AlmapBBDO Announces Brian Crotty as Head of Transformation
The only certainty that agencies face today in the communication business is constant change. This is the opinion of AlmapBBDO's new Head of Transformation, Brian Crotty. The agency, named as the most creative of the decade by Cannes Lions, once again innovates by announcing an unprecedented model in Brazil with the arrival of the executive, who has already been working on transformation within Almap since June.
Brian Crotty explains that transformation is not specifically a new area. It is a work that involves the attitude of challenging what until then seemed like a rule. That is, to act in an even smarter and integrated way to focus on innovation and the creation of value for customers, always within the DNA of Almap: creativity that generates business. "The work of the head of transformation is today one of the key pieces within agency. For our clients, the benefit is the promise of working in a more collaborative and agile way, so that we can anticipate changes and discover proprietary value for their business", comments Filipe Bartholomeu, partner and CEO of AlmapBBDO.
"My job is to empower teams, connect people with the right resources and tools, be involved with various areas of the agency and seek the best international references within the Omni group with," Brian details. A great differentiator of Almap's head of transformation's work compared to other market models is that it is not restricted to technology or only to digital. One of the key pivot points, for example, is elevating the contribution of the media and data areas in order to make the right connections so that the agency can increasingly deliver personalised communication at scale.
Another essential element is integration with our global resources. With over eight years with Omnicom, Brian had a stint as Almap's head of media between 2012 and 2017. Most recently, he worked as CEO of OMD (Media Specialist Agency) in Latin America and was part of the global committee of OMD – an agency that also belongs to the group. "I bring a lot of experience in digital, media and data. Throughout my career, I've had to constantly reinvent myself, working with a diverse client base, in multiple regions, different cultures and languages. I learned to see the challenges through very different lenses," says Brian.
The agency's new Head of Transformation also says that he began the conversation with the agency's partners – Luiz Sanches (Chairman and CCO)) and Filipe Bartholomeu last year - about the unique challenges and advantages of working in a full service agency model and the role he could play within Almap to develop new ways of working that are 100% consistent with the agency's creative DNA. Brian explains that the transformation professional role is to challenge the team to 'hack' and 'crash test' new ways of working.
Therefore, according to the executive, for business success, it is essential to have a diverse team formed by several sets of skills and experiences. All this brings innovation, but also complexity to synchronise efforts. "We have an incredibly talented team. My job is to empower them so that everyone understands the assets we have to do our job more effectively," explains Brian, citing Omnicom’s Omni marketing platform as an example – used, among other functions, for planning and media decisions and provide insights into audience and content.
The transformation within Almap is also a job to break the walls between departments, harmonising and synchronising teams so that everyone knows each other's functions and capabilities. "Tools, processes, and resources are resources for our teams to work smarter. Transformation is also identifying the right keys to change and developing a collaborative work plan in order to accelerate change, test, and learn new ways of working."
Reinforcing the need to tap into the global group's resources and international experience, Brian states that the Omnicom Group is a powerhouse with a well-organised flow of intelligence, innovative leadership and best practices. "We are increasingly democratising access, empowering our talents with the network, bringing new tools, data and processes to help everyone work in a more collaborative and agile way in order to solve problems in an increasingly complex environment," says head of transformation.
Originally from Australia, Brian began his career working at The DDB of Melbourne. He has experience in management, media and planning with operations on four continents. In the 17 years he was in the Publicis Group, he had stints with Leo Burnett, Starcom and Digitas. Before starting his career at the Omnicom Group, he also worked for three years at McCann and another four at Babelfish, an independent consultancy.
