After more than 10 years heading up the creative department at Bleublancrouge, Gaëtan Namouric has made the jump to strategy.
Gaëtan Namouric
As of Monday, Namouric will be embedded in the agency’s strategic planning process, with Jonathan Rouxel and Christian Ayotte taking the creative reins as co-creative directors. (Ayotte will focus on interactive.)
Namouric’s title is now head of creative thinking, a title that represents a bridge between strategy and creative. Also a partner at Bleublancrouge, he said in a statement that the move is meant to re-energize the planning at the agency by “injecting a strong dose of creativity” to the process.
“My experience lets me be more specific with the creatives—I know what they’re looking for in a brief,” he said, explaining his background in strategy, planning and programming gives him a clear picture of what today’s advertisers are looking for.
“It’s great to understand a brand. But understanding the society where that brand lives and grows is fundamental,” Namouric said.
As head of strategic planning, Namouric will lead a team of senior strategists that includes Bernard Asselin, Simon Cazelais and Dave Gourde.
On the creative side, Rouxel joins the agency via Pige&CO, where he has been freelancing as an art director for the past year. Prior to that he was a co-creative director at BCP and worked at Cosette for more than 12 years, first as an art director then as creative director.
His co-creative director, Ayotte, who will focus on interactive projects, joined Bleublancrouge in November 2013 via Sid Lee, where he started as the lead flash creative in 2000 and was a longtime creative director.
Sébastien Fauré, CEO of Bleublancrouge, said the change in leadership is a sign that the agency is committed to adapting to the changing industry and moving forward rather than simply asking its clients to change.
“Gaëtan’s creative legacy is phenomenal. It’s because of him that today we can hand the reins over to other creative talents in pursuit of our mission—to deliver ideas that effect real change,” Fauré said.
