients including AWI (Australian Wool) and Quorn
(international food brand).