Filed under: Rob's LinkedIn Reference
This is not a blog post, this is my LinkedIn profile – or should I say, it would be if LinkedIn didn’t cap the number of characters you can use to a miserly 2000.
Anyway, there’s nothing to see here – though I do congratulate you on your Sherlock Holmes skills, because this post is meant to be hidden amongst all the ranting, only to be found by those individuals poking around my LinkedIn page.
To pretend this didn’t happen, click here, and everything will be normal again.
If you don’t know me and are going to decide whether I’m worth talking to based only on what a website says, then quite frankly, I don’t know if we’re going to get on … however to help you get a shallow understanding of who I am, I can currently – till they realise what a terrible mistake they’ve made – the Regional Head of Planning at Wieden & Kennedy [www.wkshanghai.com]
Obviously they are utterly wonderful and brilliant and if you – like my wife, friends and past colleagues – are wondering how on earth I got there, let’s go right back to the beginning and take you on a highlights/lowlights journey of discovery …
[Cue moviesque dissolve effect]
Session guitarist for some of the worst 80’s popstars in history
… but I only played the songs, I didn’t write them. Thank God.
Creative Planner at Howell Henry Chaldecott Lury [HHCL]
… where they taught me the importance and value of all communication disciplines – hence when people talk about retail, design, NPD, media, packaging etc … I don’t look at them with distain, but excitement.
Founding Partner & Creative Planning Director of cynic [www.cynical-world.com]
… the Betty Ford clinic for the disenfranchised ad person where over 7 years, we had 140 uber-talented people in 3 international offices [NYC, SF & Sydney] doing a huge range of weird and wonderful stuff – from designing interiors for 747’s, thinking up non-harmful military hardware, developing mopeds for a country rather than a rider, positioning NASA [yes, THAT NASA] and creating the odd award winning campaign to name but a few.
Regional Head of Planning for Y&R Asia
… hired by the irrepressibly brilliant Chris Jaques to help him make the network a creative force once again across Asia. Thanks to a bunch of great people, some hard work, a bit of clever thinking and some luck, we not only achieved our goal, but did it with clients we had no right to win including SONY, MTV, Discovery Channel, Schweppes and VB Beer.
Founding Partner of Google’s Cultural Engineering Lab
… after Google purchased an interest in cynic in 2008, we helped develop their ‘cultural engineering lab’ – a unit dedicated to identifying and developing [with Google engineers] culturally relevant product/tools and services that could demonstrate the company’s commitment to ‘doing no evil’. Some of the services/products/brands we helped develop were the flu tracker and the venture capital arm of Google – though there are still 5 key projects in development that all have the potential to positively and fundamentally benefit society through a reinterpretation and innovation of the education & finance industries. Big talk I know … but it’s not because I’m in adland, it’s because it’s possible. And needed.
Founding Partner & Creative Planning Director of Sunshine [www.hellosunshine.asia]
… rehired by Chris Jaques [who was now the CEO of M&C Saatchi Asia] and asked to develop a creative planning company that could aid M&C in being a better strategic and creative agency. In the 18 months I was there, we not only aided M&C win regional business including telco AXIATA, National Geographic, AIA Insurance & Crown Casino, but we developed our own portfolio of clients including Microsoft [Asia-Pac], Coca-Cola, Molson Beer and Virgin Racing.
Oh, and on top of all that, there’s been periods where – either fulltime or as a consultant – I’ve been a creative planner for MOTHER, Special Branch [a short-lived HHCL rip-off backed by WPP], The Marketing Store [a global BTL agency who taught me great retail & promotions are more about brand ideas than starbursts], SRVT [one of Australia’s creative hot-shops] and then – after SRVT went through a series of ‘mergers & acquisitions’ Aussie planning gods/dinosaurs [delete as appropriate] PRINCIPALS.
So there you go, that’s how I did it … but the reality is whilst I think I’m pretty good at what I do, the reality is luck played a much bigger part in it.
OTHER SHIT:
Bunch of awards … both for effectiveness and creativity and quite often, they’re the same campaign – who’d of thought!!!
Co-run the Global Advertising Planning School on the Web [A[P]SOTW]
Co-founder of homeless charity/lobby group Human_2
Developed new techniques for research and insight generation with internationally respected criminal profiler and author, Paul Britton.
Spoken at loads and loads of things from PSFK through to Music Matters.
CLIENT EXPERIENCE INCLUDES:
Virgin [working with Richard Branson & key directors regarding brand, product & comms]
SONY [Product Development & Communication]
IKEA
NIKE
Coke [Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Powerade]
Microsoft [Product Development & Communication]
NASA
Converse
Tango [Orange/Apple/Blackcurrant]
Nokia
Apple
Google [Product Development]
Nestle [Smarties, Aero and KitKat]
Barclays Bank
AA [Automobile Association, not Alcoholics Anonymous]
Pot Noodle
Diageo [Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Bundy Rum and Guinness]
Tabasco Sauce
Egg Bank
Tiffany’s
Old Spice
Unilever [Organics, Dove, Salon Selectives, Calvin Klein]
Hummer Cars
MTV [Product Development & Communication]
Discovery Channel
Mini
BASF Chemicals
iShares
Victoria Bitter
Prada
Schweppes
Triple J Australia [Advertising and NPD]
Diesel
Umbro
Piaggio [Product Development]
Ben & Jerry’s [Product Development]
Chupa Chups
Example of work – where possible – available on request