AUCKLAND, Today: Indie agency Flight Digital has beefed up its leadership with the addition of former Isobar NZ ceo Ian Howard and tech entrepreneur Taylor Abernethy-Newman to its team.
Howard left Isobar in March 2020. His previous roles include MD of indie creative & technology agency Little Giant, head of marketing and brand at Maori Television, and head of strategy at Interbrand NZ.
Howard will split his time between an advisory role at Flight Digital and managing his own independent ethical brand consultancy, Bright Street Studio.
Flight Digital founder/MD Victor Green said: “Ian’s reputation speaks for itself. He’s considered one of New Zealand’s leading thinkers in the brand and technology space, is a great operator and brings a wealth of experience to our team.
“His value-based approach also really resonates with us so he’s a perfect fit to help us move forward.”
Ian Howard said : “I didn’t expect to be back in the digital agency world this quickly, but the passion, energy and ambition of Vic and the team at Flight was really infectious. I’m really looking forward to seeing where we can take this place.”
Taylor Abernethy-Newman also joins the Flight Digital team in the role of head of technology, fresh from his own venture at Joblist.co.nz in which he retains an interest. He had a three-year hiatus from technology agencies but “couldn’t resist the allure of a new challenge”.
“Our focus is on delivering a product that’s knowingly different from the big agencies.”
He said: “Flight Digital were actually my marketing agency at Joblist.co.nz, so I’d experienced what it was like to be a client of theirs first hand before taking the leap. I really liked what I saw.”
Green said: “Taylor’s one of a kind really. A top engineer, a great leader, a supremely nice guy and someone who I’m sure can make a huge impact both to our agency and to our clients’ businesses.
“While New Zealand’s agency landscape has struggled in the face of Covid-19, Flight Digital has seen solid growth throughout 2020, due to our focus on delivering a product that’s knowingly different from the big agencies.
“From day one we’ve wanted to rewrite the rules of agency world. We put a real focus on doing things efficiently and spending every dollar of our client’s money as if it’s our own. That’s been a big contributing factor in our success so far, but
“We know we’re far from the finished article and just focused on getting better and better at what we do.”
Recent client wins for the agency include Lewis Road Creamery, Beef + Lamb NZ, Edmund Hillary Trust, Crane Brothers, Action Step and Celo.
About Flight Digital
Flight Digital is an independent full-service agency delivering results across technology, marketing and creative services. Based in Auckland’s creative Uptown precinct, Flight Digital is a team of 24 storytellers, engineers, dreamers and doers who are all united by a passion for creating experiences that make a difference.
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