Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this blog. It has been an honor to support and champion our time together.

This is Tony Frusciante.

Over and Out.

Wieden + Kennedy London is launching a brand new initiative on 9th September 2009, a fully-fledged creative talent hub: ‘Platform’.

Platform will draw out the best and as yet undiscovered, creative minds from the worlds of arts, sciences and technology around the globe that W+K will search for and recruit throughout the summer of 2009. We are looking to find people from diverse backgrounds and skill sets, who possess inspirational and curious minds. The successful applicants will work as a collective to solve live business problems, as well as working in isolation on specialist projects awarded for their particular skills. In addition to Platform working in conjunction with W+K on live client briefs, they will also work in isolation on research, creative and product development projects and with local communities around the world to do more good.

Platform is the evolution of W+K’s talent scheme ‘W+Kside’ that ran for the last three years. We invited four people from outside the advertising industry to come into the heart of our business and work alongside us to help solve our client’s business problems. We discovered that because these people came from broader creative disciplines, they did not start with the traditional advertising solutions, to great effect. Their surprising, inspirational approach invigorated the agency and our clients alike and because of this success, our bolder new talent venture evolved.

Platform will be situated in a dedicated space in Wieden + Kennedy’s offices on Hanbury Street, East London and will function alongside the agency itself. We have expanded in to The Black Eagle Brewery building where Platform will sit, surrounded by a number of other environments situated around it, including a research lab, product development unit, auditorium, flexible gallery space, workshop and additional Wieden + Kennedy work areas.

At Wieden + Kennedy, we believe that inspiration is the key to learning. With this in mind we have invited the most talented and prominent figures from the arts, sciences, technology and education communities to become patrons for Platform. They will offer lectures, workshops, debates, work swaps and will participate in many different areas of our programme across the coming months. Patrons include Dean Linda Drew from University of Arts London; Jeremy Ettinghausen, Head of Digital Publishing at Penguin; Sarah Featherstone, Architect; Russell Davies, Global Strategist; Deep Kailey Fashion Editor Vogue India; and Joel Gethin Lewis, Interaction Designer and Artist.

Applicants should visit platform.wk.com for more information. Here they will find a prospectus explaining everything they’ll need to know about Platform, together with a brief to enter. We would like candidates to answer the creative brief as well as create a personal video profile. We will go through all creative submissions then invite a selected group into the agency for an open day where there will be a number of other challenges. This will take place at Wieden + Kennedy London. Platform recruitment works on a rolling basis so if you miss out on the first round, there will be further opportunities to apply in the future.

Sam Brookes, Managing Director Platform said, ‘Having a diverse mix of talented people with different skills, fresh approaches and boundless energy will not only provide surprising creative solutions for business problems but it will invigorate everyone at W+K into working in new ways and thinking beyond advertising.’

For further information:

Bella Laine bella.laine@wk.com
020 7194 7000
Sam Brookes sam.brookes@wk.com
020 7194 700

Below is an article from Creative Review.

Welcome to our global art show! The show features artwork from employees across all disciplines and represents all of our global offices including Amsterdam, Delhi, London, New York, Portland, Shanghai and Tokyo. In keeping with W+K’s dedication to supporting charities that provide educational opportunities, all proceeds from the show will benefit Room to Read.

The exhibit is being held in W+K’s Portland office and is free to the public with an opening party on First Thursday, May 7, from 6 to10 p.m. The exhibit features artwork of various mediums, craft, sculpture, music, and film & animation. 

The opening party will include live musical performance by two deejays from W+K’s Portland office: DJ Safi and DJ The Perfect Cyn. Newly launched in-house radio station WK Radio plans to play music exclusively by W+K employees the evening of the event. 

 “W+K is an idea company that isn’t solely an ad agency,” says Portland Executive Creative Director and W+K=MAKE co-conceptor Susan Hoffman. “It’s a place where every employee can explore creativity.”

Global Executive Creative Director John Jay and co-conceptor of the event further notes, “W+K=MAKE is an expression of our agency culture, which has long celebrated and supported the ideas and passions of the individual. With no regard to the artists’ job title, position or seniority, this will be our most intimate creative expression ever. This is a demonstration of passion from those we are so proud to work with every day.” 

All purchases of artwork can be made online at www.wkmake.com beginning May 7, 2009. One hundred percent of sales proceeds goes to San Francisco–based Room to Read, an organization that provides education in developing countries by establishing libraries, creating local-language children’s literature, constructing schools and providing education to girls. 

About Room to Read

Room to Read is an innovative nonprofit leader dedicated to promoting and enabling global education. This is done by establishing libraries and schools, publishing and distributing local-language children’s books and providing long-term educational support for girls to pursue and complete their secondary education. 

Time to put your mad creative skills to work, show the W+K world what you can do and help a nonprofit at the same time!

W+K Portland is hosting an employee art show during the month of May, opening on First Thursday, May 7. Artwork includes: painting, drawing, illustration, photography, sculpture, installation, craft, film & animation shorts and anything else you make or create.

Art pieces will be displayed in the building lobby, and film & animation will be screened in the bunker on opening night. All pieces will be donated to the Art Show nonprofit Room to Read and sold in a variety of price buckets. They’ll be available for purchase online starting Thursday, April 30.

For those more musically inclined, you can submit your music! W+K Radio will be playing music from the bands/musicians of W+K on opening day.

Details:
**Artwork is due at the Portland office by Monday, April 6 (attn: Monica Choy). Please send your work via interoffice mail and fill out a submission form for each piece**

Price buckets are set at $50, $100, $150, $200 and $1,000. (Unfortunately, video and music submissions will not be sold.) You may submit as many pieces as you like!
(Poster: Paul Levy)