Creative strategist Rupert Pay takes senior UM role
Rupert Pay is to step back from his boutique creative and strategy agency Uncle to become national head of creativity and innovation at media agency UM in one of the first key appointments by new CEO Mat Baxter.
During his two and a half years running Uncle, Pay carried out an audacious brand hijack during which he and creative Adam Hunt roamed Sydney’s CBD in the early hours of the morning fixing new boards around ATMs to promote client Tax Today.
Pay has also worked at ad agency Euro RSCG and Virtue Broadcasting during his 13 year career in Sydney and London.
Baxter – whose own background is as a strategist – said: “Rupert has rare talents in creative thinking for major brands, combined with strong capabilities in the digital space and how that thinking can apply to media execution.
“Creativity is especially key, because it’s the magic that makes consumers take notice of what we’re doing and today it is fuelled by broader influences like technology, social media and integrated initiatives spearheaded by the media owners themselves.”
Pay said: “Coming from a creative agency background, I genuinely believe that today’s media agency is the communications agency of the future. To join Mat and his team was an easy decision to make. UM is a harmonious and energetic place to work.”
Other recent hirings at UM have included Ashley Brown from PHD in the UK as national head of digital communications and Marc Lomas from sister SEO agency Reprise as national head of response and ROI.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Good too see Baxter’s hired a risk taker. Now that Naked is boring and respectable, perhaps UM will become Naked-in-exile
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Never saw this. Genius!
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Nice one Uncle Ru
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about that ATN thing – is it still ‘genius’ if no-one else noticed it either? Including all the people who walked by – and all the people who used the ATMs, in the video…? I’m only asking – I like idea, but I suspect it wasn’t very effective..?
Congrats on the new job, by the way.
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Congrats Rupert!
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oh – I see that debate already happened in July 09, Mumbrella. I must’ve been on holiday – my apologies… same opinion on old news
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Well done UM, great hire.
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Great work UM – top hire
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Well done fella, shiny bald heads make better thinkers.
All the best.
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