Todd Tilford new CCO at Draftfcb Chicago
Michael Fassnacht, president of Draftfcb Chicago, and North American Executive Creative Director, Tom O’Keefe, announced today that Todd Tilford has been named the agency’s new chief creative officer. Tilford, who will join Draftfcb in early August, will oversee the agency’s creative department and product, while partnering with Fassnacht in leading the office.
Tilford most recently served as executive creative director at Grey New York, where he was instrumental in the shop’s creative turnaround, helping land key, high-profile new business and leading all creative efforts for DIRECTV, NFL, and Ketel One, among others.
Previously, Tilford served at the helm of his own creative consultancy, working for agencies like Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Boulder and Core in St. Louis. Prior to that, he led all design work for BBDO New York.
Tilford first came to industry prominence in the ‘90s as founder/creative director of Pyro in Dallas, a boutique that started as The Richards Group’s marketing innovation lab. While running Pyro, he established and launched the Hummer brand globally, created “The Blank Canvas” campaign for Converse/Chuck Taylors, directed the acclaimed international rebranding effort for Dr. Martens, and helped develop the computer gaming category with his innovative work for id’s Doom and Quakes franchises. Tilford began his career at Valentine Radford in Kansas City. Since then, he has won nearly every award in the business.
"Todd's arrival represents a new creative era for Chicago," said O'Keefe. "He has a well-earned reputation as a creative visionary who works extremely well in any discipline. He has been both a writer and a design director. He has led digital departments, created brand content, and has developed and marketed his own products. On top of all that, Todd's got strong Midwestern roots, just like this agency. He knows how to connect with our consumers with real insights and ideas."
"We are extremely fortunate to welcome Todd to our leadership team," said Fassnacht. "His arrival marks a significant next step in our commitment to offering an exceptional creative product that drives results for our clients. Without question, Todd represents the future of the industry, and I am confident that his deep, inter-disciplinary expertise will have an immense impact on our agency and its future success."
“It’s a great time for me to join Draftfcb Chicago, an agency with proven success and a rich heritage in the Chicago advertising community,” said Tilford. “I will miss Grey. It is always hard to leave something you have helped build, but the opportunity to join the strong team at Draftfcb and continue to try to reinvent and break new ground was just too intriguing. I couldn’t be more excited.”
Rob Sherlock, the agency’s previous CCO, has continued in the role during the search process, and will ensure a smooth transition before moving into an international role with the agency.
“Over the past four years Rob has inspired and championed our creative efforts in Chicago,” added Fassnacht. “He has been the driver of our creative integration, and under his leadership, the agency has created business-building work while greatly expanding our creative offering beyond the traditional. We are grateful to him for all that he has done, and will continue to do, for Draftfcb.”
Over the past year, Draftfcb Chicago became a roster agency for Coca-Cola, Sony, Cadbury, Valspar and GE Healthcare. Nestle expanded its relationship with the agency via its Tombstone brand. The office’s assignment for Volkswagen’s CRM business in the USA has now expanded internationally. As a network, Draftfcb won Beiersdorf’s entire portfolio, including the powerhouse Nivea mega-brand, in Nov. 2010; Beiersdorf announced in May 2011 that it was investing $1.4 billion behind Nivea over the next year with all retail and shopper marketing activities being led out of Chicago.
Tilford’s hiring underscores Draftfcb’s continuing commitment to fortify its creative leadership under Tom O’Keefe in North America, which began when Darren Moran joined Draftfcb New York from Y&R last September as that office’s new chief creative officer.
Tilford most recently served as executive creative director at Grey New York, where he was instrumental in the shop’s creative turnaround, helping land key, high-profile new business and leading all creative efforts for DIRECTV, NFL, and Ketel One, among others.
Previously, Tilford served at the helm of his own creative consultancy, working for agencies like Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Boulder and Core in St. Louis. Prior to that, he led all design work for BBDO New York.
Tilford first came to industry prominence in the ‘90s as founder/creative director of Pyro in Dallas, a boutique that started as The Richards Group’s marketing innovation lab. While running Pyro, he established and launched the Hummer brand globally, created “The Blank Canvas” campaign for Converse/Chuck Taylors, directed the acclaimed international rebranding effort for Dr. Martens, and helped develop the computer gaming category with his innovative work for id’s Doom and Quakes franchises. Tilford began his career at Valentine Radford in Kansas City. Since then, he has won nearly every award in the business.
"Todd's arrival represents a new creative era for Chicago," said O'Keefe. "He has a well-earned reputation as a creative visionary who works extremely well in any discipline. He has been both a writer and a design director. He has led digital departments, created brand content, and has developed and marketed his own products. On top of all that, Todd's got strong Midwestern roots, just like this agency. He knows how to connect with our consumers with real insights and ideas."
"We are extremely fortunate to welcome Todd to our leadership team," said Fassnacht. "His arrival marks a significant next step in our commitment to offering an exceptional creative product that drives results for our clients. Without question, Todd represents the future of the industry, and I am confident that his deep, inter-disciplinary expertise will have an immense impact on our agency and its future success."
“It’s a great time for me to join Draftfcb Chicago, an agency with proven success and a rich heritage in the Chicago advertising community,” said Tilford. “I will miss Grey. It is always hard to leave something you have helped build, but the opportunity to join the strong team at Draftfcb and continue to try to reinvent and break new ground was just too intriguing. I couldn’t be more excited.”
Rob Sherlock, the agency’s previous CCO, has continued in the role during the search process, and will ensure a smooth transition before moving into an international role with the agency.
“Over the past four years Rob has inspired and championed our creative efforts in Chicago,” added Fassnacht. “He has been the driver of our creative integration, and under his leadership, the agency has created business-building work while greatly expanding our creative offering beyond the traditional. We are grateful to him for all that he has done, and will continue to do, for Draftfcb.”
Over the past year, Draftfcb Chicago became a roster agency for Coca-Cola, Sony, Cadbury, Valspar and GE Healthcare. Nestle expanded its relationship with the agency via its Tombstone brand. The office’s assignment for Volkswagen’s CRM business in the USA has now expanded internationally. As a network, Draftfcb won Beiersdorf’s entire portfolio, including the powerhouse Nivea mega-brand, in Nov. 2010; Beiersdorf announced in May 2011 that it was investing $1.4 billion behind Nivea over the next year with all retail and shopper marketing activities being led out of Chicago.
Tilford’s hiring underscores Draftfcb’s continuing commitment to fortify its creative leadership under Tom O’Keefe in North America, which began when Darren Moran joined Draftfcb New York from Y&R last September as that office’s new chief creative officer.
