Toby Pschorr appointed as first CEO of Voltage, DDB's Volkswagen agency
DDB has appointed Toby Pschorr as chief executive of its Volkswagen bespoke agency, Voltage Worldwide, leveraging his long-term relationship with the brand.
Toby Pschorr appointed as first CEO of Voltage, DDB's Volkswagen agency
In the new role, Pschorr, will lead the custom agency from its Berlin HQ. The agency has a recently expanded remit since VW awarded it global work alongside Omnicom to handle creative in the EMEA region, India, Australia, Russia and in South America with Almap BBDO. This came as the brand refined the number of agencies it works with.
Deeply involved with the VW account since 2012. Pschorr helped win the 2018 pitch as global business director for the auto brand. He is now responsible for 14 offices and more than 460 employees in his new role.
Pschorr has clocked time at Santo, BBH, Fallon and WCRS throughout a career that has linked up with brands such as Skoda, Audi, Sony, Coca-Cola, Vodafone, BMW, Unilever and Nestlé. He will report directly to Pietro Tramontin, DDB's chief executive and president of DDB Europe and global chief Wendy Clark.
Tramontin said: "In last year's global invitation to tender for the Volkswagen brand, the entire network has come together and risen to the challenge. I am very proud of the team’s performance. Toby Pschorr has made a significant contribution to this success and will now lead Voltage Worldwide, servicing the Volkswagen brand.”
On his appointment, Pschorr added: “Voltage is a tailor-made Omnicom agency for the client Volkswagen consisting of 14 offices. After the successful tender last year, I am looking forward to work with the Voltage staff worldwide to support the Volkswagen brand internationally".
At VW there remains a tough brief. The brand has been on the path of redemption for the last few years after it was embroiled in the emissions scandal that hammered consumer trust. Since 2017, it has been leaning into its significant marketing spend to rebuild trust with the public - particularly using nostalgia for its older cars.
The 79-year-old brand, after the scandal, admitted it has “a long and arduous road to recovery”. It is several years into that process and will push further forward with Pschorr in particular overseeing its creative output globally.