Deloitte Digital lures Adrian Mills, David Phillips and Matt Lawson from McCann Melbourne to lead its newly launched Brand Creative + Media team

Three of the leaders in creative advertising, Adrian Mills (top left), David Phillips (bottom left) and Matt Lawson (right) from the decorated McCann Melbourne agency are joining Deloitte Digital to lead its Brand Creative & Media team.

The trio has been the driving force behind McCann – one of the hottest creative agencies in the country. Together Lawson, Mills and Phillips have won 82 Cannes Lions including a Titanium, 7 Grand Prix, 32 Gold and 2 coveted D&AD Black Pencils.

Mills, managing director at McCann Melbourne, is known for delivering the famous Dumb Ways to Die campaign, the most awarded and engaged-with campaign in the history of advertising. Phillips, head of strategy and media at McCann, led the agency to the top of the Australian rankings at the APAC Effies and WARC awards. The 2017 Global Big Won report ranks Lawson, executive creative director at McCann, as the top copywriter in the world and in 2015 he was awarded the title of Australian Creative of the Year.

Lawson will join the Deloitte team as principal and chief creative officer. Mills and Phillips will join the business as partners. Together they will lead Deloitte Digital’s Brand Creative & Media offering, working with Deloitte Digital, Deloitte’s broader consulting business and the rest of the leading professional services firm.

Also joining the team from McCann will be Justine Mills in the capacity of director of media, a role which will support clients looking to bring media services in-house with full end-to-end business integration.

Says Steve Hallam, lead partner, Deloitte Digital: “We are always on the lookout for people who drive disruption. So to have the hottest creative industry talent in Australia choosing to be part of our business is genuinely exciting.

“We are not seeing this as another advertising offering, but an integral part of the Deloitte team; integrating creative, media and brand strategy into all our other service offerings such as customer experience, experience design, storytelling, AR, VR and marketing optimisation.

“The strength of this team is their ability to clearly articulate and build the right idea to help businesses understand where they’re moving to rather than where they’re moving from. In an era of rapid industry disruption, that distinction is critical for business success.”

Says Jason Hutchinson, partner, Deloitte Digital: “Adrian, David and Matt’s creation and delivery of authentic engagements between consumers and the brands they love complements Deloitte’s deep industry knowledge, business transformation, organisational change and versatile technology experience. The combination will offer a transformative perspective that helps CMOs to reimagine the experience of their customers and answers the needs of businesses for a holistic connection between their brands and the consumer.”

Says Phillips: “Marketing has changed. There are those that are falling behind, and those that are trying to catch up. For Australia’s leading organisations to survive, the best creative talent need to work with the best strategists, the best data scientists and the best digital technicians and they can only get that at Deloitte.”

Says Lawson: “It is inspiring to see a truly intelligent business putting creativity at the heart of their offering. These days, the most effective creative solution is rarely just advertising and we are fortunate to be working with Deloitte’s AR, VR, innovation, interiors, design and research teams to leverage the incredible opportunity in this firm.”

Says Mills: “Clients shouldn’t have to choose between a creative agency and an accountable agency. Deloitte offers clients the best in strategy, data, enterprise and digital skills informing a world’s best practice creative product. As we drive towards a goal of turning marketing into a profit centre, the opportunity for clients is completely transformative.”