Team One, Publicis Groupe’s fully integrated media, digital and communications agency for premium brands, has named Renee Welch and Cliff Adams as management directors, strategy. Welch is new to the agency, while Adams has served as group strategy director. Both individuals will report to Mark Miller, Team One’s chief strategy officer.
This move signals Team One’s investment in its strategy team to steer the importance of culture and contextual insights to help its clients lead with confidence. Welch will oversee strategic planning for clients, including Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, RedBubble, and Northern Trust, as well as work on internal agency cultural initiatives, including the Global Affluent Tribe Study (GAT), while Adams will continue his work across the Lexus and LDA accounts.
“Renee and Cliff are holistic problem solvers. They understand the important relationship between culture, context, consumers, and creativity. Equally as important, they are outstanding mentors who will inspire original thinking across the team,” said Miller. “Our agency has a strong internal culture centered around being collaborative, optimistic, team-oriented, and entrepreneurial. Both Renee and Cliff embody those characteristics and will help nurture the next generation of strategists.”
As a skilled strategist over the past 20 years, Welch is a strong leader who has helped nurture many successful strategists. She also has worked at top agencies including RPA, Ogilvy, David&Goliath, 72andSunny, and for brands like Barbie, Honda, and more. Throughout her career, Welch has long been an advocate of mental health. She is currently developing The Happy Places–a business centered on restoring rare boats and creating restorative charter experiences–where a portion of the proceeds will go to support mental health initiatives. In addition, Welch is a proud member of Think LA and International Coaching Federation (ICF).
Welch said, “I’m excited to work with people who go beyond the obvious to uncover the deeper truths of their agency’s brands. Team One’s commitment to agency culture is another draw. I love mentoring future leaders, that’s what gets me up in the morning.”
A boomerang employee, Adams started his career in advertising at Team One as a jr. strategic planner, before spending eight years at The Martin Agency working across clients like BFGoodrich, Walmart, and Experian. Adams made his way back to Team One in 2017.
Adams said, “Brands today need insights that are more human and magnetic, especially for those that operate in competitive consumer markets across the globe. I’m excited to continue to create work that goes beyond the expected and makes people feel seen and inspired.”
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