Creative agency Folk Wunderman Thompson has announced nine hires across after winning the Lidl Ireland strategic and creative account.

Conor Thompson will act as business director for the Lidl account, rejoining the company having previously spent eight years at Folk before moving onto roles in both Smarts and Ardmore agencies in Belfast in 2018.

Zoe Scragg joins the agency as account director from Connolly Partners and has experience working with Bus Eireann, Bewley’s and Bulmers.

Other additions to the client service team include senior account managers Holly Tilson and Luke Mulligan, and account executive Darragh Thompson, while creative operations director Kate Curry, senior copywriter Matthew Moss, and copywriter Stephen Kelly join the creative team.

Aislin Farrell joins the digital team as a digital designer for digital campaigns and UX and UI design.

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"We have an amazing roster of clients that include Vodafone, An Post, Bord Gáis Energy and Irish Life. An account such as Lidl is an inspiring win for us and a great addition to our portfolio. It’s wonderful to welcome all our new Folks too," said agency CEO Abi Moran.

"There is such an energy in Northumberland Road, and I can't wait to see how we can continue to inspire our clients and grow their businesses with them."

Meanwhile, Initiative Ireland and UK has been selected by HelloFresh to lead its £16m media account following a competitive pitch process. The appointment will cover planning and media buying to support the weekly meal kit delivery company with 8.5m active customers.

Lennart Sieweke, director of ATL broadcast marketing at HelloFresh, said: “The HelloFresh marketing and brand team is very excited to have identified and awarded Initiative as our future partner to grow our ATL marketing strategy and activities to the next level across the GB territory.”  

James Shoreland, CEO of Initiative UK & Ireland, said: “I feel like HelloFresh and Initiative are made for each other. They created a category just over ten years ago and are now the UK’s favourite recipe box. "We are changing the way brands look at media.”  

Sylvia Cawley, managing director at Initiative Ireland added: “We’ve been working very closely with our UK colleagues this year offering our expertise and perspective on a range of markets where we have considerable experience.

"Food is one of those sectors we’re passionate about, so we’re delighted to have partnered with Initiative UK as part of the winning team on HelloFresh. This is a business that’s growing across many countries and we look forward to being one part of that journey.” 

Photo: New folk at Folk Wunderman Thompson.