Independent creative agency Zambezi has made five key hires across its creative and strategy departments: Creative director Matt Sherman, sr. art director Goran Krstic, sr. copywriter Diego Sarmiento, sr. designer Ting Teng, and strategy director Dalit Zagorin.
Sherman brings over 15 years of creative and leadership experience to Zambezi. He previously held senior creative positions at Deutsch, David&Goliath, and Mullen, and led efforts for brands, including Volkswagen, Kia Motors, ESPN, LG Mobile, California State Lottery, Acura and Chipotle. His work has been honored by D&AD, Cannes, Clios, and The One Show.
Sr. art director Krstic will work primarily with client Experience Kissimmee. His “human first” approach, combining design and concept, has driven award-winning work for clients, including Adidas, Nike, Under Armour, Microsoft, Garage Magazine, Jägermeister, PayPal and MTV, at agencies Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Campbell Ewald, Opperman Weiss, and David&Goliath. Some of Krstic’s most notable work includes developing Under Armour’s first-ever store and retail theater experience in Shanghai, as well as the PayPal “Local Selects” campaign, which received top honors at Cannes Lions, LIA, and The One Show.
As sr. copywriter, Sarmiento will also work primarily with Experience Kissimmee. Before joining Zambezi, Sarmiento spent time at Brooklyn Brothers in New York City, Ogilvy, and Mullen, and created work for clients including IBM, lululemon, Remy Martin, Babybel, Barnes & Noble and VH1. His IBM Watson “Hidden Portraits” campaign was shortlisted at Cannes.
As sr. designer, Teng will lead design efforts across all Zambezi clients. A native of Auckland, Teng moved to LA in 2017, and spearheaded digital and visual design work for agencies, including Something Massive and TBWA/Media Arts Lab, and brands, such as Fisher-Price, Singapore Air, and Apple. She also co-founded the brand strategy and marketing consultancy firm, Assembly. Her work was honored by the New Zealand Direct Marketing awards for excellence in strategy, direct response, not-for-profit, media, and social media for clients Cyber Insurance, Sour Patch Kids, New Zealand Blood Service, and Inspiring Ltd for “Stoptober.”
As strategy director, Zagorin will work closely with Zambezi’s creative and media teams, and lead related strategic efforts. Before joining Zambezi, Zagorin served as associate strategy director at Conill Advertising, where she led brand planning and development for clients like Toyota and Tundra’s World Cup campaign. Earlier in her career, Dalit served as a sr. strategist at Deutsch, where she oversaw work for Dr. Pepper, Snapple, Taco Bell, Foster Farmers; and Dlatino, Deutsch’s multicultural arm.
Gavin Lester continues as Zambezi partner/chief creative officer.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More