TBWAChiatDay New York has hired Erik Holmdahl and Beth Ryan, formerly of Mother, as creative directors, and Melatan Riden, who comes over from Anomaly, as design director. The three join a TBWAChiatDay NY creative team headed by executive creative director Matt Ian.
Holmdahl and Ryan will primarily lead creative for client Jameson. The agency is expanding its creative team to work on growing client accounts, including Mondelēz and the new BNY Mellon win.
At Mother, Holmdahl and Ryan led creative projects for Stella Artois and Microsoft. Prior to Mother, Holmdahl worked at BBH and StrawberryFrog, with clients including Sprite, Cole Haan, Google and Heineken. He has a number of international awards including Cannes, D&AD, Webby's and the One Show.
Before Mother, Ryan spent seven years at BBH, four in New York and three in Singapore. Her years at BBH on brands such as Sprite, Axe and Google produced work that was recognized with gold at the One Show, Cannes and D&AD.
At Mother, Ryan created digital experiences for Stella Artois, Xbox and, most recently, a 120-foot digital wall to launch the 3.1 Phillip Lim collection for Target.
"We hear the term 'hybrid creative' thrown around a lot, but I haven't met too many who are genuinely ambidextrous," commented Ian. "When I worked with them at BBH, I quickly came to realize that Beth and Erik are as strong digitally as they are with the traditional work. They think simply and inventively. They can give you an innovative idea for an app or a digital platform, and then turn around and hit a homerun with a TV script."
Prior to working exclusively on fashion marketing and branding at Lipman, Riden worked at Anomaly's Toronto office as director of design where she was responsible for the agency's entire design output. Riden has worked with influential global brands in the auto, beverage and fashion retail sectors for clients such as BMW Mini, Honda, Red Bull, Diageo, Budweiser, Bud Light, Kraft, Ann Taylor, Aritzia, Holt Renfrew, Marshalls, Mexx, Perricone MD and Sportchek.
Before relocating to New York, Riden was an active participant in the Canadian design community, volunteering her time with design & advertising institutions, universities and colleges. She also juries for the ADCC and RGD respectively, participating in speaker series and events. Her work has been recognized by the ADCC, AIGA, Graphis, Communication Arts, Applied Arts, CMA, Graphic Design USA and HOW as well as featured by Gallery Magazine and German design publisher, Gestalten for her personal work.
Ian noted, "Not only is Mel's breadth of work astounding but her craft is at a next-level. She will push the quality of branding design for TBWAChiatDay New York and our clients."
Design director is a newly created role at TBWAChiatDay NY.
SUPERLATIVE Signs Director Claudia Abend For Spots and Branded Content
Latin American director/editor and documentary filmmaker Claudia Abend has joined SUPERLATIVE for her first U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content.
Abend's empathetic docu-style POV has garnered several international awards for the documentary films Hit (2008) and The Flower of Life (2018). Her spotmaking credits include such brands as Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. SUPERLATIVE has already worked with Abend, together producing a new ad campaign for digital agency Tinuiti and The Honest Company, a consumer goods corporation featuring eco-minded products.
“We found Claudia through her poignant documentaries on the festival circuit,” said SUPERLATIVE creative manager Stefan Dezil. “We are excited about her textured narratives, emotional storytelling, and her powerhouse long-form storytelling abilities, currently on her third feature film. As SUPERLATIVE continues to build our brand after premiering our latest films at Sundance and SXSW, Claudia is the kind of multidimensional artist we are excited to partner with on branded content and beyond. Fluent in English and Spanish, her reel shows real prowess with infants, food and skin products, families both young and old. Great visual storytelling and inspirational doc work.”
Abend began her career in her native Uruguay, studying film and editing in college. “My dad would show me films like Citizen Kane,” she said. “I love cinema and became an editor. It was here that I learned all about communicating human emotion.”
From the get-go, Abend hit it big as a documentary director, teaming with Adrianna Loeff on Hit, a movie chronicling pop artists of Uruguayan music. Abend took home a Best Editing... Read More