Gavin Downes has been appointed as deputy managing director of Neon having joined the agency from Clive where he was head of strategy for the EMEA region.
Gavin was a key player in acquiring new business, re-positioning the strategic offering of the agency, and winning a number of prestigious awards. He has over 18 years’ experience across both B2B and B2C in a mix of client and agency side roles, covering the UK & Ireland, Western Europe & Australia; where he’s worked with a number of high-profile global brands including Heineken, Vodafone, Three, O2, Nokia, Just Eat, Accenture, Facebook, Indeed, and Pinterest.
Dan MacDonnell, Managing Director at Neon says: “We’re delighted to have Gavin join the team. He has a wealth of knowledge in experiential marketing across large corporate events, consumer activations, sponsorships, employee engagement and brand experience strategy, while working with some of the biggest consumer brands in the world. At Neon, we are re-positioning our offering as a new type of hybrid agency focused on delivering Phygital experiences across the live and digital worlds. We truly believe in the power of helping brands connect wth consumers by telling stories, creating memories and delivering awesome live events. We are building an agency that will continue to grow over the next decade while truly delivering for our clients across the EMEA region and beyond.”
Gavin Downes adds: “I’m excited to have joined an agency that has an excellent pedigree in production, event management, brand activation and creative solutions. The work we have done in my first couple of months has all been about repositioning the agency to meet the demands of our growing client base. We are very aware of the need to have both a digital & live offering as the marketing world transitions into more of the phygital experience paradigm. At Neon, we are building a team that are fantastically ambitious, with diverse skillsets and a common goal to deliver awesome work, killer ideas, unique brand experiences and brave communications.”
Within Neon, he will be leading the Client Services, Strategy, Brand & Concept Development functions for the Neon team, as they grow key accounts on both the domestic and internationl stage. As well as his experience working with leading global brands, he has also lectured to Marketing Masters Students in the Smurfit Business School, contributed to various marketing & business publications, and is a founding member of the Experiential Marketing Ireland network.
