OLIVER UK’s Executive Creative Director Eloise Smith
Agency wins, leadership moves, launches and a few signs of where the creative industry is heading next.
As the year winds down, December’s Booms & Shakes feels less like a wrap-up and more like a preview. Big brands are locking in partners, agencies are reshaping their futures, and new ventures are quietly testing what influence, collaboration and creativity might look like next.
There’s a familiar rhythm… Client wins, senior hires, strategic launches. But look more closely, and you’ll see bigger themes emerge. There’s consolidation at the top and some experimentation at the edges. And a continued push toward scale, speed and cultural relevance, alongside a growing appetite for community-led models and tools built by creatives, for creatives.
From global agency appointments and leadership shake-ups to experimental platforms, representation rethinkings and policy moves, here’s what’s been making noise across the creative industries this month, and why it matters heading into 2026.
Client Wins
KFC UK appoints Here Be Dragons as consumer communications partner
KFC UK has named Here Be Dragons as its new retained consumer PR agency following a competitive pitch run by AAR. From January, the agency will lead fame-driving campaign activations, partnerships and consumer press office duties, while Headland remains on corporate communications and Rockwood handles Republic of Ireland activity. CMO Monica Silic praised the agency’s cultural instinct and energy, saying they “totally understand youth audiences,” while founder Paul McEntee described the brief as “true carte blanche” for creativity.
Premier Inn names Born Social as social agency of record
Born Social has been appointed social AOR for Premier Inn after a three-way pitch, tasked with modernising the brand’s social presence and strengthening relevance with younger audiences. The remit spans strategy, creative, production, design and community management, with work launching immediately through a new organic direction rooted in Premier Inn’s “sleep-obsessed” positioning. Group marketing director Louise Nickson cited Born Social’s “strategic clarity and single-minded approach” as key to the appointment.
Mergers & Industry Restructures
Omnicom consolidates creative networks following IPG takeover
Omnicom has confirmed it will streamline its creative offering following its acquisition of Interpublic Group, folding legacy networks DDB, FCB and MullenLowe into fewer global creative brands. Under the new structure, DDB and MullenLowe will be absorbed into TBWA and McCann, respectively, while FCB will merge into BBDO, reducing Omnicom’s creative networks to three, alongside a portfolio of boutique agencies.
The move comes with significant restructuring, including the loss of more than 4,000 roles, mainly in administrative functions, as the group sharpens its focus on client-facing teams. Omnicom leadership has framed the changes as a bid for clarity and efficiency in a market increasingly dominated by scale players like WPP and Publicis, though the disappearance of several historic agency names marks a notable shift in the industry’s landscape.
Timon – stock.adobe.com
New Hires & Promotions
Universal Favourite appoints James Cooper as Head of Creative Partnerships
Universal Favourite has appointed James Cooper as Head of Creative Partnerships to support the studio’s next phase of international growth. Cooper brings 17 years of experience across strategy, storytelling and creative partnerships, and will focus on strengthening relationships and opening new opportunities across markets.
James Cropper Paper & Packaging appoints Mike Gibson as Head of Business Development
British master papermaker James Cropper has promoted Mike Gibson to Head of Business Development as it accelerates expansion into new markets and product innovation. Gibson brings over 25 years of experience across the paper and packaging sectors in the UK and US, joining a restructured sales leadership team reporting into managing director Paul Barber.
OLIVER UK promotes Eloise Smith to Executive Creative Director
OLIVER UK has promoted Eloise Smith to Executive Creative Director, expanding her remit from leading the agency’s largest global in-house team to overseeing creative output across more than 100 UK clients. Reporting into global CCO Rod Sobral, Smith will lead a 200-strong creative and design department, with a strong focus on AI upskilling and innovation. Her background spans senior in-house leadership at Amazon across EMEA and agency roles at MullenLowe and Lowe Profero.
