Klick Health gifted its employees surprise trips to Disney World and tickets to soccer matches in new holiday initiative.
Klick Health gave employees the surprise of a lifetime this holiday season with a modern twist on Secret Santa gifting. In a three-minute, confetti-filled video, employees across the agency’s New York, Philadelphia and Toronto offices are gifted things they’d dreamed of doing or having.
The initiative was sparked by employees who had been responding to quirky questions in the agency’s #Klick-Happy Slack channel, which was created during the pandemic. Klick combed through years of responses to questions such as “What are you looking forward to doing this weekend?” and “What is something you’ve thought about that would make you happy?” to find what their employees really wanted, and then gave it to them.
In the video, David Holmes, Klick’s director of internal communications and engagement, reminds employees of their responses before delivering the gifts. Some of the gifts included tickets to a Liverpool F.C. match, getting a private sushi chef, skydiving, taking a family trip to Disney World and a personal getaway to go shopping.
Dentsu Americas appointed Annette Warring as chief client officer, Ryan McHardy as chief strategy officer and Sean Reardon as CEO of the media practice.
Warring will be responsible for client experience across the agency’s practices. She first joined Dentsu in 2007 and has served as CEO of Dentsu Canada. Warring most recently was executive global client president for the agency’s General Motors business.
McHardy joins from McCann, where he was executive VP and head of business strategy. Reardon takes over the media practice, which was run by Doug Rozen until he left the agency in August. Reardon will oversee strategy and performance of Carat, iProspect and Dentsu X. He joins Dentsu from MiQ, where he was U.S. and global CEO.
Also read: Ex-Dentsu media exec Doug Rozen joins e-commerce firm
DDB Worldwide appointed Tomas Gonsorcik as its new global chief strategy officer. Gonsorcik previously served as DDB North America’s chief strategy officer. The role was most recently held by Alex Hesz, who was appointed as the chief strategy officer for parent Omnicom Group in October 2022.
The news comes shortly after DDB hired Chaka Sobhani as its president and chief creative officer.
Gonsorcik, who joined the network in 2022, is also on DDB’s global sustainability and AI Councils and will continue to lead DDB’s Global Strategic Council.
Gonsorcik’s previous role will not be filled.
Rethink named Don Shelford executive creative director of its Vancouver office. He will work directly with Leia Rogers, partner and executive creative director, to lead the office’s creative team and mentor employees.
Shelford’s career includes stints at Droga5, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and Arnold Worldwide. He bounced around Wieden+Kennedy on and off for years, working in both the Portland and Amsterdam offices and creating Cannes Grand Prix-winning work for Volkswagen and Mailchimp. Most recently, he was global group creative director, leading five of Wieden’s creative officers on the Visa global account.
Selford said he was drawn to Rethink’s “fierce commitment to independence.”
“I’ve spent time in the machine of holding companies where advertising is controlled by accountants, which was eye-opening,” Shelford said in a statement. “I believe that the right philosophy is that creativity is good business, and that’s in Rethink’s DNA.”
Interpublic Group of Cos. launched what it is calling an “innovation hub” at the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Dock 72 office building. The space is meant to provide a collaborative place for agencies across the holding company's portfolio.
Huge and R/GA are the first agencies that will be based out of the space, with other specialty agencies to follow.
Photo of IPG's Innovation Hub at Dock 72
“A key message we are hearing from clients post-pandemic is that they want increased integration and flexibility from their partners, even as they ask for transformation, advanced technology and incredible speed in execution,” IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky said in a statement. “That’s what the IPG Innovation Dock is all about.”
Guy Hayward, who departed as Forsman & Bodenfors global CEO in 2021, has launched his own agency called Local Heroes. The Scotland-based agency will offer global marketing services but mainly focus on local businesses. Before his time at F&B, Hayward was a co-founder of 180 Global.
“Business growth doesn’t need a big budget,” Hayward said in a statement. “Simple acts can make a significant impact on a business's health and bottom line. You don’t need marketing jargon or unnecessary complexity to do that—just the experience of having worked in global advertising for years and understanding how to use the same plays to help smaller clients punch above their weight.”
The agency will also strictly work with clients that are “conscious of the products they make, the resources they use, and the quality of life they provide for their employees and their community,” according to a statement from the agency.
Dentsu X appointed Shenda Loughnane as its global brand president. Loughnane takes over for Sanjay Nazerali, who is leaving Dentsu next year, according to a spokesman for Dentsu. Loughnane served as global managing director of the network for the past two years. Before that, she was group managing director of Dentsu Ireland. It’s unclear if her previous role will be filled.
SS+K promoted executive creative director Stevie Archer to chief creative officer, a new post for the agency. Archer led the award-winning “Looks Like You Need Iceland” campaign for Visit Iceland and helped NBA star LeBron James’ “More Than a Vote” recruit 40,000 poll workers for Election Day in 2020
Flyhouse Aviation, a private jet chartering company, appointed Known as its first integrated agency of record to handle strategy, media, and creative. The company didn’t have a lead agency before this, according to a Known spokeswoman.
