The Monkeys' Tara Ford's remit expands, takes on dual role at Accenture Song

Tara Ford, the chief creative officer of The Monkeys, has been appointed as the chief creative officer of Accenture Song for Growth Markets, effective immediately. In the new role, she will collaborate with Neil Heymann, the global chief creative officer of Accenture Song, and lead the creative teams across Asia-Pacific and Latin America (the Growth Markets).

In addition, Ford will retain her position as chief creative officer of The Monkeys Sydney. 

The move follows Accenture Song’s recent announcement of restructuring its eight global divisions into four practices, namely, marketing, which comprises the parts of Song that build brands, including through advertising; design and digital products, which will create products, services and experiences; commerce, which will help businesses scale and optimise their sales proposition; and service, which will work with clients on their relationship with customers.

The agency has also expanded the role of Annette King to make her the consulting giant’s marketing practice lead.

Ford's transition follows The Monkeys' triumph at this year's Cannes Lions, where they clinched the prestigious Dan Wieden Titanium Lions Grand Prix for the groundbreaking 'The First Digital Nation' campaign. The campaign, designed to address the critical issue of Tuvalu's sovereignty, earned accolades for challenging industry norms and pushing creative boundaries.

Reflecting on the success, Ford shared insights in an exclusive post-Cannes interview with Campaign, describing the win as "surreal." She delved into the creative strategy behind the Tuvalu campaign, emphasising the urgent need to spotlight the nation's challenges and create a global wake-up call. Minister Simon Kofe of Tuvalu stressed the campaign's significance with the rallying cry, 'Save Tuvalu. Save the world.'

David Droga, CEO and chairman of Accenture Song, who chaired the jury at Cannes, praised The Monkeys' work, highlighting its impact beyond a mere creative or tech idea. He emphasised its role in shaping policies, safeguarding GDP, and setting new standards for nations facing similar challenges.

Ford's appointment at Accenture Song positions her as a key player in driving innovation and creative solutions across Growth Markets. It comes a month after co-founder and group CCO Scott Nowell departed the business after 17 years. He co-founded the agency in 2006 with Mark Green and Justin Drape that was acquired by Accenture in 2017 under the banner of Accenture Interactive (now rebranded to Accenture Song), as a Sydney-based team of 130. The agency's presence has since grown to over 165 people, also launching an office in New Zealand in 2021.

Ford said she was excited to join Song's regional team and help their clients achieve their goals through creativity, innovation and technology.

“Leading our diverse creative talent across Song in Growth Markets is going to be super interesting. I look forward to helping our people and clients shine through the combination of creativity, innovation and technology.”

Heymann praised Ford as a creative leader who has consistently delivered outstanding work on the global stage. He said she was well-suited to drive work that is unique to Song's capabilities and expand the agency’s influence across the Growth Markets.

In line with the vision to expand creative, brand and data capabilities, Accenture Song has recently acquired Bangkok-based creative agency Rabbit’s Tale to its kitty. This is the third creative agency addition in Southeast Asia in the past three years.

Meanwhile, Ford will continue to serve as a board member of the Advertising Council of Australia and the D&AD Advisory Board.

Mark Green, the co-founder and CEO of The Monkeys and the president of Accenture Song ANZ, congratulated Ford on her new role and said they were lucky to have three amazing leaders in ANZ.