Whybin\TBWA New Zealand Names Dave King CCO

Keith Smith, TBWA President – International, has announced the appointment of Dave King as Chief Creative Officer of Whybin\TBWA New Zealand.

King will join the team in Auckland starting in early July. He replaces Toby Talbot, who is leaving the agency.

King is recognised as one of the most successful, integrated creative leaders in the region, having forged a career that spans digital, direct and above-the-line. In 2007 and 2008, he was named one of the most awarded creative directors in the world by The Won Report, and is consistently one of the most awarded direct and digital creative leaders in Australasia.

In 2011, King was awarded the Irving Wunderman award at the Caples Awards in New York. His work has won more than 30 Caples awards, including a number of Gold awards and the Best in Show award in 2008. King has also won 14 Cannes Lions awards, in additional to many more Australian and New Zealand awards.

"I am delighted that Dave is now in a position to join our growing team in New Zealand at this time," commented Smith. "He is one of the rare creatives that can move seamlessly between media types and is perfectly suited to lead Whybin\TBWA in it's push to create brand-aligned content across a broader range of customer channels.

"Dave has a formidable reputation for developing talent and for producing work that is highly effective," Smith added. "He is the modern age creative mind – media-neutral, very savvy, and an excellent mentor. He's the ideal fit for Whybin\TBWA."

Whybin\TBWA New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Todd McLeay, said he couldn't wait to start working with Dave because he truly understood the new marketing order.

"We can't be in the business of creating a narrow range of highly crafted media productions and expecting them alone to do the job for a brand," said McLeay. "At Whybin\TBWA, we're moving past optimising media placement to build a business model that optimises content itself. This requires a different way of thinking, which is why Dave is a great fit with our team."