Nils Leonard, chairman and chief creative officer of Grey has left the agency alongside CEO Lucy Jameson and MD Natalie Graeme. It is understood the three are prepping to set up an independent shop on their own and the news comes just days after Leonard and Jameson told AdNews at Cannes Lions that independent agencies in London are currently being overshadowed by big networks.
The three departures is a blow for Grey London which had built a strong creative reputation thanks to the leadership from Jameson, Leonard and Graeme, transforming it over the last five years and making it one of the most awarded agencies in the UK.
Talking to AdNews in Cannes, Leonard and Jameson talked about the Independent agency scene in London having lost its sheen and the big networks currently being the home of some of the best work and ideas, where five years ago London's indies such as Mother and Wieden & Kennedy were the hot shops.
While it's not clear what direction the three would take on a new venture, Leonard leans towards “making” things beyond traditional advertising and much of Grey's success at Cannes Lions in 2015 came from ideas such as Lifepaint for Volvo which turned into a product that Grey earned money on as a licensing deal.
Last week in Cannes, where he interviewed punk legend Iggy Pop on stage, he talked to AdNews about the way agencies charge for their ideas and making things, and the industry’s tendency to be “comfortable and fat” as opposed to edgy.
“There's a shared sense of slight panic [with clients]. The best ones have it, it's what we do about it that's the hard thing. Clients are realising they can put things in the world that people might like and want outside of their products – it's a revelation,” he said.
“We've put the gloves on as an industry and we're scared to have these conversations [about contacts and being paid for ideas]. There's a temptation in our industry to go towards theory, that the real money lies in advertising and being theorists and I think it lies in making, which can feel the opposite, so the more you own and make something the more likely you are to get paid in a different way.”
Leonard, who was in Australia last year presenting the D&AD President’s Lecture told AdNews that he was "inspired" by his trip down under, adding that the passion the Australian industry has is incredible.
Read the AdNews profile interview with Leonard from last year here: Sharpen your swagger
Jameson, who had been CEO of the agency since being promoted from head of strategy in February 2015. Grey London has already moved to install former chief strategy officer Leo Rayman as CEO.
Speaking to AdNews in Cannes ahead of her exit, Jameson talked about a “sea change” for agencies and creative work.
“It's never been easier to ignore or avoid ads, we've got an opportunity to say to clients you’ve got to do things differently, and you’ve got to do it now you can't wait and just bore people by telling them stuff about your product that they don’t want to know. That's an opportunity and we've got to seize it.”
“We talk a lot to clients [at Grey] about their cultural ambitions not just their commercial ambitions, and what are they going to do in culture that means people are going to pay attention.”
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