BMF promotes Jen Speirs to deputy ECD role and Dantie van der Merwe + David Fraser to CD roles
Following Alex Derwin’s appointment to executive creative director, BMF has strengthened its creative department promoting Jen Speirs (centre) to the newly created role of deputy executive creative director and Dantie van der Merwe (left) and David Fraser (right) to creative directors.
Speirs has been with the agency for over two years and worked across TAL Life Insurance, Department of Social Services Domestic Violence Campaign, BPay, UN Women and Full Stop Foundation. Throughout her career Speirs has been awarded at Cannes, NY Festivals, AWARD, Effies, John Caples, ADMA and Spikes. She has been on many international award juries and has been invited to speak at events including the Australian 3% Conference. Prior to joining BMF, Speirs was a creative director at DDB where she made award-winning work for Carefree, Arnott’s, BWS, McDonald’s and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency.
Associate creative directors Dantie van der Merwe and David Fraser have also been promoted. They’re now creative directors on ALDI, Dulux and GWF. Since joining BMF in 2014, the duo has created campaigns for various parts of the ALDI business such as Like Brands, Special Buys, Liquor and Christmas. They’ve also picked up at London International Awards, One Show, AWARD Award, Effies, Sirens and Spikes. Prior to BMF, van der Merwe and Fraser were creative group heads at DDB Sydney where they worked on McDonald’s, Volkswagen and Eclipse Chewy Mints.
Says Derwin: “When you’ve got talent as good as Jen, David and Dantie under your nose it’s a given that they were going step up. They know BMF clients and they work their arses off to deliver world-class thinking on every brief.
“Dave and Dantie have been responsible for some of the best work BMF has made in the last few years. Somehow they manage to balance being both hugely talented and lovely humans. They’re going to take to creative direction like ducks to water.
“Jen has a natural ability to coax the best out of people, to nurture ideas and deliver great results. She’s passionate about finding and developing the best creative thinkers in the industry.”
Says Speirs: “As soon as I walked into the BMF creative department – I could feel that it was different. It’s filled with people who care passionately about the work, each other – and their lives outside. The culture here is amazing, and I’m excited to work with Alex to do whatever I can to help it stay that way.”
47 Comments
A huge congrats to you Jen!
Kind, fun and legendary all around.
xx
What a brilliant lineup of talent and also great to see an agency providing career progression. Congratulations to all!
Congrats Dave and Dantie, Executive Congrats Jen!
This is cool.
Yewwww
Dave and Dantie are top talents and even nicer guys. Great to see the gooduns getting recognised.
A massive congrats to you all, incredibly happy about this news.
Congrats Dave, Dantie and Jen! Really great news
three of the best, congrats!
Congrats you bloody legends.
Dantie is a nice guy. Dantie is sort of talented. Dantie has a gun to my head at this very moment.
Congratulations all, couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch.
Dantie for president!
Huge congrats to all.
nice works guys. well done and deserved.
Dave and Dantie are the real deal, great to see their talent recognised.Well deserved! Congrats to all.
Fantastic news! What a killer combo and well deserved to all three.
Congrats guys! Well deserved.
Congrats Speirsy! High five’s all round! 😉
Shyeeeow! What a lineup! Congrats, all.
Congrats Speirsy. Awesome news.
Well deserved! Congratulations!
Just looking at this headline improved my high kick. Congrats all. Miss youses.
Well done Jen. x
congratulations legends!!
Well done boys. What took you so long?
All the best.
Congrats you legends… super jelly of that creative department
Congrats fam!!!! That’s the biggest Dantie smile I’ve ever seen :’)
Legendary work Jen. Always a legend. Well deserved.
Congrats boys, bloody well deserved!
You know what I mean
ORSUM!!
Well deserved!! Congratulations guys, couldn’t have happened to nicer people.
Jen Speirs for Prez! Go you good thing x
Huge congrats to all of you, really wonderful news.
Congrats to all, especially Dantie and his little beard and strong arms. x
Onya legends. Go big.
Brilliant news! Couldn’t have happened to a more talented, friendly and nurturing bunch of creative geniuses… except Dantie. Fuck Dantie.
Congratulations Jen and David!
Congratulations Legends.
Three good’uns! Good work gang.
This is awesome congrats you guys
Well done boys. What took you so long?
All the best.
Go Jenny! Go girl! So well deserved! Congrats to the boys as well!
Go Jenny! Go girl! So well deserved! Congrats to the boys as well!
To see so many comments on a campaign brief article and all of them positive and loving. Such a breathe of fresh air. 🙂
Just to bring us all back to normality, it’s ‘breath’, you talentless lump.
Well done on punching through the bearded ceiling David! A CD without facial hair? WOW!
Your easily upset their pal