Planning director Andrew Clarke has launched San Francisco-based creative agency Brass Ideas. Having started out at ChiatDay, Clarke has led planning and strategy at shops like Hal Riney and Butler, Shine Stern & Partners. He was also worldwide head of ideas at ZenithOptimedia, helping to win digital Cannes Lions for both media and creative with the PUMA Hardchorus. This newest venture is a response to both today’s increasingly digital consumer landscape and changes in the agency model. Brass is currently leading a project for Atlassian’s HipChat and recently completed a project for Twitter that will help the social media giant bring its commercial vision to life through film….
Toronto agency john st. is expanding its digital team and its digital ambition. Tom St. John has come aboard to lead digital services. An entrepreneur with 15-plus years of experience building global digital media and consumer internet businesses from concept through to final acquisition, St. John has had a hand in such successes as Makeup.com, Automobile.com and Searchforvideo.com. Prior to joining john st., he co-founded Kontexto, a real-time content analytics platform used by large media publishers around the world. The next six months will see john st. continuing to build its team including digital strategy, development, marketing and analytics….
UNIT9’s London office has added Sidar Sahin as experience director. An experienced interactive and visual designer, he will be responsible for developing and leading the UNIT9 vision and identity across all platforms from the user’s perspective, bridging the gap between the production agency’s five units (Films, Digital, Games, Technology, and Virtual Reality) and its teams….
