The Hallway Appoints Hugh Nairn as National Managing Director

Full-service advertising agency The Hallway has appointed former Big Red partner and CEO, Hugh Nairn, as National managing director

Based at The Hallway’s Melbourne office, Hugh will be responsible for driving the agency's momentum by leveraging the combined capabilities across brand, CX, advertising and media.

The appointment follows a period of organic and new business growth across both Melbourne and Sydney, which includes the appointment by BINGE, Australia’s newest entertainment service, to manage the launch brand campaign, media strategy and channel planning. 

With a background in research and analytics, Nairn has a deep understanding of advertising effectiveness and the power of creativity and connections planning to deliver tangible business outcomes for clients. During his long career in advertising he’s worked at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, been managing director of BWM Melbourne and CEO and partner at Big Red.

Jules Hall, CEO, The Hallway said: “The Hallway exists to grow our clients’ businesses and right now this is more critical than ever before. This focus attracts a particular type of advertising professional - those with an overdeveloped commitment to building their clients’ brands and businesses through great creativity. Hugh is totally aligned to that way of thinking. He has a strong sense of responsibility for his clients, and as we navigate the recovery phase of the COVID19 pandemic that instinct is vital.”

Nairn added: “I’ve had a wonderful career in advertising and in all honesty I thought I’d probably concluded the agency stage of my career. Then I met Jules and Simon Lee (ECD and partner) at The Hallway. They’re building a world-class data-driven creative powerhouse, which is very relevant to the challenges that clients are facing today. They’ve already made a lot of impact in the market and I’m looking forward to helping them drive that further across the Melbourne and Sydney offices.”

In May The Hallway announced it would no longer require employees to return to its offices following a successful transition to remote working. While both offices will continue to be open to employees, a survey found 97% enjoyed working remotely and 77% didn’t want to return to normal office working.