It’s been a big day for current and former employees of R/GA.
22squared, which is now the fourth largest independent agency in the U.S., just hired Albert Patton to oversee creative in its Atlanta headquarters.
Patton moves way down south after spending more than a decade with R/GA New York excepting a brief period as a CD at TribalDDB in 2010. He joined Greenberg and Associates as a CD in 2006 and eventually moved up to the level of VP/group executive creative director, playing a lead role on the agency’s work for Nike and Samsung. Patton handled both above and below the line work and spearheaded projects surrounding the release of the Nike SPARQ training app, Samsung’s Pay effort and the Magna Carta Holy Grail app from Jay-Z, who may or may not have been the prime inspiration for whatever the hell it was that Beyonce unleashed on the world last Saturday night.
Patton begins his new role next month. He will report directly to John Stapleton, who got promoted to CCO last December after 15 years with the agency. Stapleton writes:
“22squared is focused on bringing creative ideas that drive our clients’ business. Al’s tremendous ability to problem solve with creativity, and his wide experience across major consumer categories, will help further advance and accelerate our creative product. We are thrilled to not only have him join 22squared during this time of tremendous growth, but to have his fresh perspectives add to the diversity and creativity of the Atlanta community.”
In addition to R/GA and DDB, Patton has held creative roles at FCBi, DigitasLBi and Deutsch. His work has been recognized by the usual suspects including Cannes, the CLIOs, D&AD, the Webby Awards and the Effies.
In a statement, he says, “This is an exciting opportunity to help advance creativity at an agency that has some serious momentum right now. I look forward to working alongside the talented people of 22squared to drive innovation and growth for its impressive roster of clients.”
We would tell him that Atlanta is a cool city that also happens to be a pain in the ass to drive, but we’re pretty sure he already knows that.
SVP/ECD is a relatively new position at 22quared. Kevin Botfeld, who previously led creative in Atlanta, moved to Tampa last December to oversee the agency’s team in Florida. He now holds the same title.