TBWA Hires Ben Williams as Chief Creative Experience Officer

TBWA\Worldwide, whose network includes Apple's bespoke agency, today announced it has found a new global creative chief. But unlike his predecessors, Ben Williams will have a new title and a wider remit that highlights where TBWA is investing for its future. Williams will be global chief creative experience officer, a title similar to what he held at his longtime agency, R/GA, where he was global chief experience officer. He fills the vacancy left with the November 2020 exit of global CCO Chris Garbutt, who founded a consultancy called Pltfrmr that was quickly acquired by Vice-owned agency Virtue. A 25-year industry veteran who's been focused on the intersection of digital life and marketing, Williams spent the past 10 years at R/GA, where he worked on clients including Nike, Google, Samsung and American Express. He said he was attracted to TBWA because of the agency network's philosophy of putting disruption at the core of its work. "I believe creativity has the power to solve business and human challenges in today’s world—not just marketing or communication problems—and yet few recognize its full potential,” Williams said in a statement about his new role. “Throughout my career, I’ve worked to disrupt the expected, the status quo, and do that through design, technology, experience, commerce and advertising. To be able to do those things within a company that sees disruption as the antidote to incrementalism is exciting." I don't need more great chief creative officers. I've got plenty of them. I need new experiences, new ways of working, new talent and, frankly, new ways of thinking.—Troy Ruhanen, global CEO, TBWA With the departure of Garbutt, TBWA global CEO Troy Ruhanen saw an opportunity to shift the creative chief position to being more focused on experience, design and product innovation. "I've got lot of great creative chiefs in our offices. I don't need more great chief creative officers. I've got plenty of them," Ruhanen told Adweek. "I need new experiences, new ways of working, new talent and, frankly, new ways of thinking." Putting "experience" into the job's title was a decision Ruhanen and other TBWA leaders made before the selection committee settled on Williams. That decision opened the talent search to a different set of potential hires who had worked outside the traditional chief creative officer role. We need to move on from being seen as Mad Men people and toward being seen as understanding how to impact across the whole brand experience.—Troy Ruhanen, global CEO, TBWA But more importantly, Ruhanen said, the shift shows how TBWA is evolving away from an ad-driven agency model and toward creating tangible products or customer experiences for clients who need more than a 60-second spot or paid social campaign. "I don't want to be part of the advertising conversation anymore. I just don't," Ruhanen said. "We need to move on from being seen as Mad Men people and toward being seen as understanding how to impact across the whole brand experience. I'm not saying advertising is an ugly word, but there are too many people who write about how advertising and the agency model are dead. It's not true of us." 'This is the biggest year we've ever had' Williams' hire also comes at a time of strong growth for the agency, Ruhanen said. "We've grown six out of seven years,. This is the biggest year we've ever had," he said. "We've grown in our digital revenues by double digits this last year, and we continue to expand." While TBWA has a wide range of clients across its worldwide offices, including TBWA\Chiat\Day New York and Los Angeles, the company is best known for its longtime work on Apple through the dedicated TBWA\Media Arts Lab network. Ruhanen said Brent Anderson, global chief creative officer for Media Arts Lab, was involved in selecting Williams for the role and will be collaborating with him on Apple's major initiatives. "Brent interviewed Ben for the position and wanted Ben to join the company," Ruhanen said. "He wanted Ben to work with him on all the big product launches they've got, so he's going to be a big part of the Apple ecosystem." Hybrid Working Shouldn’t Include Mandated Office Attendance, Says R/GA UK Managing Director

Leadership & Talent

TBWA's New Global Creative Chief Has a Title That Hints at the Agency's Future

Ben Williams, joining from R/GA, shows how TBWA is focusing on experience and product

David Griner

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