Will Sansom Joins Motel as First Chief Strategy Officer

Motel has appointed Will Sansom as the agency’s first chief strategy officer.

Will’s most recent agency-side role was as head of strategy at The Brooklyn Brothers, where he led earned-first work that defined the most awarded period in the agency’s history and, as a member of the executive management team, set a vision for the business that saw it recognised as one of Campaign’s Top 5 Global Creative Agencies.

At Brooklyn, Will oversaw the strategic output of the agency, whose clients included Bumble, MINI and Visit Iceland. Creative highlights included the category-defining 'This is Parenthood' for WaterWipes and 'The New Agenda' for the Financial Times - an earned media driven platform that helped to propel it beyond 1 million subscribers.

Whilst at Brooklyn, Will also designed and ran 'Night School' - an industry-leading Diversity & Inclusion programme, for which he was shortlisted for the IPA’s 2022 iList.

Prior to his six-year spell at The Brooklyn Brothers, Will spent 10 years at Contagious where he ran the global consultancy division - partnering brands such as Nike, Heineken and Google to deconstruct best practice work and build capabilities to achieve creative excellence.

In his new role, Will’s responsibilities include overall strategic leadership across Motel's clients, as well as working with founders to future-proof the agency’s positioning, build company culture and work on new business. He joins the Motel leadership team and will become an equity partner in the business.

Motel founder and CEO Rob Smith said, “We are very excited to have Will on board. The standout qualities for us included his uniquely diverse CV, his infectious enthusiasm, and the ready-made experience he will bring to us having already been on the leadership team at a pioneering creative agency such as The Brooklyn Brothers.”

Will Sansom, chief strategy officer said, “Motel’s incredible success in such a short space of time is no fluke. They combine decades of experience with an irresistible indy charm that obviously makes them a joy to work for and with. It’s no secret that our industry needs fresh, independent creative thinking more than ever, so it’s a privilege to join a crew that is clearly leading the charge.”

Lee Tan founder and chief creative officer at Motel added, “Will’s a leader, a brilliant strategist and knows how to make great work that people will actually talk about. It’s a rare set of skills that will help us at Motel achieve our ambitions - both inside the building and for what we put out in the world.”

Will’s appointment follows a strong end to 2024 for Motel, whose multiple pitch wins saw them included in the top 5 agencies in Campaign’s end of year new business rankings.