J. Walter Thompson Perth snares Joe Hawkins from Marketforce for creative director role

J. Walter Thompson Perth has appointed award-winning creative Joe Hawkins as Creative Director. The move will see Hawkins (pictured near left with JWT Perth MD Doni Savvides) depart his role as Creative Group Head at Marketforce to join J. Walter Thompson, following continued growth at the agency.

It’s a swap of sorts between the two agencies, with former JWT Perth CD Paul Coghlan having moved to Marketforce as Creative Director at the beginning of this month. Hawkins’ departure comes hard on the heels of rising team Matt Wilson & Hayden Griffiths move to The Brand Agency.

Simon Langley, Executive Creative Director J. Walter Thompson said: “We are absolutely thrilled Joe has decided to join the team here in Perth. This isn’t the first time we’ve tried to hire him over the years, so it’s exciting that the time is now right. He has a proven track record of world class creative and I look forward to our team and our clients benefiting from his talent. On top of this he’s also a lovely bloke.”

With more than 16 years in the industry, Hawkins has worked at some of the region’s best creative agencies, including DDB New Zealand, R/GA Singapore, Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney, and 303MullenLowe Perth. He’s also a seasoned advertising tutor and creative mentor, having headed the national AWARD School program, and tutored across Sydney, Singapore and Perth. He’s currently teaching AdSchool’s Copywriting course, and sits on the panel for the national Siren commercial radio awards. 

“It’s fair to say that a lot of planets aligned to make this happen, and I couldn’t be happier,” said Hawkins. “Great agencies not only nurture and encourage a culture that creates effective, and often award-winning work, they also have a habit of being full of some really nice, endearingly humble, talented people. The combination of those two things becomes a powerful magnet for attracting the best staff, as well as attracting the best clients.  Because at the end of the day, we all want to do great work, with great people, and have some fun doing it.

“J. Walter Thompson is that agency here in Perth. Doni has helped to shape a work environment that’s seen the agency consistently punch above its weight; and their ability to work so closely with and share the resources of the broader J. Walter Thompson network is a very real strength of the office. And the fact that my first day is also my birthday kind of tells me that the universe is a big fan of the place, too. I can’t wait to start.”

General Manager, Doni Savvides, said: “I’m delighted to be working with Joe again. He’s a fantastic creative leader whose ambition matches our own. He’s the perfect person to help continue our positive momentum here in WA.”

Hawkins has been awarded at every major local and international award show, including Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Clio, LIA, Spikes and AWARD, and has worked with some of the world’s leading brands, including Mastercard, VW, McDonald’s, Cadbury, SKY TV and IKEA.  Locally, he created effective and award-winning work for many of the state’s top clients, from the Office of Road Safety, Road Safety Commission, Lotterywest, HBF, ECU and Curtin University, to TAB, Transperth, Art Gallery of WA and Alinta Energy.

In 2017 Hawkins took out the national Siren radio competition – and a cheeky trip to Cannes – and in the same year was ranked the #1 creative in WA by Campaign Brief WA magazine.