In what must be one of the biggest, and most unexpected, coups in living memory for the Brisbane advertising industry, McCann Erickson's long-serving and highly-successful CD, Rem Bruijn, has defected to rival agency Advertising Depot.
Bruijn has been with McCann's for over a decade and has recently overseen a host of account wins, along with numerous awards locally, nationally and internationally; making the agency one of Brisbane's most highly awarded. Most recently McCann's took out best of show at the CREAM awards last Friday night with their campaign for Brisbane Marketing entitled 'Sleepy Little Town'.
"I've had a fantastic time at McCanns - brilliant people and a wonderful culture are why I've spent so long there. This was a difficult decision to make, but A|D has been moving in a direction that I've admired for a few years - they've also been responsible for some really break-through creative, all of which has been very strong strategically. I like the way they approach things. Ultimately I made the decision to go where I believe I will do the best work of my career," said Bruijn.
A|D were the most internationally-awarded agency out of Queensland last year. Managing partner Murray Berghan commented on the move by saying that he was really happy to have Bruijn on board. “We're entering a new phase of growth for the agency, and this appointment is the first big step in our restructuring process. We intend to rebrand, move location and restructure ourselves to be a destination agency with a limit of only nine clients. By limiting our client base, we will be able to focus
ourselves entirely and passionately on those clients who share our vision and enthusiasm".
Bruijn starts with A|D on the 9th of October.