Talbot and Taylor to head M&C Saatchi Melbourne following merger with ST&P
Bob Talbot and Paul Taylor will head M&C Saatchi Melbourne following the merger with their agency, Samuelson Talbot & Partners.
The announcement:
Esteemed Melbourne adman Bob Talbot and award-winning creative Paul Taylor will head M&C Saatchi Melbourne following the merger with their agency, Samuelson Talbot & Partners (ST&P).
In announcing the merger, M&C Saatchi Worldwide Chairman Tom Dery said: “ST&P is a highly-regarded, long-established agency run by two of the best and most experienced operators in Melbourne. It is a forward thinking business driven by a very strong entrepreneurial ethos – one that fits very well with how we operate at M&C Saatchi,” Dery said.
M&C Saatchi Melbourne will be headed by Talbot as CEO, Taylor as ECD and Kenny Hill, who will remain as Managing Director. ST&P Partner Catherine Graham will be Director Growth Strategies.
Talbot formed ST&P in Melbourne and Sydney in 1978. It went on to launch a number of famous Australian brands including Cussons, Imperial Leather, Colonial and Mayne.
The merger reunites Taylor, ST&P’s Creative Director and Partner with his former colleagues of more than 10 years.
Taylor was M&C Saatchi’s first creative appointment following its launch in 1995.
After two years in Sydney Taylor shifted to M&C Saatchi Melbourne and for the next eight years was instrumental in the office enjoying a rich run of success, including Campaign Brief Creative Agency of the Year in 2001.
In all M&C Saatchi won 10 AdNews, B&T and Campaign Brief Agency of the Year titles and four Melbourne Art Directors’ Club ‘Best in Shows’ during Taylor’s tenure, which saw him rise to Creative Partner for Australasia & North America.
Regional Creative Director Tom McFarlane said: “It’s gratifying to welcome Paul back to the M&C Saatchi fold and to get the chance to work with Bob, someone I’ve admired since my days in Melbourne”.
Talbot called the merger an opportunity “to leverage a powerful brand name that we believe will create better opportunities for our clients and our people”.
He added: “What attracted us was the M&C Saatchi Worldwide model – a federation of entrepreneurial start ups with owner managers rather than a multinational network of offices. This is totally aligned with how we view business”.
M&C Saatchi Australia CEO Jaimes Leggett said: “This is a great move for us – the merger enables us to work with some incredibly talented people, great clients and to bring some real scale to our Melbourne operation.”
Source: M&C Saatchi media release
This is potentially the best move M&C Melbourne has made since Naseema (and Paul Taylor & Tony Banks) left the business back in 05/06. It went downhill, and every effort to revive the Melbourne office has failed. This is a very smart, and I personally hope, effective move to bring this agency back to the front of the Melbourne ad-scene.
And yes, I’ve worked at M&C. Good luck
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