Grey London appoints Jai Kotecha as CEO
Grey London has named Jai Kotecha as its new CEO, with the seasoned agency leader set to take up the role from mid-January. Kotecha joins at a moment of renewed momentum for the agency, following strong new business performance, an expanded relationship with Haleon as part of WPP’s OpenX team, and Grey London’s best showing at Cannes Lions in nearly a decade. Formerly Ogilvy’s European PR, Social and Influence lead for OpenX, Kotecha brings more than two decades of experience across London, Sydney, and Amsterdam, with a track record spanning social, influencer, and integrated brand-building.
He’ll work closely with Chief Creative Officer Helen Rhodes and Chief Strategy Officer Tarek Sioufi to drive Grey London’s next phase of growth and reinforce its long-standing ‘Famously Effective’ creative proposition.
Universal Favourite’s new Head of Creative Partnerships James Cooper
Mike Gibson, new Head of Business Development at James Cropper Paper & Packaging
Grey London’s new CEO Jai Kotecha
Launches & New Ventures
Algo and Cavalry launch Typeflow, a free browser tool for animated typography
Motion studio Algo has partnered with animation software Cavalry to launch Typeflow, a free, web-based tool that lets designers create expressive typographic animations directly in the browser. Built to showcase Cavalry’s new Web Player, the project enables native Cavalry files to play live on the web, which is a first for the platform. The tool features animation templates created by Algo and invited Cavalry artists, and hints at future applications for branded creative tools, scalable motion systems and personalised campaigns.
Figures launches as a new representation model for the ‘alternatively influential’
Founded by former media and cultural executives Jacqueline Kavanagh and Leila McGlew, Figures is a newly launched Paris- and London-based representation and management company built for a growing class of cultural figures operating beyond the traditional “creator” or “influencer” label. The company represents multidisciplinary originators whose influence is measured by depth, expertise, and recognition within taste-led communities, rather than by scale alone. Figures will unveil its inaugural roster in early 2026.
Practice opens Shared Practice, a flexible home for New York’s creative community
New York branding studio Practice is extending its community-first ethos with Shared Practice, a hybrid co-working and event space designed to flex between everyday studio life and after-hours gatherings. Launched in early 2024 after a long renovation, the light-filled space is home not only to Practice’s own team but also to a small group of independent creatives and New York-based members of Swiss type foundry Grilli Type.
Modular, collapsible furniture allows the space to be reconfigured for panels, book launches, workshops, and social events, while a visual identity developed in-house builds on Practice’s playful brand system, featuring hand-drawn illustrations by UK illustrator William Luz. As Shared Practice enters its second year, it continues to position itself as both a working studio and an open invitation—a place where collaboration, conversation, and community are integral to the creative process, not an add-on.
Industry & Policy
Government announces reshaped Creative Industries Council
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has unveiled a refreshed Creative Industries Council as part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy, designed to strengthen collaboration between industry and policymakers. The remodelled council increases representation across regions and sub-sectors, with a renewed focus on innovation, access to finance, workforce development and trade. The update also confirms new leadership for the Creative Industries Trade & Investment Board, which is designed to boost exports and attract inward investment.
Manchester creatives rally behind grassroots petition
Manchester-based initiative HEADS Creative is backing a petition calling for changes to support the city’s grassroots creative and music scene, with more than 200 signatures to date. Founder Liam Heeley says the first goal is to enable live music in Ancoats, with ambitions to scale its impact through support from local government and civic leaders.
Jan Winkler – stock.adobe.com
M&A, Investment & Expansion
Journey acquires Dimension Studio to expand immersive production capabilities
Experience agency Journey has acquired London-based Dimension Studio, bringing virtual production, real-time and AI-enabled content capabilities into its global offering. Dimension’s work spans film, episodic TV, animation and live experiences, with credits including projects for Disney, Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV+. The acquisition strengthens Journey’s ambition to operate as a fully multidimensional experience studio, bridging storytelling, technology and large-scale production.
