Leon Sammartino joins Initiative Melbourne from Dentsu Mitchell in head of comms design role

Initiative Melbourne has announced the appointment of Leon Sammartino as head of communications design, a new position at the agency.

Sammartino is previously group client service director of Dentsu Mitchell in Melbourne. He is a 17-year veteran of the Melbourne media market with extensive experience across the automotive, finance, FMCG and retail sectors. He has recently led account management and strategy development on major accounts including Renault Australia, Home Hardware and Dr Oetker. 

As Initiative continues to build out capabilities for its cultural branding positioning, Initiative Melbourne managing director Shaun Briggs said Sammartino’s skills were an ideal fit for Initiative’s future.

Says Briggs: “Leon is an evidence-based planner, with a belief that solutions are born out of a deep understanding of the audience, the market and culture in which the brand operates.”

Sammartino’s key roles for Initiative Melbourne are in helping to lead the connectivity between people and brands across the full communications ecosystem, thought leadership and new tools for channel planning, as well as developing up to date training for agency executives in channel planning fundamentals and their evolution. He will also be a member of Initiative Melbourne management team.

On taking his new role, Sammartino said he was very attracted to Initiative’s focus on cultural planning and was looking forward to working with Initiative Melbourne clients including Specsavers, Officeworks, JB Hi-Fi and Bunnings.