Jason Rodbard joins Jack Morton as Creative Director. Jason has more than 12 years of creative experience within the field of brand experience design and has worked for numerous international brands including BlackBerry, Ford, Nokia, Johnnie Walker, Nivea, Toyota, Getty Images, English Heritage and Sony Ericsson. Most recently, Rodbard based in Dubai since 2007, has worked with some of the Middle East’s biggest names including Dubai Properties and GMASCO.

Also joining Jack Morton is Niall Polley as Senior Business Development Manager. Niall previously led the Corporate Sales team at Yas Marina Circuit from its opening in 2009. His team’s responsibilities included corporate sales and hospitality at the Formula One Etihad airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Niall has ten years’ experience in commercial and relationship management roles for major sporting events.

Sufeena Hussain and Ahmad Diab join as Senior Account Managers. Sufeena has over a decade of extensive event production and project management experience, spanning many countries, cultures and religions. In her previous agency roles, she has worked with clients including: Abu Dhabi Government, Al Aan TV, Emirates Airline, HSBC, Unilever, Ferrari and Virgin Megastores.

Ahmad Diab has 10 years of experience in the management, hospitality and logistics industries in Lebanon, Germany and UAE. During this period he has worked particularly extensively with clients within the government sector including: Etihad Rail, Emirates Steel, the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, Masdar City and Crown Prince Court.

Elham Navar joins as Graphic Designer. Prior to joining Jack Morton, Elham Namvar worked at Promedia Advertising where her clients included Hilton Hotels, the First Group, Rem Koolhaas, Ramada, Rotana, and the Dubai Fashion Week.

And Matthew Serpico takes the role of Project Coordinator. Matthew joins the Middle East office from Jack Morton’s San Francisco office in the US. Matthew will be using his experience working with clients including Samsung, Google, Nintendo and Salesforce in the US, to help drive forward innovative work for clients in the Middle East.

The office is led by Joint Managing Directors Alex Apthorpe and Yvonne Hoffzimmer.

Yvonne Hoffzimmer, Joint Managing Director, Jack Morton Worldwide said: “We are delighted with the Middle East office’s success within this short period and the appointment of our new team members further strengthens our offering to clients. The new team bring a wealth of local knowledge and experience combined with the passion, creativity and strategic thinking to create truly innovative campaigns. It is an exciting time for us and we are determined to use our talent and experience to help our clients exceed their goals and expectations.”

The Middle East office last month created Dunyana, the program for the partners of the World Energy Forum delegates – which included some of the world’s most influential leaders, politicians, heads of state and businessmen. The agency was responsible for the conceptualisation and design of all aspects of the program, from the brand identity and the program’s key messages through to the program content and environmental design. The agency’s other clients include: Dubai Water & Electricity Authority, Sky News Arabia, HP, GMASCO, Jumeirah, Chalhoub Group, Juicy Couture, Kaspersky and Saudi Aramco.

Julian Pullan, President, EMEA, Jack Morton Worldwide said: “I am thrilled with the progress our Middle East office is making. The team has already comfortably exceeded our targets for the first year of operation and has a client list which would be the envy of any agency in the region. It is a fantastic foundation on which to build and I’m very much looking forward to the year ahead.”

NBC News tapped Jack Morton’s New York office to design a space fitting for the event, which featured high-profile speakers including Brian Williams, Bill Clinton, Warren Buffet and Melinda Gates. Held at New York City’s Rockefeller Center, the event presented a unique challenge for the Jack Morton design team who had to transform an unconventional outdoor space into a dynamic and flexible arena to host discussions, high-profile lectures and Town Hall-style meetings. The space also had to serve as a fully functional broadcast studio.

“This project really underscores what Jack Morton is all about – in this case, taking intangible concepts such as dialogue, spontaneity and exchange about education in America and translating them into meaningful, hands-on experiences that really resonate with the client’s core audience,” said Jim Fenhagen, SVP of Design at Jack Morton, who led the design team. “We are incredibly proud of the team responsible for this win and appreciate those in the industry who continue to recognize and celebrate our work.”

Utilizing Rockefeller Center’s world-famous Prometheus statue – a fitting symbol of intelligence and a champion of mankind – as its centerpiece, the event space featured digital projection mapping to display content around the Prometheus statue, including a “digital fountain” of real-time tweets about the event from in-studio and outside participants. Designed to complement the way in which people naturally engage in conversation and exchange ideas, the event also featured a blogger lounge, break-out areas and turntable seating to keep the space evolving to meet the needs of the ongoing broadcast.

