David Kolbusz Moves to Independent Agency Lightning Orchard

Former Droga5 London chief creative officer David Kolbusz has taken on a new role as creative leader of U.S. independent agency Lightning Orchard, which is rebranding as just Orchard. As one of the ad industry’s most esteemed creative leaders, Kolbusz’s next job has been much anticipated since he revealed last month that he would be leaving Droga5 after nearly seven years at the Accenture Interactive-owned agency. He starts at Orchard this week and has relocated from London to New York for the position. Kolbusz will lead Orchard alongside its co-founders, chief executive Barney Robinson and chief strategy officer Laura Janness, both of whom were previous leaders of the now-shuttered shop Barton F. Graf. He will take the reins from Orchard’s first CCO, Jeff Kling, who said in a statement that he endorsed the appointment. Founded in 2019, Orchard is based in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has more than 40 employees. A new era Kolbusz’s appointment to Orchard’s management team marks a new chapter for the agency, as it aims to grow and diversify its business while creating culturally relevant and effective advertising. The shop has rebranded from Lightning Orchard to simplify the name and signify its growth ambitions with its own work, talent development and clients’ businesses. Orchard stands for 'superiority of work, craft and strategic thinking,' Kolbusz says. On the type of creative work that Orchard aims to produce, Kolbusz said the agency’s name also represents “ideas that take seed in people’s minds, grow and flower in their hearts—work that endures.” “[Orchard] will stand for superiority of work, craft and strategic thinking. We’re going to sell hard but in a way that doesn’t feel like we’re selling hard. We want to make our clients famous at the same time as making work that is beloved,” Kolbusz told Adweek. “The backbone of great advertising is work that sells and entertains. We want the work we make to be as culturally relevant as advertising once was. Everyone hates advertising until they love it—and then they hate themselves for loving it. We want consumers to hate themselves for loving our work.” Orchard will also develop new business units and IP, “publishing other things [beyond advertising],” Robinson explained. Alluding to what this might mean, he said one of his heroes was Charles Saatchi, who, along with co-founding ad agencies Saatchi & Saatchi and M&C Saatchi, also opened London art museum the Saatchi Gallery and was a patron of artists such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. A shared vision After helping to turn around Droga5 London, Kolbusz said he was drawn to Orchard for its entrepreneurial opportunities. He also has previous experience working closely with Janness—at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners in San Francisco, where he was group creative director between 2007 and 2010—and called her his “creative and strategic soulmate.” Meanwhile, Kolbusz and Robinson crossed paths when they were both at Bartle Bogle Hegarty (Kolbusz was at BBH London between 2010 and 2014, while Robinson worked in the New York office). The three of them are “very like-minded” in their business goals, values, interests and views on the industry, Kolbusz added. Janness and Robinson founded Orchard with the goal of building a successful independent agency, while also addressing the industry’s lack of diversity. From the beginning, the shop has ensured that female employees are paid equal to or more than their male counterparts, Robinson said. In 2019 Orchard also launched a paid internship program to widen its talent pool. The program partners with four Brooklyn high schools and currently employs 34 interns, both remotely and in-person, introducing them to all aspects of the advertising business over the course of one to two years. Beyond such initiatives, Orchard describes itself as “a strategically led creative agency,” meaning strategy and creativity have equal footing, Janness said. “When I was learning the craft of advertising, creative was king. The world has changed significantly since then; that model is over and clients want really smart answers, not just creative ones. They want collaborators and partners, and they want to feel listened to,” Janness explained. “Usually [at other agencies] strategy retrofits creative or it’s used as a back filler. That’s one of the things I love about the structure of our company and working with David: it’s completely equal, and we enjoy listening to and working with clients. It’s not just about great creative; it’s great thinking in combination with creative to get to the right answer that truly works and drives a business forward.” Droga5 London Creative Boss David Kolbusz to Depart

The Future of Agencies

Droga5’s David Kolbusz Moves to US Independent Agency Lightning Orchard as It Rebrands

He is the new creative leader and will run Orchard alongside partners Laura Janness and Barney Robinson

Brittaney Kiefer

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Brittaney Kiefer