Saatchi & Saatchi LA has hired industry veteran Jason Schragger as chief creative officer, a newly formed role at the shop which for more than 30 years has been the agency of record for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. A native of Zimbabwe, Schragger, 40, comes to Saatchi LA after amassing nearly two decades of experience, including extensive work in the automotive space for Ford, Mercedes, BMW Mini, Mitsubishi and Nissan in several parts of the world. He also has amassed a broad range of experience not related to the automobile industry, with hands-on creative oversight for global brands as diverse as adidas, HSBC, and Johnnie Walker.
After landing his first executive creative director post at 27 years of age at Lowe and Partners in Singapore, for whom he captured a Cannes Gold Lion for work on the IKEA account, Schragger also held similar posts at StrawberryFrog, BSUR and Plantage before joining the TBWA family, where he remained until his appointment at Saatchi LA. He had most recently been a Berlin-based global creative director for TBWAChiatDay.
The creation of the Saatchi LA CCO position took shape in December 2013, when Toyota announced a more cohesive marketing approach to paid, earned and owned media–whereby previously separate agencies were placed into a total market model referred to as Total Toyota or T2.
Saatchi LA was selected to spearhead the new model, which also includes four other agencies with existing, well-established Toyota partnerships.
