Colwyn Elder – Partner, Director of Planning & Strategy
Hello, I’m Colwyn. I look after planning and strategy for Hunting Dynasty clients.
I’ve crossed continents for my work and categories for my conscience, from London to Cape Town, Tokyo to Amsterdam and back again to find my home in sustainable brand strategy.
My life as a planner began over 12 years ago at Leo Burnett London working on McDonald’s – as a vegetarian. We product tested McVegetable Deluxe and pitched many presentations at offering more non-meat items on the menu. Personal or professional? Probably both and whilst they didn’t buy it then, it’s interesting to see how the business has changed over recent years.
At Bates Japan I worked predominantly on Audi and Lucky Strike. The latter made the toes of my conscience curl, but I put my head down. With the ban on tobacco advertising, Lucky Strike was an iconic brand in a dark market, an opportunity to
At Springer & Jacoby Amsterdam we won Gold at Cannes 2005 for Olympus Cameras ‘What you choose to remember’ TV spot. It was named one of the top 10 Dutch commercials of the century by the Dutch Television Museum, and the online work that this strategy spawned scooped EPICA, Art Director’s Club, and New York Festivals’ awards. Great accolades, but also a turning point in my career. Surely communication could better serve both people and planet?
On my return to the UK I focused on planning for charitable brands (NSPCC, Breast Cancer Care, Action Medical Research, CACHE) as well as Cause Related Marketing (Vodafone). In 2006 green was the new black and despite eco-fatigue, no-one could deny the issue of sustainability. The following year I co-founded Green Sky Thinking, a brand planning partnership focused on socially and environmentally responsible brands.
Meeting Oli was a fortuitous alignment of past experience and future vision. The Hunting Dynasty proposes a fascinating (and necessary) conundrum. To turn conspicuous consumption into something worthwhile, by making the sustainable, desirable. Let’s find a new balance.
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