BBDO New York isn’t the only shop looking for talent within Droga5’s creative department: today, GS&P announced the hiring of Mike Long as its newest creative director. In the new position, he will work as creative lead on the Comcast/XFINITY account.
Long joined Droga5 in New York shop as GCD in early 2013, and his success working on the Airwick, Motorola and Quilted Northern accounts led to a promotion which had him filling the “content creative director” role and developing/directing related digital materials for clients such as Newcastle, Diet Coke and Johnsonville (the “Ballad of Bratsgiving” is one recent example).
Prior to moving Droga-side, Long worked as an art director at Saatchi & Saatchi London and a CD at Publicis New York before simultaneously holding the ECD and GCD titles at Saatchi’s Manhattan office, where he worked on Coca-Cola, Sony, MTV and Heineken. He also spent eight years on the directorial roster of Epoch Films, helming spots for various international clients.
We hear that the move marks a long-considered West Coast relocation for Long, who says: “I’ve really loved my time at Droga5, and they’re a great group of people, but I’m excited for a new challenge. I’ve always respected and admired the culture at GS&P and really look forward to working with them. Comcast is an innovative client at the intersection of entertainment, media and technology, and I can’t imagine a more timely opportunity.”
In the new role, Long will report directly to ECD Margaret Johnson, who says that his “experience creating content across all mediums and his fantastic storytelling abilities” will make him “the perfect fit for Comcast/XFINITY” as well as “an outstanding addition to our creative department.”
GS&P has made a series of changes after the failure of Comcast’s planned merger with Time Warner Cable led to staffing changes in San Francisco and, eventually, the closing of the New York office. Earlier this month, the agency promoted Patrick Knowlton and Jon Wolanske to the CD level and named creatives Will Elliott and Justin Moore as associate partners.
ECD Erik Kallman also surprised quite a few by leaving the agency to go freelance in September, but Goodby appears to have taken steps to shore up its creative team following his departure.
The agency has yet to name additional executive creative directors.