Deutsch LA Names Colin Drummond Partner, Chief Strategy Officer
Today, Deutsch LA announced that Colin Drummond has joined the agency as Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, effective immediately. Colin will serve as chief strategist across all of Deutsch LA’s client accounts, including Taco Bell, Volkswagen, Target, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and more, and will oversee the agency’s planning and strategy group. His track record of using nontraditional methods to reveal consumer insights, which ultimately lead to breakthrough creative ideas, will help to generate business momentum across the agency’s roster of clients. Additionally, Colin will unearth the latest innovations within culture, media and technology and bring that knowledge to bear on client strategy and planning.
"Deutsch LA is a rocket ship and I'm proud to be getting on for the ride,” said Drummond. “This company has an amazing ability to tell stories, to engage and touch people, to make them laugh out loud, or sit quietly and absorb. I'm excited to be a part of the agency’s growth, and help take it to the next level. There's never been a better time than now to engage with people in a modern, cultural way while building lasting, cherished brands at the same time. You need to be current and you need to be timeless; that's the recipe for great brands today."
As a founding partner of Deutsch LA, current Chief Strategic Officer, Jeffrey Blish, has been instrumental in the agency's growth and success over the past 18 years. He will remain a Partner and in his new role as Executive Planning Director, he will continue to bring his deep expertise to agency clients, advising on account strategy, planning and brand-building programs. Jeffrey will take on the added responsibility of leading large-scale agency research projects and client insights generation—a naturally pairing with Deutsch LA's strategic offering.
Colin joins Deutsch LA from Ogilvy & Mather West where most recently he served as Chief Strategy Officer and one of the top strategic minds within the agency's global network of 450 offices across 120 countries. While at Ogilvy West, Colin oversaw strategic planning on accounts like Cisco, Beringer, and Arco, and built the agency’s west coast-led planning capabilities. Colin has also recently been leading the repositioning of American Express, working hand in hand with the senior leadership to inject new relevance into the esteemed brand.
“Our team at Deutsch LA is 110% committed to finding the industry’s sharpest minds and bringing them under our roof,” said Mike Sheldon, CEO of Deutsch LA. “I am thrilled to welcome Colin into our rapidly expanding family; his personal and professional qualities already embody all that Deutsch LA stands for: strategic creativity, refined craftsmanship, immense heart and true originality. And, as the agency expands to accommodate our rapidly growing client roster, adding Colin’s strategic showmanship alongside Jeffrey’s veteran status means we will have not one, but two industry powerhouses within our walls, working to take Deutsch LA to new heights.”
Prior to Ogilvy West, Colin spent six years at Crispin Porter + Bogusky -- four years as VP, Associate Director, Cognitive and Culture Radar followed by two years as VP, Director of Cultural and Business Insights -- running its 30-person planning department and pioneering new methods for generating insights within the agency. Colin ingeniously employed a team of social scientists, account planners, journalists and business strategists to the benefit of clients such Burger King, MINI, and Domino’s. Earlier in his career, Colin spent a cumulative 17 years at agencies such as Mullen, AKQA and Scali.
