Mikko Pietilä has been appointed the regional chief creative experience officer (CCXO) of the TBWA collective’s NEXT unit, which focuses on the experiential marketing of the future. He will be based in Helsinki and report to Luke Eid, global chief innovation officer of TBWANEXT, and Sami Tikkanen, TBWAHelsinki CEO and TBWANordic president.
Formerly executive creative director of 180 New York, Pietilä has returned to TBWA and becomes responsible for the development of NEXT in Finland, the Nordic countries and supporting broader Europe alongside the global NEXT team.
“Our global innovation and brand experience arm NEXT is a big focus area for the TBWA collective globally in 2024. Helsinki has been a key player when it comes to innovative work, and now it’s time to extend the market’s know-how more widely across our collective. It’s great to have Mikko back, a person that has had a strong influence on the innovative reputation of the Helsinki office,” said Luke Eid, global chief innovation officer, TBWANEXT.
Pietilä stated, “The playground for future brand experiences is expanding faster than ever, and NEXT is the connecting thread in our collective, a single entry point to our global experience and innovation capabilities. Our Helsinki office has pioneered innovation and produced work bigger than the region itself already for years, so naturally they will play a key role in the equation of experiential expertise in the future as well. I am proud of the position Helsinki has achieved, and excited to be a part of the evolution of our brilliant collective.”
Tikkanen added, “It is important for us that know-how and experts move within the TBWA collective. We actively invest in new ways of brand building outside of traditional paid media. We just launched the earned media creative agency, Eleven, and now we are strengthening NEXT’s ranks internationally.”
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More