Webling Interactive boosts creative offering following acquisition by J. Walter Thompson

Following its recent acquisition by J. Walter Thompson Australia, Webling Interactive has unveiled a new digital creative team and creative leadership.

Heading the bolstered capability will be Jay Morgan (right), one of the most respected digital creatives in Australia, who recently joined J. Walter Thompson as group digital creative director.  In addition to his J. Walter Thompson remit, he will now also assume responsibility for creative at Webling, where he will drive the creative vision of the agency and ingrain a culture of creative thinking across all departments.

Managing the creative output of the agency under Morgan’s guidance will be Ben Heath (centre), who has been promoted to associate creative director at Webling after 12 months at the agency.  Working across both creative and design teams, Heath brings experience from major digital agencies in the UK and Australia such as Agency Republic and Holler.  He has delivered many milestone campaigns for brands like Audi, Heineken and Acer – and also boasts arguably the most impressive beard in adland.

Also joining the Webling team as creative lead is Bevan Lewis (left), who is well awarded locally and internationally and has worked with major networks both in Australia, Africa and Asia. He joins the new creative team from recent stints at VML Sydney and With Collective as senior writer.

Says Morgan: “In J. Walter Thompson we have phenomenal strategy, creative and account management, and with Webling we have a shop that has consistently delivered best-in-class digital work from campaigns to platforms with a level of capability that many claim but few can deliver. While I’m looking forward to the individual growth of J. Walter Thompson and Webling, I believe there’s a huge opportunity in the combined offer.”

Says Deniz Nalbantoglu, MD, Webling: “Creative continues to be one of the key drivers of Webling’s success, and is vital for our future aspirations. We are thrilled to have this calibre of talent joining the team, and with the support of J.Walter Thompson we intend to push the boundaries of the creative application of technology and innovation.”

Says Simon Langley, ECD, J. Walter Thompson Sydney: “Jay and the Webling team will play a key role in building on the momentum we have as a business and the type of work we’re doing for our clients.  Jay is a world-class Digital CD with a proven track record of producing unexpected solutions for major brands. Combine that with the creative ambition and digital expertise at Webling, and you can see why we’re excited about the future.”

J. Walter Thompson Australia recently announced that it had taken a majority stake in Webling Interactive.