Alex Sol Watts has joined independent communications agency Poem as executive director of social and strategy.
Watts joins the agency after a recent stint freelancing. Last year, he was a partner at the creative agency Bullfrog, opening and leading its Sydney office in 2023.
He worked as head of social for DDB from 2020 to 2022, and for Ogilvy from 2017 to 2020, working on Australian and global accounts.
Awards Watts has won include a Grand Effie for his work on McDonald’s, and Gold Lions and Webbys for his work on Tiger Beer and KFC.
“Lots of agencies talk about differently shaped work, but at Poem, they’re actually making it happen,” Watts said of joining the agency.
“A proper obsession with effectiveness matched with endless enthusiasm for approaching things in a meaningfully different way. It’s a real treat to be part of, and to help define the next generation of Australian commercial creativity.”
Rob Lowe, co founder and managing director Poem, added: “The future of commercial communications is about having a deep understanding of the humans you’re talking to, and the cultures they’re part of. I’m thrilled to have Alex properly embedded into the team to keep elevating our strategic and social practice and further our vision to be the leader in earned-first effectiveness.”
Katie Raleigh, managing partner, said: “We’ve been searching for the right skillset to join our evolving leadership team in this particular role for some time and Alex was an obvious choice.
“He brings a unique perspective on the future of comms and huge experience in the industry – in social and beyond. Alex is already playing a key role in helping us define the future of creative communications that merge both Social and PR thinking for greater effectiveness.”
Watts joins the business to support a growing team of integrated communications experts, across strategy, social, content and creative, which includes the recent appointment of Jess Cluff as creative director and promotion of Rhania Farah to general manager.
See also: Alex Sol Watts departs from creative agency Bullfrog