Digital agency R/GA, headquartered in New York, boosted the creative team at its London office with the recent addition of Liz Sivell as creative director. She will primarily provide creative leadership on the global Nokia e-marketing account, as well as other core pieces of business. Sivell reports to executive creative director James Temple.
The London office, which operates as R/GA’s European hub, opened three years ago has grown to 41 full-time staffers. Among its lauded work is NokiaviNe, a mobile application that allows users to create a multimedia map of their lives. The app won a Gold Lion at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in June.
Prior to joining R/GA, Sivell served as creative director for Profero in London from June 2007 to August 2009. While there, she worked to create experiences that took clients beyond the traditional advertising space, transforming physical environments into powerful tools to influence behavior and attitude. She oversaw the award-winning C.O.I-FRANK account, where she spearheaded campaigns to prevent drug abuse among teens.
During her time as creative director for OneDigital in Australia from April 2002 to January 2007, Sivell led creative pitch presentations and development of creative/arts strategies, managed project implementation and production, brand analysis, and creative studio management. She helped develop innovative ideas for major brands including Dior, EMI, News Interactive, HSBC, Nestlé, and Microsoft, and worked on winning pitches for Tourism Australia, Pizza Hut Direct, Hyundai, and adidas. Some of her work included developing an interactive online ordering system for Pizza Hut Direct, and creating interactive screen savers and kiosks for Hyundai dealers.
Sivell has won numerous awards, most notably for her work on the FRANK Cocaine campaign, including the Gold World Medal, Mouse Awards Bronze, Webby Awards Honoree in Best Visual Design and Government. She was a Creative Showcase winner in 2008 and an ADC Merit winner in 2004. She also won a One Show Silver Pencil for her part in developing an interactive installation for the launch of the adidas_1shoe. Before making the transition to interactive design, Sivell designed album covers, fashion magazines, and corporate brochures. She holds a BA in Graphic Design from the University of Nottingham.
SHOOT posed several questions to Sivell, garnering feedback on her latest career move, plans, and takes on the biz:
SHOOT: What attracted you to the opportunity at R/GA?
Sivell: There have been many times while judging awards that I have come across R/GA’s work and had a moment of, “Damn, I wish I had been involved with that’.”
The attraction for me is simple: the people, the clients, and the opportunity to help shape and grow London’s business. James Temple, executive creative director, R/GA London, has done a great job in recruiting the best talent for the London office and I am really excited to be working with them.
SHOOT: What lessons have you learned from your experiences at Profero and OneDigital? And how do you hope to apply those lessons at R/GA?
Sivell: Profero gave me the opportunity to work with global offices and I learned how different markets operate. It opened my mind to so many ideas and opportunities, and I hope to apply all of these skills at R/GA and learn from others here.
Some of the things I love about my work are the experiences, the people you meet, and the things you learn, both good and bad. Everyone has a different way of working and I tend to take all the best bits from everyone and apply them in my own way. The most valuable lesson of all is team and client relationships. Keep them energized and inspired.
SHOOT: In terms of educating clients in the digital realm, what are the most important lessons and/or principles you would like to impart to them?
Sivell: Digital for me is very exciting; it’s not just about creating advertising and making a splash with media. The digital space gives us the opportunity to collaborate with a wider range of disciplines beyond the traditional art director/copywriter teams. Visual designers, interaction designers, technologists, and copywriters can work together to generate ideas that transcend brand messages; we have the opportunity to create experiences that allow people to interact and engage with brands, as well as one another.
Clients need to make sure digital agencies are there at the beginning of the process to envision these experiences before the ad space has been booked. A TV ad may not always be the answer! In fact, it’s often not. When digital is part of the upfront strategic planning, different types of ideas can emerge. It’s not about coming up with a concept and throwing it over a wall for digital agencies to execute. We need to be a part of those conceptual conversations from the beginning.
SHOOT: Nokia certainly has a strong creative track record at R/GA. What are your priorities going forward on the global Nokia e-marketing account?
Sivell: Digital gives us the opportunity to create engagements, leading to greater discovery about each other, and the world around us. Nokia has the potential to connect people through shared passions, rich media, and social networks; I want to help create these experiences.
SHOOT: As 2009 winds down, what have been the most important creative trends, breakthroughs and/or developments in digital and in brand building this calendar year?
Sivell: I suppose I never really look at things by calendar year. Things move so quickly these days and digital work has been and continues to be incredibly powerful. I think it’s great that agencies are now looking at things again from a brand perspective as opposed to just the execution of an idea.
The two things that stand out for me are a) the use of social media and b) the potential of emerging technology. Technology has always made me smile; it’s amazing what we can do now–the hologram, augmented reality and then the combination of the two–wow! I am hoping to see platforms such as these continuing to be used in more useful and innovative ways, rather than just for the sake of it.
