Wunderman Thompson’s Gavin Bain named Ad Person of the Year at 2021 Campaign Brief Awards

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Wunderman Thompson’s Gavin Bain named Ad Person of the Year at 2021 Campaign Brief Awards

Gavin Bain joins a rare group of industry professionals that have won the Advertising Person of the Year Award twice. The Wunderman Thompson Perth Managing Partner previously won in 2014. Ken James, Mike Edmonds, John Driscoll, Stephen Wells and Bruce Shorter have also won this award twice.

 

Gavin Bain had a big year in 2020. Firstly, he facilitated the sale of Meerkats into WPP AUNZ and Wunderman Thompson.

It could be argued that the last profitable sale of a functioning advertising business in the Perth industry was The Brand Agency (also to WPP). To make Bain’s achievement all the more special it was delivered in the middle of a pandemic and global lock down. And if all that wasn’t enough it turns out that the sale is actually more like a reverse takeover with Bain and some of his key people running the new business.

No clients were lost in the sale and re-brand, leaving quite a few people green with envy in Perth around the sale and successful rebrand. Bain now finds himself running the second largest agency in Perth.

In terms of new business in 2020 Bain delivered the HBF Digital Transformation – the single biggest digital transformation project anywhere in Australia. Whilst doing all this Bain has maintained his industry leadership as head of the Comms/Ad Council in WA and held down a place on the national board of directors.

Read the full story in the special Campaign Brief Awards issue, out next week.

View the shortlist of names for the Ad Person of the Year Award.