Richard Lent, founder and CEO of digital agency AgencyNet, and Ari Merkin, former Crispin Porter+Bogusky (CP+B) executive creative director, have launched brand and digital innovation agency, TEN, headquartered in South Florida with an additional office in New York. Merkin serves as TEN’s chief brand officer while Lent assumes the chief innovation officer mantle.
TEN will focus on ushering clients into what the two founders call, “the era of the ‘Do Brand’.” Combining Ari and Richard’s experience in brand-building and digital innovation, respectively, TEN will ideate, design and develop marketing and IP platforms that enable brands to build lasting relationships with a new generation of consumers. The agency will leverage its strong technology pedigree to create real value in a changing world where dialogue matters more than monologue, where behavior matters more than image, and “do” matters more than “say.”
Merkin brings an 18-year history of brand building to his new role. He formerly served in such capacities as chief creative officer/co-founder of Toy, as well as exec creative director at CP+B and Fallon. Merkin is perhaps best known for his Mini Cooper launch work, “Ikea Lamp” (Cannes Grand Prix Film winner), Office Max’s “Elf Yourself” and Truth’s “Body Bags” campaigns. Merkin has worked over the years with such clients as Starbucks, Virgin Mobile and MetLife. He was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame in 2009 and currently serves on the board of the One Club.
Lent brings his entrepreneurial and digital leadership, as well as the heritage and talent of his own agency to TEN. The AgencyNet moniker gives way to the TEN shingle. During AgencyNet’s 18-year history, Lent has steered award-winning, results-driven work for clients that include Bacardi, Universal Music Group, Nickelodeon and The Bill Clinton Foundation. Lent has been heavily involved in development of the industry, including serving as an expert witness to the U.S. Congress on the digital ecosystem, and co-founding The Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA), now the largest digital agency network in the world.
TEN subscribes to a simple formula for success: Brand Building + Digital Innovation. While traditionally creative teams were comprised of an art director + copywriter, and digital agencies combined a designer + developer, TEN believes that the new creative team = brand builders + innovators. “There’s been some real enthusiasm from clients given the way we’re now structured,” said Merkin. “We’re a digital agency that can solve those big brand problems.”
Director Lucrecia Signs With PRETTYBIRD For Her 1st U.S. Representation
PRETTYBIRD, the production company helmed by Paul Hunter, Kerstin Emhoff, and Ali Brown, has added award-winning filmmaker Lucrecia to its roster for U.S. commercial and music video representation. This marks the director’s first representation in the U.S. market.
Lucrecia has been signed to PRETTYBIRD UK since 2021, soon after winning UKMVA’s Best Pop Newcomer award for her Tarantino-esque music video for rapper/singer-songwriter Ashnikko--which the director pitched, prepped, and shot in only four days. Since joining PRETTYBIRD UK, Lucrecia has quickly made a name for herself. Her striking narratives, combined with a hyper-real aesthetic and iconic world creation, have been the centerpieces of her filmmaking and photography.
Her work has gone viral on more than one occasion. Her commercial for bibigo, “Live Delicious,” was widely admired and even recreated on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel. She has won awards from Kinsale Shark, Creative Circle, and UKMVA, as well as recognition at the Cannes Lions Young Directors Awards and Ciclope Awards.
Candice Dragonas, VP, talent strategy/executive producer PRETTYBIRD US, said of Lucrecia, “She brings a uniquely stylish approach to storytelling with the perfect splash of humor and playfulness. I admire her extreme passion for her craft and the drive to create at the top of her game.”
In addition to Lucrecia’s cinematic visual aesthetic, she routinely engages in another unique form of self-expression: nail art. She has had everything from whipped cream and cherries to chrome flames adorning her nails.
At PRETTYBIRD, Lucrecia joins a roster of filmmakers including Academy Award-winning duo Daniels (Everything Everywhere All At Once), A.V. Rockwell (A Thousand... Read More