JWT NY Taps ECD from Razorfish

In a move fuelled by the agency’s digital growth, JWT New York announced today the appointment of Frederic Bonn as Executive Creative Director. Bonn, who joins JWT from Razorfish New York, will be charged with overseeing digital creative across the agency’s flagship New York office. His appointment comes on the heels of hiring Andy Carrigan and Jon Zast as Executive Creative Directors in December, as well as a series of new business wins, including PUMA, Energizer personal care and Google.

“Here we are in 2014 and it seems almost backwards to be hiring an ECD for digital. The reality is that digital simply moves too fast to expect everyone to have the expertise brands demand. It is hard to imagine, but the next 10 years will dwarf the innovation we’ve seen from the last. In this evolving world of real-time marketing, platforms, newsrooms, apps, social, invention and whatever happened today — you need digital leaders who can help brands and agencies stay ahead of the pace and places digital is pushing. Frederic brings a selfless talent and wisdom that is too rare in this industry, but necessary to succeed,” said Jeff Benjamin, Chief Creative Officer, JWT North America.

Bonn was previously Executive Creative Director at Razorfish New York. He joined the agency in 2009 to broaden its output beyond website and technology development. During his tenure, he helped double the size of the creative department, and, in the process, helped Razorfish become the first digital agency to be featured on Advertising Age’s A-List two years in a row. He oversaw creative across all agency clients, including Mercedes-Benz, Citibank, UNIQLO, Ford, Smart Car and Morgan Stanley, and drove innovative efforts such as the world’s first tweet race for Mercedes-Benz and the first graphic novel written by and starring its readers for Axe Anarchy.

“JWT has the kind of energy, talent and ambition that inspires true creativity, and I cannot wait to apply that thinking to create unique and innovative digital experiences for a group of incredible clients. Experiences that not only are truly integrated, regardless of channels, but experiences that people really care about.” said Bonn. “We’re going to do some extraordinary things together.”

Prior to Razorfish, Bonn led the creative department of Ogilvy Interactive in Paris, managing global campaigns and digital strategy for clients including Louis Vuitton, Hennessy, Mattel, Cisco and American Express. His work for Louis Vuitton’s “Journeys” campaign was one of the first digital efforts for the historically traditional client and earned more than 40 awards worldwide. Throughout his career, he has held positions at Euro RSCG 4D London and New York, Interactive Bureau Paris, WB Associés and Influence, and was also a designer for Gallerie magazine.