Thinkerbell promotes Bennett after announcing senior appointments

Thinkerbell has announced executive appointments in Melbourne (South), Sydney (North) and New Zealand (Aotearoa) offices. in Melbourne, Nick Bennett was promoted to the position of general manager and Tom Wenborn to Tinker’s creative director. Paul Swann has been promoted to creative director of Tinker in Sydney.

Wenborn and Swann have been at the forefront of creative execution in their offices for many years. Their promotions will give the pair full responsibility for continuing to build and develop Thinkerbell’s creative output.

Bennett will continue to work alongside the Managing Director Jaime Morgan build and develop an agency team.

“Nick and Jaime have done a great job of leading the agency in the ‘South’ and with Nick’s appointment as CEO, he now has the opportunity to have a greater impact on his team and the people around him through his calm and considered leadership style,” commented the Group CEO, Margie Reid.

Creative Director of the Group, Jim Ingram, added: “Keeping Thinkerbell creative is no small feat, our agency model allows us to have such a wide range of ideas and of course we are prolific in what we deliver, so I am continually amazed at the care and craftsmanship that Paul and Tom bring to everything , what are they doing. I can’t wait to see what they do as chiefs.”

The creative agency also hired Jacqueline Archer as national head of integrated production. Archer is stepping down from her position as managing director at integrated agency MarCom Bastion, where she headed up the in-house production studio Bastion Make.

“Jackie brings with her a wealth of experience spanning a broad range of production experience, from agency to networks and everything in between,” Ingram said.

“He also has an incredible ability to integrate production into the agency, which helps us bring our ideas much closer to our production.”

At last, Laura Stevenson was appointed executive director of Thinker, returning to Australia after five years in the UK to run Thinker’s Lion account. In Australia, Lion manages a portfolio of beverage brands including Guinness, XXXX and Hahn Brewery.

Laura Stevenson, Jacqueline Archer, Paul Swann and Phillippa Netolicky

“We searched from start to finish to find someone like Laura, and she has a direct impact on leading the Lion team across the agency,” Reid continued.

“By focusing on Lion across both Australian offices, Laura ensures our Measured Magic is consistent across all brands and across the Lion business.”

The latest nominations are a consequence of the agency’s creative work. Last month, Thinkerbell collaborated with Starcom to launch the brand’s new mobile phone platform Felix, which stars a tree-shaped puppet named Felix. We also saw Toohey’s in June How do you feel? song performed for the first time by real people, with teams from across the state, including the Blues, taking part ahead of the first Ampol State of Origin match.

In May, Thinkerbell ushered in a new era for drinks retailer Dan Murphy’s, expanding on the brand’s current platform, Nobody beats Dan Murphy.

Top image: Nick Bennett, Jaime Morgan and Tom Wenborn