LBi London

LBi hires Fern Miller as head of planning for EMEA

Posted by Calvin Lau December 5th, 2011

London: Global digital marketing and technology agency LBi has appointed Fern Miller as Head of Planning for EMEA.

Miller joins LBi from creative agency Karmarama where she was a Planning Director working for brands including the BBC, lastminute.com, Age UK and Unilever. Miller brings 15 years of agency planning experience to her new role including senior positions at DLKW, JWT and Delaney Fletcher Bozell.

Miller’s appointment reflects LBi’s continued commitment to seeking out the very best people to support and grow the business. The global digital marketing and technology agency is ramping up its drive to recruit a diverse range of talent in response to increasingly sophiticated client briefs.

In her newly created role Miller will work to provide direction and input to LBi’s UK strategy and planning teams. She will also help shape the agency’s offering in key European markets.

Jonthan Isaac, Global Planning Director at LBi, said: “’We’re thrilled to have Fern join LBi – she’s a fantastic planner who will inspire the whole agency to more creative, more effective solutions. Also, she very recently got married in an Elvis costume which is all the proof we need that she’ll fit right in.”

Throughout her career Miller has worked as lead creative strategist on a series of high-profile campaigns in the Banking, FMCG, Charity and Retail sectors. She is experienced at co-ordinated teams across a range of on and offline channels to
achieve outstanding results for clients.

Miller said: “My new colleagues at LBi are an unusual bunch – in that they don’t just see the future, they make it happen. I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

- ENDS -

Media Enquiries:
Tim Banks
infomob PR
tim@infomob.co.uk
+44 (0) 7771 512 057

Tags: Age UK, bbc, emea, Fern Miller, head of planning, Karmarama, lastminute.com, planning, planning director, Unilever

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LBi teams up with Brand Republic to honour industry’s best

Posted by Calvin Lau September 23rd, 2011

LBi were proud to be a partner for the launch of Brand Republic’s Hall of Fame, part of the BrandMAX Brand Optimisation summit held this week at the Altitude 360 venue overlooking London.

The Hall of Fame marks Brand Republic’s 10th anniversary and celebrates the brands, individuals and businesses that have innovated and succeeded in the past decade.

Lyndsay Menzies, Chief Media Officer LBi Group and CEO of bigmouthmedia, joined Brand Republic editor Rich Sutcliffe in announcing the six inaugural inductees, which won by online votes cast by the Brand Republic community.

According to Brand Republic, the voting process “drew hundreds of nominations and thousands of votes from across the industry.”

Congratulations to the winners of the evening:

Innovators
Dare
Blue Rubicon

Leaders
Jill McDonald, UK Chief Executive and President, Northern Division, McDonalds
Mark Cridge, Chief Executive, Glue Isobar, & Global Managing Director Isobar network

Brands
Innocent
John Lewis

LBi also took the opportunity to start a discussion to ask leaders What’s Next for some of UK’s best brands. Look out for our video coverage of the event coming very soon!

Many thanks to the Brand Republic team and everyone involved, and congratulations again to the inductees of the Brand Republic Hall of Fame!

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LBi introduces learning initiative for clients and staff


Posted by Calvin Lau August 24th, 2011

London: LBi taps Hyper Island to explore collaboration during Master Class

LBi, the global marketing and technology agency, has announced today it will embark on a learning initiative in collaboration with a selection of its big-brand clients and their roster agencies to develop the group’s ideas around digital innovation and organisational change.

Hyper Island is collaborating with LBi to explore blending, hosting a Master Class

LBi has long believed in blending insight, creativity, media and technical expertise to produce the best and most innovative work possible. This approach lies at the heart of the agency’s strategic partnerships with clients such as Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson and Virgin Atlantic Airways.

LBi has enlisted Hyper Island – the world leader in the field of education for interactive communication, change management and leadership through collaboration – to host an intensive three-day Master Class in Karlskrona, Sweden, which will be attended by a blended team of clients, roster agencies and LBi staff.  During the Master Class, taking place between 30^th September and 2^nd October, LBi will explore and experiment with its approach to blending and collaboration.

Later this year, LBi will share the outcomes of the experience with the wider marketing and advertising community via a series of articles, seminars and workshops.

“We believe this initiative comes at a crucial time as CMOs are being asked to stretch themselves into new uncomfortable territory, ” said Chris Clarke, Chief Creative Officer of LBi.  “Marketing no longer stands alone, but sits at the intersection of product, technology and communication. This means our clients and their agencies desperately need new ways of working.”

“It’s all about the people. Media and communication technologies have converged, and the industry needs talent that is collaborative, unbound by disciplines, and able to thrive in a rapidly changing environment,” said Christina Andersson, Director of Short Term Courses for Hyper Island. “Hyper Island has worked with various organizations since 1995 to develop more creative and efficient coworker teams and more profitable workplaces, and we are proud to be part of this journey for LBi.”

