The Ambassadors Names Darden Longenecker Head of Brand Production

On the back of a rapid growth period, including recent high-profile work for Terre des Hommes, Philips and Vodafone, The Ambassadors has bolstered its production power with the pivotal hire of Darden Longenecker to the role of Head of Brand Production.

US-born Darden has 15 years of experience in the creative industry, working both in Europe and North America. She moves to The Ambassadors from Sid Lee, where she held a number of roles including, most recently, Director of Delivery.  Prior to this, she has held executive production positions for the likes of Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Boulder Digital Works and Mondo Robot.  Darden has also started her own digital shop, Media Karma, in the States and has been known to spend her spare time just ‘hanging around’, working for the New England Centre for Circus Arts and performing as an aerial artist.

In her new role, Darden will be working across The Ambassadors’ portfolio of brand and agency clients, including Philips, Wieden+Kennedy, DDB & Tribal, Amsterdam and Lemz, with a focus towards transforming the way the artist-driven production studios works with clients.

Darden Longenecker, Head of Brand Production, The Ambassadors, commented: “I was looking to move into a Dutch production house with global desires and, as soon as I met The Ambassadors founders, I knew that working with these guys would fit the bill for me perfectly.  As soon as you walk into the building you are hit by the fact that creativity and innovation aren’t just things they talk about here.  Everyone under this roof is creative, everyone is an innovator. Add to that, the complete lack of ego and great sense of camaraderie and it’s a pretty exciting prospect.

“Today, agencies are transforming the way they work with production partners, whilst brands are demanding a new, agile approach to production.  My ambition within The Ambassadors is to help our clients, agency and brands alike to innovate within this brave new world, and to understand how to change their processes, whilst still connecting to their core values.”

Halbo van der Klaauw, Owner, The Ambassadors, added: “This is an important hire for The Ambassadors, at a pivotal time in our development. As we continue to grow, we need people who can operate at the very top level and speak, with fluency, this new brand and agency language.  We are confident that Darden is going to take us into unchartered territory, in terms of the work we do and the partners we have.”

In the past two years, Amsterdam-based The Ambassadors has almost doubled in size from 35 full-time members of staff, to 60 across VFX, design and animation, edit and sound.  Many of the new hires have been made in the CG team, under the guidance of Oscar-nominated VFX Supervisor Stephen Pepper.  Other new areas of the business include innovation hub The Ambassadors LAB and Cube, a new way of creating TV-ready bespoke commercials in under an hour.