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New York agency Joan Creative opens up new London base

Female-founded agency Joan, set up by Lisa Clunie and Jaime Robinson in 2016, has launched its first agency outside New York.

Joan London will be led by ECD Kirsty Hathaway, former VP creative at Refinery29, who has also worked at Vogue, GQ and AnalogFolk. She is joined by MD Tom Ghiden, previously joint head of business leadership at McCann London, who also has AMV BBDO, Grey and Saatchi NY on his CV.

London has been chosen as a hub for the whole EMEA region, which is good news for the creative community in the UK capital. Joan opens with some US clients already on board, including eBay (which it takes over from McCann London), Cereal Partners Worldwide, Rare Beauty and Luna Daily.

Designed as an inclusive agency from the outset, Joan was an Adweek Small Agency of the Year in 2022 and is a finalist for Ad Age’s same list this summer. Their work spans editorial, content, social and digital as well as TV ads.

In the US, clients include S&P Global, Fitbit, Virgin Hotels and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Facebook and Pillsbury.

Lisa Clunie, co-founder and CEO at Joan, said: “The UK is renowned for its world-leading culture and diversity and it perfectly represents everything that is important to Joan. We have big ambitions for the UK, and we’re ready to create iconic moments for iconic brands and drive all-important change.”

Kirsty Hathaway said: “I can’t wait to fuse Joan’s joyfully rebellious attitude, strategic prowess and big thinking with my editorial and culture-driven background to help build modern brands and tell impactful stories.”

Tom Ghiden said: “I’ve always believed in the significance of inclusivity. Joan London celebrates the magic that comes from a beautifully curated group of people bringing together diverse thinking from all walks of life and experience. We can’t wait to start working with brands that are excited about doing something new.”

Great to hear so many positive things about London, let’s hope Clunie is proved right.

Joan (l-r): Tom Ghiden, Kirsty Hathaway, Rennie Jennings, Jamie Robinson, Lisa Clunie

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