Global creative agency Wieden+Kennedy has made two strategic promotions to the leadership team within its UK business, W+K London.
Key members of the W+K London team, Lucy Murray and Anjali Patel have been promoted to head of growth and head of communications planning, respectively.
The appointments follow remarkable business growth for the agency, marked by the expansion of its client roster and the introduction of three new revenue streams and creative offerings; NOT W+K (design and branding studio), Bodega (social-first creative studio), and WRACK (production studio).
In her new role as head of growth, Murray will be a key driver in evolving W+K London’s creative offerings, business modelling and future-proofing, working closely with the agency’s leadership team to develop the business further.
Murray initially joined the agency in 2019 and has worked on some of the agency’s biggest clients, recently growing the agency’s global relationship with Amazon, to create Amazon Prime’s award-winning brand platform It’s On Prime.
“As new and existing clients increasingly seek W+K’s expertise, having a leader like Lucy help define and champion our true value as a creative company is critical to success,” said W+K London president Ryan Fisher.
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“She’s been a key player in expanding and propelling the creative opportunities that come our way, opening more avenues for us to use our creativity to deeply impact clients’ businesses and bringing the people around her on that journey. I couldn’t be more excited to partner with Lucy in this new capacity.”
In her new role as head of communications planning, Anjali Patel will continue to push the boundaries of how and where brands connect with audiences, ensuring that the agency’s creativity continues to make an impact on culture.
Patel has risen through the ranks at W+K over the last decade, starting in the New York office in 2013 and working her way up to her current role at W+K London, working on brands such as Nike, TK Maxx, Homesense, Marshalls, Malibu Rum, Kahlua and Camden Town Brewery.
Just recently, she played an integral role in orchestrating Kahlúa’s ‘Feliz St. Patrick’s Day’ campaign, helping the brand take over a stout-heavy holiday to drive consideration for its product.
Wieden+Kennedy global and London CSO Dan Hill said: “Rigor and playfulness have categorized Anjali’s work. She has a proven ability to connect brands with audiences in incredibly innovative and effective ways; ultimately, she makes our people and ideas better.”
Commenting on their new roles, Murray said: “It’s really exciting to take on this role. Throughout my time at W+K, there’s been an incredible push to create ideas with insight at their heart that make a splash in culture and add value to our clients’ businesses.
“Working with the agency to find more opportunities to do such work is one of the most rewarding parts of the process, especially as our influence expands across new markets and mediums.”
Patel added: “It is harder than ever for brands to connect with consumers. We aren’t just competing against other brands, we’re competing against anyone or anything that’s vying for attention.
Helping our teams and clients understand the landscape and, in turn, the opportunity to connect in new, creative ways is something I’m really passionate about. And it’s especially fulfilling when you’re working with the most brilliant creative minds in the business.”