This is Jack Morton’s 18th overall Emmy® Award and its 7th News and Documentary Emmy® Award. The agency’s Emmy® win for “Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Lighting, Direction and Scenic Design” was announced by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) during the 33rd Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards ceremony held on October 1, 2012 in New York City – right off the heels of working with NBC News once again for its third annual “Education Nation” event.

Led by award-winning designer Jim Fenhagen and Eddie Knasiak, the Jack Morton design team worked with the RNC for over a year to develop the set, which stood out not only for the quality of its design and warm wood materials but also for the ambition of the 13 massive LED screens that anchored the set and debuted new video technology.

“We approached this just as we would with a brand,” said Fenhagen, SVP of Design in Jack Morton’s New York office. “We listened to the client’s needs and we built the experience design around that.”

Fenhagen points to three areas of focus for the experience design team at Jack Morton:

Connection – “It was important that the set didn’t put speakers up on a pedestal. The design ethos was ‘America’s living room’, and we used warm hues and textured wood surfaces. As we adjusted the set for Governor Romney’s acceptance, we were especially conscious of using design cues to reinforce accessibility.”
Differentiation – “We wanted to signal a completely new direction by doing things with the set that have not been done before at conventions. It’s the most abstract convention set I’ve ever seen—more like a Broadway show in ambition and bravado than the more typically conservative approach of political set design.”
Relevance – “The set had to feel American without being too literal. For inspiration, we turned to Frank Lloyd Wright, architect of the American Prairie Style. That came out in how we contrasted the warm woods with the ambitious technology involved in the 13 LED screens we placed over the stage. Such an ambitious use of LED screens has never been attempted—and it gave the RNC flexibility to share one monumental image or a collage of related images.”
Fenhagen has won 17 Emmy awards for broadcast set design. He has created sets for Piers Morgan, Jon Stewart and Martha Stewart, among many others. His co-designer for the RNC set, Eddie Knasiak, is a veteran broadcast designer.

The global brand experience agency not only won three Gold Stevie awards—it also won “Best New Product Introduction Event” for the third year in a row.

Jack Morton earned Gold Stevie awards for:

• The launch of T-Mall.com in Beijing, for Best New Product Introduction Event
• A history film for Ericsson, in the category of Technology Sales
• Ericsson’s 2012 CES Keynote in the category Best Sales Presentation

Jack Morton also won a Bronze Stevie for its work with Ericsson at the 2012 Mobile World Congress in the Best Tradeshow or Convention category.

Josh McCall, Jack Morton’s Chairman & CEO, commented: “We’re honored to receive this recognition and really proud to see our tremendous capabilities in launching new products winning Gold for the third year in a row—especially from our fast-growing Jack Morton operation in China.”

In 2010 and 2011, respectively, Jack Morton won Gold Stevies for Best New Product Introduction Event for its work to help Samsung launch its 3D TV and to help Thomson Reuters launch its Eikon market data desktop product.

The International Business Awards received entries from more than 50 nations and territories in 2012. Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word for “crowned,” the awards will be presented to winners at a gala awards banquet at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Seoul, South Korea on 15 October.

A company at the forefront of scientific and engineering technology, BP’s brief was to create a once in a lifetime experience with technology at its core, which told the story of ‘More Discovery, More Recovery, More Efficiency’. And one which pushed the boundaries of corporate experiences.

Jack Morton’s response as creative agency for the BP Technology Experience was to create a fully immersive and sensory experience that was not only technologically advanced, but also borrowed from theatrical traditions both physical and emotional.

“We realised very early on that it wouldn’t work to create an experience that the audience received passively. What we set out to achieve,” said Tim Elliott, Executive Creative Director for Jack Morton, “was to re-design the corporate experience – to take it to a new level of theatre, storytelling, technology, drama and adventure. We wanted to take the visitor on a journey to somewhere new, and to paraphrase BP, to ‘discover more’. A journey full of unexpected turns where the rules of what the guests experience change continually, and a journey which was appropriate for the world in which BP lives.”

Jack Morton was appointed after a competitive pitch process involving eight agencies. Since the appointment, the agency and brand have begun partnering on a number of other projects.

Chris Sedgwick, Technology Experience Project Director, BP said: “We have been blown away with the feedback we have received from our guests who went through The BP Technology Experience. This is down to the incredible talents of Jack Morton: the inspirational creative that constantly surprised guests as they went through the experience, the “wizards” who used industry leading technology to tell our technology story and the attention to detail and professionalism of the team all meant the experience was a huge success."

