ALASDHAIR MACGREGOR HASTIE
Global CEOs and CMOs have the right, need and want to speak to the person who is actually deciding how she or he spends his or her millions of advertising dollars. And that person needs to understand not just how to sell a story, but has to know the client’s business, business in general, geopolitics, economics, culture, and is willing to travel anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat.
A Creative Director has to Direct Creatives and a Global Creative Director therefore has to be able to lead and work with world class talent, big egos and big ambitions and get the best out of them. Teamwork is essential to success and working with agency management, senior account directors and local staff is the only way to achieve the kind of work the agency can be proud of.
Awards and rewards come to those who do great work for clients and not those who work only for rewards and awards.
At BETC I am one of 5 ECDs for 1300 staff and run creative for Ferrero in France, Italy and Germany; Reckitt Benckiser in 10 countries, Lavazza/Carte Noire; Philip Morris International. I am also acting ECD on Havas Italy’s biggest client TIM (Telecom Italia). I am also developing BETC in Shanghai for Michelin, Bel, Danone, Haier, La Roche-Posay and local clients.
In 2012 I was called by Troy Ruhanen, CEO of TBWA and told to get on a plane right fucking now and go to Yokohama and speak to “…the French guy who runs Datsun and is making our lives miserable and may cause us to lose not just Datsun but Nissan too.” I went, gained the CEOs confidence and launched Datsun in India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa with worked closely with Koji Nagano, Head of design and the aforementioned Vincent Cobee, Global CEO of Datsun and EVP of Nissan, from nothing. We didn’t even have a logo for the car, which I put it together in one night with a guy and a Mac in TBWA Paris. Today 75% of all Nissan cars sold in India are Datsuns.
In that most exciting period, I flew between Paris and Tokyo, London, Jakarta, Mumbai, Chennai and Johannesburg, working with stellar creative talent, committed management and demanding clients and learning about new cultures, customs and people, one of the bonusses of the job.
And when I wasn’t doing that I was global CCO of Being, a TBWA Start Up as well as ECD of TBWA Doha working on Qatar Foundation.
Before that I was Global ECD at TBWA for Nissan based in Paris and covering all car launches and campaigns in 40 countries.
In 2001 I was proud to be nominated ECD at Publicis Italy, a job I enjoyed for 7 years. During that time I was on the Publicis Global Creative Council with David Droga and Olivier Altmann, working closely not only with all Italian clients but also international ones (Renault, L’Oréal, Nestlé, Carrefour, Coca-Cola, Whirlpool). I have very fond memories of that time and spent many days at 133, Avenue des Champs Elysées and was sad to leave.
Awards: all major from Gold Lion down. Juror Cannes. Chairman Eurobest.