Ron Mudge, Saatchi & Saatchi’s media group director, is moving to
DMB&B to take up the new role of communications director, responsible
for moving media planning higher up the agency’s agenda.
The new hiring marks the fourth top-level change at the agency in the
past year. Mudge follows Nigel Marsh and Max Burt, who joined from
Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO as marketing director and planning director
respectively, and David Jones, chairman of the DMB&B Group, who arrived
from Lowe Howard-Spink earlier this year.
Barry Cook, the managing director of DMB&B, said: ’Ron’s role is to
improve the way the agency works and ensure that every pound of our
client’s money is spent as effectively as possible.’
Cook and Mudge worked together at Yellowhammer in the 80s, where Mudge
was a media manager working on Fiat, Today and the Cancer Research
campaign.
When Yellowhammer was bought by DMB&B in 1990, Mudge was made a founding
director of the Media Centre, now called MediaVest.
Mudge moved on to Alliance, which folded into Laing Henry, and when
Laing Henry was bought by Saatchi & Saatchi he was appointed media group
director.
’My approach is very laid back and what I do has to be complementary to
the outside media planners and buyers,’ Mudge said. ’Whatever I say now
is bound to change once I get there, but my job will be to ensure the
creative idea is evaluated from every media angle - not just traditional
media, but new media and below the line too.’