The story of ‘More Discovery, More Recovery and More Efficiency’ was told in three chapters, using three physical areas within the Linbury Theatre. Jack Morton took the audience on a journey of discovery into BP’s world using the very latest in filmmaking, CGI and projection techniques. The truly multi-disciplinary experience brought together some of the most creative minds in the business to use cutting-edge techniques in new and innovative ways.

Julian Pullan, Jack Morton Worldwide President, EMEA, commented: “BP had an ambition to create a unique, once in a life-time experience. We have shared this ambition and this has given us an unparalleled creative and technological opportunity. We are delighted to have helped realise BP’s vision.”

The Organising Committee of Glasgow 2014 can today (12 August) confirm it has awarded the contract to Jack Morton Worldwide, whose track record includes the Opening and Closing ceremonies for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games in Manchester 2002 and Melbourne 2006, as well as the critically-acclaimed ceremonies at the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The agency was also tasked with delivering the live celebration sites at key locations across London for the Royal ‘Wedding of the Century’ of Prince William to Kate Middleton. Working with the Mayor of London’s Office, it created day-long live events around the capital for more than 200,000 people.

In collaboration with Glasgow 2014, Jack Morton Worldwide will now conceive, plan and deliver both the Opening Ceremony which takes place on 23 July, 2014 in front of a live audience of 60,000 at Celtic Park and the Closing Ceremony which will be held at Scotland’s National Stadium, Hampden Park, before a live audience of up to 44,000 on the 3rd August.

Both Ceremonies will be viewed by a potential international TV audience of more than one billion - an unparalleled opportunity to showcase Glasgow and Scotland on a global stage and also to celebrate its relationship with the extended family of Commonwealth Nations.

Jack Morton Worldwide will have a budget of £14million to deliver both events and will soon begin the search for both established and emerging talents in Glasgow and across Scotland to help bring these iconic moments to life.

Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremonies normally include:

The arrival of the Head of the Commonwealth
The Parade of Nations where Glasgow officially welcomes the Commonwealth Nations to the Games
The epic end of the Queen's Baton Relay, which will visit every Commonwealth Nation before travelling throughout Scotland in the lead up to the Games
The arrival and welcome of thousands of athletes from across the Commonwealth.
The Closing Ceremony gives Glasgow, as host city and Scotland as host nation, the opportunity to leave a lasting image as the flag is handed over to the Gold Coast, hosts of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, as well as create a celebratory atmosphere for athletes, spectators and volunteers.

Jack Morton Worldwide’s appointment follows an exhaustive procurement process to find a creative delivery partner able to produce these extraordinary and complex events.

Glasgow 2014 is keen maximise the opportunity represented by the Ceremonies to create a meaningful legacy for the city. It will also help link the domestic creative industries with their counterparts across the Commonwealth in a genuine cultural exchange programme.

A key highlight of Jack Morton Worldwide’s bid was the demonstration of its wealth of experience in supporting and working with local talent, and its commitment to helping Glasgow 2014 achieve its legacy aspirations.

David Grevemberg, Chief Executive of Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee said:

“The Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games represent a unique and unprecedented opportunity to inspire national and international audiences with a dynamic and vibrant experience of Scotland.

“They are also one of the highlights of a Games and this investment has the potential to bring direct economic benefits to our creative industries, boosting jobs and contract opportunities in one of Scotland's high-growth sectors.

“Jack Morton Worldwide has an impressive track record of culture, creativity and legacy and the profile they have created at global events speaks for itself.

“I forward to seeing plans now being developed further, particularly since it will be engaging with the creative sector in Scotland to make sure we truly showcase the country at its best.”

Dr Bridget McConnell, Director of Ceremonies, Culture and the Queen’s Baton Relay at Glasgow 2014, said:

“Glasgow and Scotland have the pride, passion, commitment and talent to produce Opening and Closing Ceremonies which showcase the very best of both city and nation to the world.

“What we are charged with delivering is a vision of both Glasgow and Scotland which reflects not only our outstanding cultural legacy, but the creative talent which, today, is recognised as being among the finest on a global stage.

“Glasgow’s track record in hosting successful, major events is second to none and I’ve no doubt that by marrying our cultural creativity with a leading global events producer, we will put on a show that lives long in the memory.”

Scottish Government Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport, Shona Robison, said:

“As host of the Commonwealth Games in 2014, the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be a fantastic opportunity to showcase Scotland’s offer to the world and will be real highlights of the Games. I’m also pleased to see that this investment will bring benefits to our vibrant creative industries in the run-up to 2014.”

