DDB FTW (For the Win), DDB’s specialized esports and gaming network, has expanded to 15 markets, reflecting the rapid growth of the gaming industry. DDB FTW was launched in November last year, immediately securing a global partnership with ESL, the largest esports company in the world. Based in Prague, DDB FTW will now be present in major world regions including Latin America (Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Brazil and Argentina), EMEA (Russia, Germany, Sweden, France, Turkey, Italy, and Czech Republic) and APAC (Hong Kong, China and South Korea). Five more offices are planned to open later this year and the possibility of expanding FTW to the U.S. is being considered. DDB FTW provides global and regional esports and gaming solutions to clients and partners worldwide. Opportunities range from creative campaigns, interactive streaming solutions, in-game mods, adtech, esports, competitive gaming, teams and league sponsorship, publisher relationships, events, influencer collaboration, and market research and data–leveraged and put into context by DDB FTW agencies worldwide, who are already trusted by the world’s biggest brands to tell their stories. This major expansion of the network comes on the back of the accelerated growth of gaming, which is worth more than movies and music combined, as a channel to reach a highly engaged audience of 2.7 billion gamers worldwide. The gaming ecosystem includes many tribes and diverse values and therefore offers huge opportunities for brands; esports and game streaming revenue is set to increase to $3.5 billion by 2025, according to recent reports from Juniper research. The audience for esports and game viewing is expected to rise 25% during the same time period, resulting in 1 in 9 people globally actively watching esports and gaming content….
Omnicom’s (NYSE:OMC) technology-led cultural consultancy sparks & honey has named Clineu Fernandes as its chief operating officer. He will work closely with sparks & honey founder and CEO Terry Young. Fernandes joins sparks & honey from ShopFully, an Italy-based tech company where he served as the LATAM, VP and CEO of the Americas operations for the past four years overseeing corporate growth. Throughout his career, Fernandes has worked to scale both agencies and tech companies, becoming a champion for redesigned internal processes and business models that ended up driving exponential growth. He’ll now be using that experience to help sparks & honey continue its growth trajectory. Fernandes will be charged with overseeing various aspects of the company’s operations to ensure things are executed effectively, from human resources and the implementation of new DEI-focused initiatives to super-charging sparks & honey’s powerful Q™+ Consulting business as a true differentiator in the market. A Brazilian-born industry veteran, Fernandes’ two decades of experience spans operations, multichannel media, communications, marketing and advertising, working for international companies, technology startups, as well as global advertising agencies like WPP, Omnicom and Publicis….
Lockt Editorial, launched earlier this year, has added Rodney McMahon as post executive producer. McMahon cut his teeth in the industry during a stint at Entertainment Tonight, although he readily admits that his favorite gig was the reboot of The Arsenio Hall Show. He continued honing his experience and growing his network at companies including Tastemade, Spotify, and BuzzFeed. A native of Los Angeles, McMahon inherited his love of the biz from his dad, a DP who took him along on the international Dangerous Tour with Michael Jackson as a kid. Rodney McMahon has been a DJ since he was 14, performing most notably on MTV’s Wonderland with Lizzo as host….
