To coincide with the launch of Citroën’s UK-first mosaic billboard made up of miniature cars, we caught up with Rich Evans, Executive Business Director at OMD UK to hear about how the idea came about, as well as what it’s like to work for one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world.
Hi Rich – thanks for taking time out of your crazy schedule to talk to us. Can you tell us a bit about what you do here at OMD UK and how you landed a job in media?
No problem at all. I run Citroën, DS and Intel here at OMD UK, plus do strategy development for the central PSA team in Paris too (yes, I go on the Eurostar a lot). I’ve been here for over five years and actually got into media through an old lecturer at Lancaster giving me some contacts at a number of media agencies back in 2004. Pretty crazy how time has flown! I still love it and thrive on the great atmosphere and entrepreneurial spirit at OMD UK!
You recently launched the UK’s first mosaic billboard for Citroen. How did that idea come about?
That’s a great question. I actually got the idea from a few places and then mashed them together. Firstly, I always like mosaic pictures, I remember loving pictures of David Bowie and Bob Marley made entirely up of album covers; pretty cool. Secondly, Citroën have had a heritage in making small miniature cars for children since the 30s and finally, Citroën want to represent “be different, feel good”. Merge all these points together and add a bit of brainstorm magic with Claire Dean (Strategy Director) and you end up with the “Citroën Miniature Poster” idea. I really love its simplicity, plus that we are managing to show consumers our great products in a different manner, but also give something back this half term. Getting hold of almost 3,000 miniature cars was fun too!
Has the agency changed much since you joined back in 2010?
Hugely! I’d say it feels like a very different place and has even better energy than it did back then. I haven’t come across many media agencies where creative thinking is encouraged as much and equally where every person from every team is encouraged to challenge convention and get involved with the future of the agency. Working with all the specialists has got easier and better for us comms planning people, making the day-to-day even more interesting!
What’s it like working for one of the biggest car manufacturers in the world?
Really great and to be honest, I have become a little bit of Citroën and DS geek. I love the history of the brand(s) and equally where they are now going with new products. Importantly, from a work perspective, they are great clients and always give us the opportunity to put creative ideas and new innovation to them. Working as a tight single team is great and having a client who believes in creating a poster made of almost 3,000 miniature cars is always good!