David Zolkwer, Director of Public Events, Jack Morton Worldwide and Head of Ceremonies for Glasgow 2014, said:

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Glasgow 2014 to deliver unique 21st Century Ceremonies that will capture the true spirit of the city and the region. I’m particularly looking forward to engaging with both the creative sector and the extended community to create Ceremonies that make Scotland proud and inspire the watching world.”

Councillor Archie Graham, Executive Member for the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow City Council, said:

“The Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will be tremendous events, with both occasions something to look forward to and savour. These are truly unique opportunities for Glasgow and Scotland to showcase what we can do, and given our success at the Closing Ceremony of Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, the strength or our creative and events sectors, and the experience and expertise of Jack Morton Worldwide, I am sure we are set for something very special.”

Michael Cavanagh, Chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, said:

“The Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony is a landmark occasion for the athletes as they march into the stadium and in being in front of a home crowd in 2014 will make this particularly special for Team Scotland. So I am particularly delighted that Jack Morton Worldwide, with their first class track record of staging such events, has been chosen by Glasgow 2014 for this important and prestigious role.

“The Opening Ceremony in particular sets the tone for the rest of the Games and I am confident that with their commitment to incorporating local talent, they will showcase the best of contemporary Scotland, set against our colourful history and traditions, at the same time embracing the values of the Commonwealth as we welcome the other 70 nations, regions and territories to Glasgow.”

Jack Morton’s in-house exhibits and 3D design and fabrication arm is based in New Jersey and supports Fortune 500 agency clients across North America, including Lifescan, Dow and Bank of America. Davis assumes the Jack Morton Exhibits leadership role from Bob Denby, who is stepping down from his day-to-day leadership responsibilities but continuing on in a transitional advisory role.

Davis comes to Jack Morton with over 20 years in the industry as an acknowledged brand experience expert, renowned for having worked with clients like IBM, Citrix Systems and Oracle to architect, advise and implement global event marketing strategy and programs. Most recently, Davis was VP, Client Services at George P. Johnson, and SVP, Strategic Business Development at MC2.

At George P. Johnson, she was the Director of Relationship Management on the IBM worldwide account and led the team charged with architecting the global strategy and programs from 2003 to 2008. A true innovator and collaborator, she worked in tandem with IBM Marketing Communications leadership and agency partners to develop multi-touch campaign strategies aimed at accelerating IBM’s customers and prospects through the sales cycle. She later took on the challenge of building a similarly ambitious global program and team for Oracle.

Davis’ role at Jack Morton Exhibits is to aggressively grow the business, which balances business-to-business environments, tradeshows and exhibit booths as well as business-to-consumer activations, mobile tours, broadcast environments, retail and pop-up environments.

Josh McCall, Chairman & CEO, commented: “Cyndi comes to us with a demonstrated capacity for helping clients like IBM design and implement global event marketing programs that fuel growth—and I’m confident she’ll bring that same energy to her leadership of our Jack Morton Exhibits team.” He added: “Of critical importance, Cyndi is a great fit for our culture and a great successor to Bob Denby, who built our Exhibits business based on core values she shares—passion for design, agility in solving business problems and respect for our clients and our talent.”

A leader in the experiential arena, Vincent is the former CEO and Co-Founder of the Omnicom integrated experiential, shopper, digital and retail marketing agency Smartfusion (now GMR). In this role, he formulated and led the agency’s international growth strategy, securing a prestigious client portfolio including Adidas, Porsche, P&G, O2 and Nokia, and negotiating the sale of Smartfusion to Omnicom.

Vincent’s role will be to grow the consumer side of Jack Morton’s business.

“This is an extremely interesting time for consumer experience. As brands seek to establish a new basis for ongoing measurable engagement, integrated live and digital consumer experience is of paramount importance. I’m excited to be joining a team and organisation with a reputation for market leading ideas and execution,” said Richard Vincent.

An active industry player, Vincent is a regular speaker whose recognition includes 11 EX Awards for clients including P&G, Porsche and Nokia.

Julian Pullan, President, EMEA, commented: “When we talk about ‘brand experience’, we really do mean it holistically: we provide our expertise to enhance every type of experience a consumer has with a brand. Richard’s appointment further strengthens our offering. He’s a leader and pioneer in the shopper, mobile, social media and retail space, as well as in the areas of field marketing, sampling, and brand and sponsorship activation. He has a track record of leading award-winning marketing campaigns and brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and passion. I’m delighted to be able to offer our clients the benefit of his unique thought leadership, insight and brand-building expertise.”