JWT Melbourne’s digital department is to get a major shot in the arm, with Marty Hungerford joining the agency as Creative Director of JWT Digital and Nick Keogh as Senior Interactive Art Director. Both poached from GPY&R Melbourne, they will join the team already in place at JWT, including programmer Susan Hinton, designer Gideon Cheok and experiential creators Alice Mason, Liv Moore and Matt Lonergan.
At Patts, Hungerford and Keogh have been responsible for some of the best digital work to come out of Australia. Their campaign credits include creating sites, games and interactive features for clients such as VB, Boag’s, Ford, the Australian Defence Force, Austereo, Fifth Leg, Cadbury, the AFL, Nintendo and Yellow Pages online.
One of the earliest adopters, Hungerford has been working with multimedia concept development since 1996. He has won awards at shows including MADC, AIMIA and was named the Saxton Scholar in 2004.
After college, he started the groundbreaking Techno Renegade Magazine. He branched out to become a freelance digital designer, concept developer and producer before being becoming the first interactive designer at Patts in 2003.
In the four years since then, he has created an award-winning interactive department and made the transition from Interactive Designer to Art Director to Group Creative Head, Digital.
“I think the opportunity at JWT is fantastic. In digital terms, it’s got huge potential. The combination of their client base, Richard leading the creative department and the energy that (new Managing Director) John Gutteridge is bringing to the place make it an incredible opportunity,�? said Hungerford.
Similarly, Keogh has been involved in multimedia design since 1997 and finished college as the Most Outstanding Graduate for his year. He went on to Angliss Multimedia as a developer, creating projects as varied as an online training site for Crown Casino croupiers and an award-nominated interactive programme designed make sex education easier to understand for young children.
Keogh went on to freelance for clients such as BMW, NAB and Wilson Everard Interactive before joining Patts in 2005. His work has been recognized in award shows, including the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association Awards.
Muntz sees their appointments as the beginning of a new phase for the creative department: “Both Nick and Marty are freaks. They're a rare breed, combining original conceptual thinking across a broad range of clients with technical smarts. JWT have scored a major coup by securing such prodigious talent.�?