Tags: blending, client relationships, clients, collaboration, digital agencies, hyper island, training

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IPA launches new Digital Business Group, co-chaired by LBi UK CEO Anil Pillai

Posted by Calvin Lau July 18th, 2011

London: The IPA has launched a new Digital Business Group, to be co-chaired by Anil Pillai, CEO of LBi UK and Chris Thurling, Managing Director of 3Sixty, and supported by new IPA Digital Business Consultant Brian Hoadley.

The Group will represent and promote a holistic approach to the provision of digital services spanning design and build, data and technology platforms, and marketing communications. It will also champion the awareness, professionalism and profitability of this sector via a programme of dedicated qualifications, collaborative marketing for talent, and educating clients and their procurement teams.

Additional members of the Group will include: Anna Watkins, Managing Director, Grand Union; Caroline Margolis, Head of New Business, VML; Charlie Wolcott, Human Resources Director, Syzygy Group; Susanne Jones, Managing Director, Critical Mass; William Makower, Managing Director, Panlogic; and Lee Woodard, Director of Client Services, Sapient Nitro.

Says Anil Pillai: “As the digital industry continues to go from strength-to-strength now is the perfect time for the IPA to be launching the Digital Business Group to address the issues arising from the sector’s on-going growth. I’m looking forward to the challenge of helping to bring new-found rigour to this dynamic and fast moving industry — in particular setting creative benchmarks for design & build agencies and implementing new standards for user-experience.  As Co-Chairman I will also ensure that the Digital Business Group tackles the common issues faced across our businesses and supports initiatives to bring fresh talent in to the sector.”

Says Chris Thurling: “I am delighted to become the Co-Chairman of the new Digital Business Group. I think it’s a great opportunity for me to contribute to this new initiative from the perspective of the smaller, independent digital agency sector. Digital is rapidly re-defining what it means to be involved in the advertising business. It’s broadening the talent pool from which we need to draw and blurring the boundaries with other disciplines. In founding the DBG I think the IPA is showing its commitment to staying relevant in an industry that is going to look very different five years from now. As well as contributing to the wider debate about the impact of technology on advertising, I hope that the DBG can help raise professional standards within what is still a relatively fledging sector and contribute to attracting new talent from a diverse range of backgrounds into the industry.”

Says Brian Hoadley: “With the ubiquitous nature of digital, the IPA’s launch of the new Digital Business Group comes at an exciting time. Initially focussing on User Experience and Project Management, I believe the IPA can act as a focal point in the facilitation and provision of industry support and in driving up professional standards. We intend to work with our membership in a drive to attract new talent, create innovative training courses, and create a new set of professional digital policies and standards. I look forward to working with the dedicated and experienced group of professionals at the IPA and our digital agency membership.”

Biographies:

Anil Pillai
Anil joined LBi in 1996 and is now UK CEO, responsible for the day to day running of the agency with a single-minded focus on top-line growth, client development, new business success and LBi’s external brand profile. He is Client Sponsor on the Lloyds Banking Group account, is one of the longest standing members of the Galaxy Board, providing strategy and advice across their £120M year digital change programmes, and continues to provide executive leadership to key client engagements such as BT and Ericsson. Last year Anil oversaw the company’s new business wins, including Virgin Atlantic, Compare the Market, E-ON and Coca Cola.  Anil also sits on the European Ad:Tech advisory board and is a consultant to the IPA for digital effectiveness and agency development.

Chris Thurling
Chris Thurling is the Managing Director and founding partner of 3Sixty, a 15-year-old independent digital agency based in Bristol. 3Sixty specialises in the travel and financial services sectors with clients including Deutsche Bahn, High Speed One, three major UK Airports, AXA plc and Cofunds (part of L & G). Chris is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the IPA Digital Creative Group, the board member with responsibility for digital at Bristol Media and an occasional lecturer at Bristol University on digital marketing.

Brian Hoadley
Brian is a senior-level User Experience Strategist with 23 years experience in the digital and telecommunications industries, 11 years of which involve senior and board level management, consultancy, and thought leadership delivering to private and public sector clients. His previous positions have included: Senior Business Architect at Syzygy UK, Founder and Managing Director of phunQube, Head of Innovation & Product Design at Directgov, User Experience Advisor at the COI/Cabinet Office, andHead of User Experience at BBC DMI. He is currently consulting at BSkyB as a UX Strategy Consultant for Sky Creative.

In addition to the IPA Digital Business Group the IPA also runs the IPA Digital Media Group and the Digital Creative Forum. The IPA Digital Media Group’s remit is to raise the digital standard, share knowledge among members of the IPA about digital issues, and to represent the agency perspective in the digital media arena. The IPA Digital Creative Forum seeks to raise the digital standard most notably by improving the creativity, accountability and integration of interactive advertising.

The first meeting of the IPA Digital Business Group will take place on 4th August.

Visit the IPA website at http://www.ipa.co.uk.

Tags: Anil Pillai, digital business group, digital services, ipa, marketing communications, technology platforms

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