tj hohmann joins memac ogilvy’s expanding team as the new executive creative director
The author of innovative clutter breaking communication for clients as diverse as Mercedes Benz and Unilever Foods in Europe, Till “TJ” Hohmann, the new Executive Creative Director at Memac Ogilvy Dubai, will now weave his magic on brands in the Middle East. He has the record to prove it, just take a peek in his cupboard, there are two TV gold lions won at Cannes lying in there.
As he sets about to do "magical work“ TJ will quickly settle in and take the lead of the creative forces in all disciplines from above the line through activation and also interactive and direct marketing. Together with Managing Director Ronald Howes he will look to strengthen the team underlining the agency’s efforts to take the creative potential to new heights and will also undoubtedly serve as a ‘Talent Magnet’.
“The appointment of Till Hohmann as Executive Creative Director marks a serious and concerted commitment of Memac Ogilvy to bring world class and award winning talent to the Middle East region, to raise the bar on creativity in a fast moving and increasingly sophisticated market”, said Ronald Howes, Group Managing Director, Memac Ogilvy Dubai.
“While the region is booming with its amazing new building projects, the free zones, its universities and of course the multinational and multicultural communities, I feel that professional communication still has some steps to take. But I believe it will not take long and the local markets with their young populations will face brands with the challenge to do more than one-way advertising. And I will make sure that Memac Ogilvy and Ogilvy One will be ready to deliver the modern marketing concepts and the creative communication ideas in all old and new media channels. It is an exciting task in one of the most exciting regions of the world” added Hohmann.
Aged just 35, Till can look back on a very successful career. Due to the creative and business success of his ideas and campaigns he went on to become one of the youngest ever Creative Directors in Germany and was named member of the exclusive German Art Director’s Club in 2000. Employed with agencies such as Scholz&Friends, Jung von Matt, Springer&Jacoby in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Stuttgart, he worked for a broad range of market leaders like BMW, MINI, Philip Morris, Panasonic, EADS and Unilever foods. This exposed him to the dynamics of the various industries and helped develop strong ideas and work for all types of media including the employment of interactive and viral technologies. His approach led to over 200 national and international efficiency and creative awards.
As a creative Director he gained all the professional skills to manage the creative process and yet more importantly large agency teams. He was able to develop media neutral “big ideas” for international campaigns and implement integrated campaigns through all channels for his clients.
Till Hohmann strongly believes that modern communication needs to be much more dialogue oriented than classic advertising used to be. He finds inspiration in the books by John Grant, Malcom Gladwell, and Henry Jenkins. He encourages his teams to find inspiring ideas in order to open brands for audience participation and also encourages his clients to think beyond selling products or services – brands sell ideas and offer a “virtual home” in a globalized, unstable world. He sees his role as a modern day storyteller rather than an old school copywriter and when asked about what he thinks of the Arab City that never sleeps, he replies in his words: “It’s a magical place, let’s do magical work!”
