Chief Integration Officer - IPG Team Unilever, and Group Business Lead - Unilever Nutrition. Interpublic Group (IPG)
A year ago today I returned from my first ever Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity feeling inspired, overwhelmed, exhausted and a little anxious. My client Unilever had done well, but as an agency we hadn't contributed nearly enough. They were buying and producing great creative work from other agencies but not from us. We needed to change. We returned to the office and set about transforming the way we work. Under the leadership of President and CCO Jose Miguel Sokoloff, we restructured #IPGTeamUnilever to create an empowered Leadership Team mirroring the client's five business groups, established a Strategic Growth Group with discipline experts from across Interpublic Group (IPG), and rallied behind our amazingly talented Global Creative Directors. Most importantly, our incredible clients got behind us and supported both the plan and the people. The results were beyond even our expectations. At #Cannes2024 Unilever delivered their best performance since 2013 placing 1st in the Advertiser rankings (based on number of Lions) and when looking at total points, we were their biggest contributor. Here's our tally: 1x Grand Prix for #Magnum 3x Gold Lions for #Magnum and #Axe/Lynx 1x Silver Lion for #Magnum 5x Bronze Lions for #Magnum, #Axe and #Cleanipedia And numerous shortlists including 6 for #Knorr, a brand which has not won in many many years. But what makes me most proud are the relationships we have built. Our agency/client teams are not only partners but friends. They trust us and we give our all for them. This is what creates great work - teams who are prepared to be bold and brave together. We love you all. Preparation for #Cannes2025 starts today! ayesha walawalkar Richard Ellis Will Dixon Federico Duberti Tom Elliston Carlos Andres Rodriguez Tomás Ostiglia Eduardo Salles Vinay Vinayak Sanjai Srivastava Anaheeta Goenka Zoe Meskell Urquhart Ross Marshall Manolo Moreno Subarna Prabhakar Charlotte Witte Crystal Malachias Jeriad Zoghby Meg Grogan Tina Allan Jackie Stevenson Edna Mills
Huge huge congratulations! Stellar leadership and a wonderful team of people! So well deserved! Here’s to ‘25!
Well phrased Alan and fully agree with you.Thanks for your great leadership in which you combine strategic & organisational views with fast concrete actions, all delivered by a powerteam. This years a huge step up for Knorr with 6 shortlists and ready fully lined up and rocking for next year,s awards ! 💪🏆
Successful teams, with high ambition, need strong leaders who are prepared to do hard graft, make tough decisions and, above all, lead by example. You are one of these Alan Bell. Kudos.
Proud to be part of the team, my friend. Let’s keep pushing to deliver more and better work. There is nothing more powerful than that. The work, the work, the work.
💪 I remember that kick off a year ago and now look. Bring on next year!
Could not agree more….what a year & what a client! 2025 starts now :)
Well done Alan - that is brilliant leadership to turn the business around to ensure you delivered for client .
Let's go team UL.. Here we come 2025!
Congratulations for you and your team. And thanks for having us in Cannes.
Global VP Knorr & Scratch Cooking
2wCongrats Alan Bell and team IPG 💪💪💪