McCann Worldgroup Forms Innovation Council

NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- McCann Worldgroup today announced the formation of an Innovation Council that will bring together innovation leaders from the agency, its clients and the technology community at large to discuss and explore leading-edge ideas and practices. The group builds on McCann's ongoing HumanTech offering that has paired clients with technology innovators and entrepreneurs to develop advanced tailored marketing solutions.

Harris Diamond, Chairman and CEO of McCann Worldgroup, said, "In today's very competitive world, it has become essential for marketers to develop new ways to connect meaningfully with their consumers. Our clients look to us to provide them with the most relevant, actionable and emotionally-compelling insights into how their consumers live their lives and see the world around them. However, while technologies, innovations, research and the data that drive those insights are all important, they remain in the background because the value we provide to our clients is in the depth and effectiveness of those human connections."

The Innovation Council will be led by Elav Horwitz, McCann Worldgroup's Global Innovation Director. She, along with Sean MacDonald, McCann Worldgroup's Global Chief Digital Officer, developed a suite of innovation development capabilities under the HumanTech umbrella that has McCann clients engaging with a range of non-traditional resources, from teen hackers to technology entrepreneurs.

The Innovation Council is scheduled to meet three times a year. Among the initial group of participants are executives from Coca-Cola, Entel, GM, L'Oréal, Mastercard, Nestlé, Novartis, and RB, including the following individuals:

• Dave Evendon-Challis, VP Innovation, RB
• Sandrine Gadol, Chief Innovation Officer, L'Oréal USA
• Cheryl Guerin, EVP Marketing & Communications – Mastercard North America
• Chuck Thomson, General Manager Retail Sales and Marketing Support, General Motors
• Rodolfo Echeverria, Global VP Creative, Coca-Cola
• Alexis Licci, Genrete de Marketing Corporativo, Entel
• Gerardo Mazzeo, Global Innovation Director, Nestlé
• Sander Ruitenberg, Worldwide Digital Solutions, Novartis

"Innovation is part of L'Oréal's DNA and we recognize that diverse perspectives are essential to moving at the speed of culture and anticipating the needs of tomorrow's consumer. The ambition of this council, and Elav's vision, is to bring together  innovators from industry-leading businesses to cross-fertilize our thinking  beyond our own industries to shape our vision for the future," said Sandrine Gadol, Chief Innovation Officer, L'Oréal USA.

Said Dave Evendon-Challis, VP Innovation at RB: "Partnerships should be at the core of every business. Whether it's a partnership between company and customer, leaders and employees, or client and agency, there are plenty of benefits to breaking silos and joining forces to learn from each other and drive innovation. At RB, innovation partnerships go beyond just product development. For us, it's about working with like-minded partners who share our values and vision, but challenge our thinking and open our eyes to new ideas that will define how we innovate – forging win-win-relationships that will allow us both to take advantage of the emerging health trends and provide brilliant new solutions to our consumers."

"All innovators share similar challenges," said Horwitz. "By bringing many of them together for the first time, we hope to help them by creating a meaningful, long-term process and set of solutions, maybe even an innovator's toolkit, that they can turn to as they guide their own companies in the search for breakthrough ways to engage with their brands' customers."

About McCann Worldgroup
McCann Worldgroup, part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), is a leading global marketing solutions network with over 20,000 employees united across 100+ countries by a single vision: To help brands play a meaningful role in people's lives. McCann Worldgroup was recognized by the Cannes Lions as the 2019 Network of the Year and by the Effies as the world's most creatively-effective marketing services company both in 2018 and 2019. The network comprises McCann (advertising), MRM//McCann (science/technology/relationship marketing), Momentum Worldwide (total brand experience), McCann Health (professional/dtc communications), CRAFT (production), Weber Shandwick (public relations) and FutureBrand (consulting/design).

SOURCE McCann Worldgroup

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