[INVNT GROUP], The Global Brandstory Project, has today announced the appointment of Ee Chuan Fong (also known as “Peanut”), to the role of creative director for branded content studio and content marketing agency HEVĒ in APAC, Colin Burling Blake as a director of strategic accounts, [INVNT GROUP] APAC, and Tim Prosser, who joins as senior graphic designer for global live brand storytelling agency, INVNT.
A former Volcom creative director turned filmmaker, Peanut has delivered branded content and content marketing campaigns for brands including Sass & Bide, Pure Blonde, SAP, Barton Perreira and Samsung. In this newly created role, he is responsible for building out the GROUP’s HEVĒ offering throughout APAC, including driving the creative direction of all content and overseeing its production.
An accomplished business leader and marketer, Blake has held senior regional and global positions and advisory roles at brands including Nike, Coca-Cola, General Pants, MTV, Rdio Music and Viacom, to name a few. With broad strategic and business leadership skills across multiple sectors, he will leverage the experience gained over his 20+ year career to curate results driven solutions for potential and existing clients that utilise one, some, or all of the GROUP’s portfolio of brands.
INVNT’s design team adds another creative talent to its fold with the addition of Prosser, who joins from DDB Sydney and has worked on digital, print and OOH campaigns for brands including Virgin Australia, Volkswagen, McDonald’s and Westpac.
The agency’s ongoing growth has prompted the move to a significantly larger space at The Chocolate Factory in Chippendale, the former home of MacRobertsons Confectionary Factory – the creators of Cherry Ripe, Freddo Frog and Old Gold chocolate. [INVNT GROUP] enlisted interior design firm Conscious Cribs to bring the converted warehouse space to life, where the focus was on incorporating warm, rich and natural textures to complement the building’s existing design features.
Today also marks three years to the day that INVNT’s first-ever employee in New York, Australian-born Laura Roberts launched INVNT in the region. In addition to the office move, over this period the agency has grown to 15 full-time staff complemented by an extensive freelancer and supplier network, delivered award-winning projects for clients including SAP, TEDxSydney and Xero, and expanded its offering with the launch of [INVNT GROUP].
Says Laura Roberts, managing director, [INVNT GROUP] APAC: “We recognise the past six months have been incredibly challenging for all of us both professionally and personally, and we are very grateful to be in a position to relocate to larger premises and hire new talent.
“These strategic hires will enable us to grow the GROUP offering in APAC and diversify so that we provide not only engaging live physical and virtual experiences, but high-level brand strategy, branded content and content marketing, and consultative services around employee engagement. We recognise that transitioning to a through the line business is an important move not only due to COVID-19, but because more clients are seeking us out for integrated campaign solutions in the long-term.”
Says Scott Cullather, president and CEO, [INVNT GROUP]: “This is an exciting move, as it represents our first official expansion of HEVĒ into APAC and continuation of the GROUP strategy to evolve and take shape ongoing. With Peanut, Colin and Tim’s proven experience in helping globally renowned brands develop and implement effective through the line marketing strategies, I am confident we’ll continue to design and deliver smarter, faster, more cost-effective solutions in the months and years to come.
“Decisions like these are always made with our clients in mind, and with [INVNT GROUP] our ultimate aim is to provide our services in better and faster ways, and in turn, deliver not only the best possible results, but value for money. Even as we grow, these values remain, and we’ll always be committed to operating as a big small agency.”
Read the story on Campaign Brief here.