That client-side experience made him an attractive re-hire for the agency, where he can use his brand skills to both bring in new business and better manage the agency’s many clients based in the Portland office.
“Part of me never left Wieden. It’s been a part of my narrative for longer than I even knew. I wanted to make Nike ads when I was 12 years old. And what I didn’t know is that meant I wanted to be at Wieden+Kennedy,” White told Adweek.
White spent the last near decade away from the agency and got to see the rapid change in how clients sell their businesses and technology, but he kept coming back to the power of creativity and the need for brands to understand who they are and push their messaging through all the channels and funnels available to them.
“No one does it better than Wieden, and no one has a better ability to help a brand understand who they are and to create a motion around that meaning and then present it to the customer with so much creativity,” said White.
White will start his position in October. Until then, ecd Susan Hoffman, one of the first employees at Wieden+Kennedy, will help with the transitions in Portland and New York.
“We’re not just trying to bring in advertising talent, we’re trying to find the type of people who define what the future of this business is. The soulfulness Jason has from growing up here, combined with the experience he has growing world class brands, is what excites me most. Hiring Jason signals that we’re trying to define how modern brands are built and show up in the world,” Arthur told Adweek.
A shift in the client landscape
While Wieden+Kennedy has lost a few clients, including Duracell and Fisher Price, it has also gained many, including Allstate, Ancestry and Calzedonia Group. The loss of TurboTax resulted in several layoffs in Portland, though the Duracell loss did not result in any staffing changes.
Lieberman said that, while there have been losses, new business gains have helped make up for those, and there are other yet-to-be-announced wins on the way this year.
In addition, since taking top global leadership posts in 2020, Arthur and Lieberman have diversified W+K’s global creative leadership group from 23% non-white to 41% non-white, and female representation has tripled within the group.