Matty Burton and James Blair launch Omnicom’s dotdotdash in New Zealand

Omnicom’s innovation and experience agency dotdotdash has officially launched in New Zealand, led by former DDB executives James Blair (right) as CEO with Matty Burton (left) overseeing the creative side of the business — both key figures behind DDB’s 2025 form, which saw the agency crowned Campaign Brief New Zealand Agency of the Year and Campaign Brief Australian Agency of the Year on the other side of the Tasman, in what would prove to be DDB’s final year under that name.

Blair previously led DDB’s tech and customer experience businesses Tribal and TRACK before his promotion to Managing Director of DDB Group Aotearoa last year, while Burton served as Regional CCO at DDB across Australia and New Zealand.

dotdotdash joined the Omnicom network in 2022, when TBWAWorldwide acquired the Portland-based business, known for building brand experiences, products and innovation work for clients including PepsiCo, McDonald’s, adidas and The North Face. The agency focuses on extending brand ideas into new spaces through growth strategy, product design and innovation pilots.

The launch comes as Omnicom continues reshaping its network following last year’s IPG acquisition, which saw the holding company consolidate around BBDO, TBWA and McCann globally, retiring the DDB, FCB and MullenLowe names. In New Zealand, that restructure culminated in DDB and FCB combining under the McCann banner.

dotdotdash NZ is already active, having worked on McCann New Zealand’s ‘The Forbidden Pharmacy’ campaign, which put hundreds of inaccessible medications on display behind locked doors to highlight gaps in New Zealand’s public healthcare funding.

dotdotdash now operates across Portland, Los Angeles, New York, China, Amsterdam and New Zealand.

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