The Los Angeles office of POSSIBLE added two names to its creative leadership team this month with the hires of ECD Carl Rogers and group creative director Amy Boe.
Along with chief strategy officer Zach Gallagher, their arrivals mark a new chapter in the development of an agency that has largely operated as part of WPP’s extensive back network.
“One of the things working in our favor,” Rogers said, “is that we have a beautiful opportunity to build our own reputation. Lots of agencies come with their own histories, but those can pigeonhole them. Our culture is accelerating minute by minute.”
Rogers joined POSSIBLE in late 2016 after leaving Havas Chicago for the West Coast more than two years ago. He’d been freelancing for several area agencies including Trailer Park and, most recently, Deep Focus. The British copywriter formerly held top creative roles at Grey in both Spain and New York.
Regarding his decision to return to a full-time agency gig, he said, “Joining the L.A. team was too good an opportunity to turn down. The agency is filled with a unique mix of talents from creative and UX to data and content … I couldn’t wait to wade in.”
Boe and Gallagher both come from the L.A. office of Deutsch; the former was experiential creative director while the latter was EVP and director of digital strategy.
During her five-plus year tenure at Deutsch, Boe’s most visible project was the 2014 campaign that found 25 men named Ronald McDonald to help launch Taco Bell’s new breakfast menu. Beyond that campaign (which won multiple Cannes Lions), she created hundreds of experiences for Volkswagen each year and led work such as the life-sized dollhouse that Target installed in New York’s Grand Central Terminal.
“I was looking for an agency culture that would expand my horizons and challenge me to be even more innovative,” said Boe about her new job, citing the work POSSIBLE did to help improve the JD Power ranking of its largest client, Mitsubishi.
“We immediately clicked,” said Rogers of Boe, who had been talking to POSSIBLE before he officially joined. “It’s really nice to have someone who trusts you but will challenge you and often comes up with better ideas. If I’m the smartest person in the room, then something is seriously wrong.”
POSSIBLE Los Angeles currently employs around 60-70 and serves as the home base for WPP’s Mitsubishi business, which it shares with nearby 180LA. The office also works on Microsoft—which is headquartered with POSSIBLE Seattle—and it will assist on recent network-wide new business wins like Newell, Belkin and Southern California Edison.
Regarding the future of the L.A. team, Rogers noted a partnership with VR company Voxelus and a desire to produce work across all channels, both existing and emerging.
“We want to make people turn their heads so quickly that they might snap their necks,” he joked. “Getting their attention is the easy part; keeping it is harder.”