Planning doyen Lucinda Sherborne departs DDB to set up strategy consultancy

AUCKLAND, Today: Respected NZ strategist Lucinda Sherborne has departed DDB Aotearoa NZ after nearly 15 years to establish her own strategic consultancy business.

The business will be known simply as Lucinda Sherborne. “I might as well leverage my DBA’s [distinctive brand assets],” she told M+AD this morning.

“And if the founder’s name is good enough for the French fashion houses, then it’s good enough for me! 😂”

Over the course of her 30-year career Sherborne has defined the strategic direction for some iconic campaigns, including Vogels Homesick Kiwis, V Bugs, Stihl Bequeathed, Lotto Lucky Dog and Pirate Ship, Instant Kiwi Get A Perm, Speights The Dance, and more recently Emerson’s Tiny Pub.

Sherborne says she has cherished her time at DDB and her tenure is testament to this, but she is relishing the opportunity to establish her own offer. 

“DDB Aotearoa has always been my spiritual home and I have been incredibly lucky to have worked alongside so many brilliant minds during my time there,” she said.

“Now more than ever, there needs to be a laser line of sight between businesses, brands, creativity, and the people their ideas are serving.”

However, the hunger for new challenges and need to feed my curiosity is too tempting to be resisted. Now more than ever, there needs to be a laser line of sight between businesses, brands, creativity, and the people their ideas are serving.

“If there’s one thing that my experience and perspective has taught me over the last few years is the brands that truly wish to effect change must be obsessed with solving human problems, real customer needs and striking at the heart of people’s lives, tensions, truths and desires.

“This is what excites me. I want to help inspire thinking and ideas that get beneath the skin. Because without that you won’t be let into people’s lives.”

Lucinda Sherborne will offer a combination of consulting and independent planning services – from business and marketing strategy to communications development, to innovation, cultural change and facilitation, to research, training and effectiveness coaching.

During her time at DDB Sherborne was head of planning and executive planning director. Prior to that she worked in NZ at Saatchi & Saatchi, Colenso BBDO and Y&R. In the UK she worked at the Leith Agency in Scotland and BBH in London.

She has been the chair of the NZ Effies, a Cannes Lions creative effectiveness judge and won over 70 effectiveness awards, locally and globally, including the 2020 NZ Grand Effie for the Speight’s Dance campaign.

Website
A company website is “a work in progress”.

• In the meantime, contact her at lucindamsherborne@gmail.com