Creative, tech and entertainment agency Narrative_ promoted Benjamin Vendramin to the role of chief creative officer, tasked with “driv[ing] the agency’s creative and tech-driven approach to story-led brand experiences” from its New York headquarters.
“Benjamin’s branding experience, hybrid approach to creative and strong embrace of technology is the perfect fit for our culture,” Narrative_ co-founder and CEO Tricia Clarke-Stone said in a statement.
Vendramin joined the Russell Simmons-backed agency as an ECD in February following a brief stint as a freelancer with JWT and other area shops. He previously spent 9 years with McCann, rising to the level of VP/group creative director and creating campaigns for clients including Verizon and the Ad Council. He directed “The Greatest Action Movie Ever,” a campaign promoting Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move anti-obesity project that took home awards at The One Show, Cannes and The Webby Awards.
Previous jobs include a stint at TBWA\Chiat\Day, where he was an ACD on Infiniti and led the network’s Toronto office as co-CD and managing partner. He also ran Canada’s Goodgoll Vendramin (formerly Goodgoll Curtis).
Narrative_ may not be quite as visible as some other New York shops, but the agency does a lot of VR and activation-based work. It also recently created an interesting mobile-only campaign promoting its founder’s RushCard company; the work, which requires viewers to flip their phones for “alternate” views of different characters, examined the way people perceive black men differently depend on the way they’re dressed.
Vendramin led creative on that work. Regarding his time with the agency, he said, “Narrative’s innovative approach, technological know-and real-time internal production capabilities really impressed me.”