Digital Kitchen Gets A New GM [AR exclusive]

Agency Record Exclusive.

Jeff Brecker is ending his three year run at Leo Burnett to take the reigns of Digital Kitchen‘s Chicago office, leading their continued expansion. We grabbed Jeff to talk about his past, what lead him to Digital Kitchen, his new challenges at DK and the primary difference between the two shops. We got more then we bargained for, which is a bonus for us and our readers – in addition to the exclusive notes on his move to DK, Jeff agreed to be one of the first in a new series from Agency Record, the “On The Record” interviews.

Here’s our chat with Jeff:

AR:  Tell us about your history and what lead you to Digital Kitchen.
Jeff: Actually, today is my last day at Leo Burnett which is a good day to sit back and reflect on what I’ve done over the past three years. My title read SVP, Creative Director but I always thought of myself more as a digital evangelist, bringing new ways for our clients to interact with their audience. Some of the highlights that stick out in my mind are giving college football fans a way to razz their rivals via Bergwood.net and tweens a digital platform to design their dream playground at YourPlayground.orgPrior to Burnett, I was Partner, Director of Interactive Production at Ogilvy focusing on creating seamless and consistent digital brand experiences for clients like Coca-Cola, Kraft, Unilever and Delta Airlines. In the late 90′s, I had also held a senior-level directorial position with Tribal DDB in both the Chicago and New York offices.

A few months ago, I had the most fortunate introduction. A friend of mine had done a great deal of work with DK over the past year and thought I should connect with their senior management. He mentioned they were looking for someone to manage the Chicago office and help lead their continued expansion. I met with the teams in Chicago and Seattle and was blown away by the work they produced and the creative leadership that came out of this tight group of people.

What ultimately led me to Digital Kitchen was their core belief in the art of storytelling. They think of digital as much more than websites and online advertising. To DK, digital is every touch point where our new target consumes content.

AR:  What will be the primary changes in your roll between Leo Burnett and Digital Kitchen?
Jeff: At Burnett, I was focused on one specific client with direct responsibility over the digital creative deliverables. At Digital Kitchen, I’ll be managing the efficiency and performance of the entire office. I’ll also be tasked with building our book of work along with helping to scope, conceptualize and pitch new and organic growth opportunities.

AR:  Digital Kitchen is much more digitally focused then Leo Burnett as a whole, did this help in the decision?
Jeff: Leo Burnett is a world-class advertising agency. They’ve revolutionized the advertising industry and have developed some of the most famous campaigns of all-time. They also do a ton of digital advertising and marketing. Digital Kitchen is a different type of agency–they are much smaller and can focus on emerging technologies while producing everything in house that they develop for their clients.

Also, Leo Burnett focuses mostly on big brand advertising while Digital Kitchen’s sweet spot is at the crossroads of Hollywood, Madison Ave and Silicon Valley. I’m beyond excited because teams at DK can develop fully integrated digital solutions for the Entertainment industry, plus the Advertising and Tech sectors as well.

Its rare to have the opportunity to not only work at, but help lead, a company like Digital Kitchen. The cross platform work they’ve created for HBO, Microsoft, and AT&T is awe-inspiring. They have erased the lines between art and commerce — and created a hybrid offering which has allowed them to move effortlessly between the entertainment and marketing worlds. I am honored to work with such talented teams that are capable of crafting innovative, effective, and award-winning solutions.

Here’s to the future at Digital Kitchen!