Acquisition puts heads of Smart in the McCann Australia driving seat

Ben Lilley, founder and CEO of Smart, will become the new CEO of McCann Erickson Australia. He replaces Chris Mort who led McCann in Australia for six years as chairman and CEO. Mort is set to take a break from the industry, telling Campaign he planned to "freshen up", and also "work on (his) golf handicap".

Meanwhile, Ashley Farr, national planning director at Smart, will oversee the combined group's Sydney office and lead its planning discipline, while Simon Burrett, former managing director of Smart, will lead its Melbourne officer.

John Mescall, executive creative director at Smart, will hold that role for the new group and maintain responsibility for all creative output. McCann executive creative director Michael Raso is expected to report to Mescall in the new organisational chart.

McCann has had some difficult times in Australia in recent years, losing significant accounts with both Microsoft and Reckitt Benckiser. Smart, meanwhile, has enjoyed a significant growth surge since being founded in 2000. At the time of today's acquisition, it held offices in Melbourne, Sydney, the Gold Coast, and Auckland, and enjoyed work with a range of both international and local clients, adidas, ANZ Bank, Coca Cola, Levi’s, News Limited, Seek.com.au, Unilever, and Vodafone.

Mort says the merger is a good thing for McCann in Australia. "In the creative agency business, fresh ideas are always welcome," he told Campaign.  “Ben and the outstanding team at Smart are an exceptional complement to our network and this partnership further propels the transformation of McCann Worldgroup across a significant market.”

Incoming CEO Lilley agreed. "Uniting with McCann Worldgroup was the perfect next step in our (Smart's) evolution," he said. "The combined competencies of our agencies coupled with the global footprint of McCann Worldgroup creates an unrivalled strategic and creative offering across the Australian and New Zealand markets.”