Archibald Williams gets creative, taps Clemenger BBDO’s Brendan Willenberg
Archibald Williams has appointed Clemenger BBDO Sydney executive creative director (ECD), Brendan Willenberg, as its executive creative director and creative partner.
Willenberg departs Clemenger BBDO Sydney after ten years with the agency, most recently as joint ECD after being promoted from his role as creative director, when ex-chief creative officer Ben Coulson departed the agency in 2020.
The appointment is on the heels of the promotion of Kiranpreet Kaur to the role of managing director last week.
Prior to his time at Clemenger BBDO, Willenberg also spent five years at McCann Sydney as senior copywriter, and over the course of his career has been recognised numerous times, including a Grand Prix and multiple golds at local and international creative shows and Effies. He was also one of the founding members of Clemenger Group agency TKT Sydney.
Willenberg also takes interest in mentoring junior talent and is an advocate for diversity in the creative industry. He ran AWARD School for two years, and mentored some of the brightest young creatives both in the Australian market and overseas and served on the board of AWARD for three years.
Across his agency experience, Willenberg has worked with clients including Tourism Australia, Tourism Tasmania, Mars, Unilever, Pernod Ricard, Mastercard, Campbell Arnott’s and Foxtel, as well as 10 years of work for V Energy and pro-bono work for Code Like A Girl and Dry July.
“Brendan is a brilliant creative thinker with sharp digital skills. He also has strong business acumen and truly understands what makes his clients’ businesses tick. Stu and I look forward to working alongside Brendan as he guides the shape of Archibald Williams’ creative output and takes the agency from strength to strength,” said Bram Williams.
Willenberg added: “While most agencies are scrambling to build a credible digital and customer offering, Archibald Williams have been doing it for a decade. I’m incredibly excited to partner with Stu, Bram and Kiran to drive their creative renaissance and build a modern, independent agency for the Australian market.”
Brendan is taking over from outgoing ECD Matt Gilmour, who has moved with his family to live on the Sunshine Coast.
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