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M+C Saatchi Group UK Hires Weber Shandwick's Gen Kobayashi
(MENAFN- PRovoke)
LONDON - M+C Saatchi Group UK has appointed former Weber Shandwick UK and EMEA chief strategy officer Gen Kobayashi as group chief strategy officer to strengthen its integrated leadership team.
Kobayashi – named to PRovoke Media's Innovator 25 for EMEA in 2023 – joined Weber Shandwick in 2022 to lead strategic integration and earned-first planning across the agency's global client base.
At Weber Shandwick, he spearheaded the Sky pitch win and drove organic growth for Mars and Unilever, as well as leading innovative work such as 'Knorr Supercube' , where cultural and behavioural insights led to the creation of a stock cube designed for people with heightened taste perception.
He also commissioned the agency's Earned Effect research with the Institute of Practioners in Advertising (IPA), proving that brands leading cultural conversations are 2.5 times more likely to drive profit growth.
Over his 22-year career, Kobayashi (pictured, right) has worked at agencies including Mindshare, Manning Gottlieb OMD, Goodstuff, DLKW Lowe, adam&eveDDB, The Brooklyn Brothers, Ogilvy, and Engine, with experience spanning media, comms strategy, brand strategy, and earned communications. He is also a regular Campaign columnist and was shortlisted as Campaign's Planner of the Year during his time at Engine.
In his new role, Kobayashi has been tasked with elevating brand strategy and creative output across M+C Saatchi Group UK, including embedding its new 'Cultural Power' proposition in all its work.
He will report to group CEO Jo Bacon (pictured, left), who said:“Gen is an exceptional strategist who truly understands the intersection of culture, creativity, and commerce. He is a brilliant example of a T-shaped thinker-starting in comms and media, moving into major brand strategy roles, and most recently leading strategy at one of the world's biggest PR agencies.
“That breadth and depth of experience is exactly what M+C Saatchi needs to further embed Cultural Power into everything we do. We're excited to see how he shapes our approach and helps brands unlock the commercial potential of cultural thinking.”
Kobayashi added:“The Cultural Power proposition immediately struck a chord. I've always been a firm believer in the power of culture, and one of the first things I focused on at Weber Shandwick was how to get recognition for cultural conversations and coverage as a sustained driver of business impact. M+C Saatchi is putting culture at the heart of everything it does, and that's what makes this opportunity so exciting.
“In a world where most agencies are focused on automation and efficiencies, very few are truly talking about people, but behavioural change is driven by people, through cultural frameworks. The ambition here is huge, and the momentum across the agency is undeniable.”
Kobayashi – named to PRovoke Media's Innovator 25 for EMEA in 2023 – joined Weber Shandwick in 2022 to lead strategic integration and earned-first planning across the agency's global client base.
At Weber Shandwick, he spearheaded the Sky pitch win and drove organic growth for Mars and Unilever, as well as leading innovative work such as 'Knorr Supercube' , where cultural and behavioural insights led to the creation of a stock cube designed for people with heightened taste perception.
He also commissioned the agency's Earned Effect research with the Institute of Practioners in Advertising (IPA), proving that brands leading cultural conversations are 2.5 times more likely to drive profit growth.
Over his 22-year career, Kobayashi (pictured, right) has worked at agencies including Mindshare, Manning Gottlieb OMD, Goodstuff, DLKW Lowe, adam&eveDDB, The Brooklyn Brothers, Ogilvy, and Engine, with experience spanning media, comms strategy, brand strategy, and earned communications. He is also a regular Campaign columnist and was shortlisted as Campaign's Planner of the Year during his time at Engine.
In his new role, Kobayashi has been tasked with elevating brand strategy and creative output across M+C Saatchi Group UK, including embedding its new 'Cultural Power' proposition in all its work.
He will report to group CEO Jo Bacon (pictured, left), who said:“Gen is an exceptional strategist who truly understands the intersection of culture, creativity, and commerce. He is a brilliant example of a T-shaped thinker-starting in comms and media, moving into major brand strategy roles, and most recently leading strategy at one of the world's biggest PR agencies.
“That breadth and depth of experience is exactly what M+C Saatchi needs to further embed Cultural Power into everything we do. We're excited to see how he shapes our approach and helps brands unlock the commercial potential of cultural thinking.”
Kobayashi added:“The Cultural Power proposition immediately struck a chord. I've always been a firm believer in the power of culture, and one of the first things I focused on at Weber Shandwick was how to get recognition for cultural conversations and coverage as a sustained driver of business impact. M+C Saatchi is putting culture at the heart of everything it does, and that's what makes this opportunity so exciting.
“In a world where most agencies are focused on automation and efficiencies, very few are truly talking about people, but behavioural change is driven by people, through cultural frameworks. The ambition here is huge, and the momentum across the agency is undeniable.”
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