Craft, the global production and adaptation agency that's a division of McCann Worldgroup, has hired Adam Hirsch to serve as head of content for North America.
Hirsch has held creative leadership roles at entertainment companies, advertising agencies and television networks such as NBC and MTV International. He joins Craft from his role as chief content officer at Wicked Cow Studios, New York. In that role, Hirsch oversaw the launch of Yahoo’s first shoppable content initiative, a celebrity-driven video series called “NowWith” that combines branded and editorial content. He also launched two original content brands, and has managed ongoing partnerships with Time Inc., Sky TV, WebMD, Bonobos, BARK, Zappos, Scholastic, and the African Wildlife Foundation.
Ed Powers, global CEO of Craft, said, “Adam brings an incredible breadth of leadership experience to Craft. He is a creator, a producer, a manager and, most importantly, a business builder. He will expand our efforts to meet the accelerating demand in the content marketplace for tight and effective brand messaging across the multitude of non-traditional media channels. With strong operations in Europe and North America, Craft is also expanding its content units in APAC and LATAM, further strengthening our content production network.”
Hirsch began his career as a producer/copy editor at CNN Headline News, New York. His extensive experience also includes serving as a showrunner for the first two original series produced for MTV International, and as a creative director at NBC, where he helped launch NBC’s first non-fiction production studio, Peacock Productions, creating, developing and producing series, specials and live events for more than 30 cable and broadcast networks.
Hirsch then built and led the multimedia studio at WPP’s content agency, Group SJR, where he dramatically increased the unit’s output through the development of workflow, strategic staffing, key vendor negotiations, and ideation and production methods. He oversaw production of content for global clients such as GE, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, Ford, Reebok, Target and Johnson & Johnson.
At Craft, Hirsch will work on the worldwide team led by Shay Fu, head of global operations. Fu said, “Adam is a creative star and, as Craft takes on bigger and more ambitious projects for our client partners, he will make sure all of our content rises to the highest level of creativity and innovation that is the calling card of the McCann Worldgroup network.”
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More