Blue Hive appoints Julian Watt as chief creative officer to strengthen creative offering
Blue Hive, the joint agency venture created to increase collaboration and coordination between Ford’s WPP agencies, has appointed Julian Watt as chief creative officer.
Blue Hive incorporates Wunderman, Ogilvy Advertising and Mindshare, and handles all aspects of Ford’s marketing, including above-the-line, digital, direct marketing, CRM and media planning.
Watt will be responsible for overseeing all creative for Ford UK and Europe operations. He replaces Karin Onsager-Birch, who left Blue Hive in 2015 for the CCO role at advertising agency network FCB in the US.
Watt joins Blue Hive from Australia, where he led multiple creative agencies, including WPP’s GPY&R Sydney, 303 and most recently, HOST Sydney. He led GPY&R Sydney to be ranked most effective agency in Australia, and won a host of new businesses for HOST Sydney including Lion Nathan and Pizza Hut.
On his decision to enter the UK market and join Blue Hive, Watt said: "This is an incredibly exciting time in our business, and I look forward to the rich opportunity of working with a global mega brand like Ford. Blue Hive's progressive model appeals to me at a time when integration of key skills is paramount to powerful creative work."