Digitas UK: Driving Transformation with Creativity and Purpose

2024 has been a pivotal year for Digitas UK, marked by transformation and the announcement that CEO Jennifer Berry will be stepping down at the end of December.

Throughout her leadership, Berry, alongside CCO Carren O’Keefe and COO Matt Lodder, has expanded the agency’s reach, and built a foundation for sustained growth.

Her tenure has been defined by creativity, technological innovation, and strategic leadership. As she prepares to hand over the reins, EMEA CEO Sam Hawkey will guide the agency until a new UK CEO is appointed.

Among the highlights of 2024 are the launch of EE’s LearnSmart platform, designed to empower young people with vital AI skills and the 'Hate. Not In My Shirt' campaign, which tackled societal hate while inspiring cultural change. From award-winning client work to initiatives like the Cannes Challenge and Digitas Next, the agency has demonstrated its commitment to innovation, diversity and talent development.

As Digitas navigates a rapidly evolving digital landscape, its refreshed executive team and bold ambitions ensure it remains a driving force in delivering impactful solutions for clients.

Let’s explore the agency’s achievements and reflections on an extraordinary year.

Digitas on its 2024

What have been the major highlights for your business in 2024?

It’s been a fantastic year for Digitas.

We’ve pushed boundaries and delivered meaningful impact across businesses, culture, and society.

This year, we’ve seen double-digit growth, delivering cultural and commercial impact while investing in future talent.

We’re proud of the standout work we’ve delivered in 2024:

• Launched Marriott Bonvoy's first EMEA-specific campaign, emphasising the diversity of its portfolio and connecting audiences to exceptional travel experiences.

• Expanded EE’s LearnSmart platform, providing AI education for young people aged 11-17. The platform delivers vital lessons on responsible AI use, spotting deepfakes, and maximising AI creativity.

• Built on our portfolio of EE projects, including EE WiFi 7 and Euro's 'Hate. Not In My Shirt campaign'.

• Won a Global Bronze Effie Award for transforming H&M’s business by placing search at the heart of the customer experience.

• Our incredible data science and analytics team were named Best in the Industry by DataIQ.

• Honoured as the All In Champion at the Media For All Awards, a testament to our ongoing commitment to DEI.

Our ‘The Impact Balancing Act’ report, which launched earlier in the year in partnership with The Marketing Society, revealed groundbreaking insights into how marketers can drive success in 2024 and beyond.

We also enjoyed hosting our first Digitas Client Summit, all in the spirit of collaboration and innovation through inspiring talks with speakers such as Dame Stephanie Shirley and astronaut Tim Peake.

Our chief creative office Carren O’Keefe affirmed her position as an industry thought leader this year. She joined an exciting panel in Cannes - ‘Meet your M-AI-Ker - alongside other industry leaders, that dove into how AI is transforming the daily workflow for strategists, creatives and producers. Carren was also named as Jury Chair for the BIMA (British Interactive Media Association) Awards. Carren’s focus on creativity with social and business impact was instrumental in her selection to lead the Social Good and Business categories.

Our progress on supporting entry-level talent has been another major highlight this year. Digitas Next expanded its reach through apprenticeships, bootcamps, and partnerships, such as Next Tech Girls, opening doors for underrepresented talent in tech.

What is your proudest achievement from the last 12 months?

We’re thrilled by the reception to our client work this year. We won nine BIMAs, including Gold for EE’s LearnSmart and Capture the Store campaigns, and a Bronze IPA Effectiveness Award for our work with H&M.

What we’re most proud of is fostering the next generation of talent. Through partnerships like Next Tech Girls, we’ve inspired young women to explore careers in tech. The Cannes Challenge also provided six women under 30 with the chance to attend Cannes Lions, showcasing our commitment to future leaders.

What are you most looking forward to next year?

2024 has been a year of bold progress and a pivotal moment in our journey.. This year has been about acting on the new agency position we've established, setting the foundation for even greater things ahead. In 2025, we’ll build on this momentum, launching new campaigns and accelerating growth under Sam Hawkey, our new CEO for EMEA. .

What do you feel have been the greatest industry challenges for agencies this year?

Our Impact Report identified some key challenges facing marketers and our industry at large this year.

The rapid rollout of AI has made technological innovation essential for businesses to meet consumer expectations in an increasingly digital world.

Our report revealed nearly half of businesses prioritize digital transformation, but success also requires cultural shifts to stay agile. However, this technological push must be balanced with cultural adaptation. Marketers must drive internal cultural shifts to remain agile and responsive to shifting consumer preferences, with 97 per cent of business leaders agreeing that adjusting culture is essential for success. Our work with brands like EE demonstrates the power of aligning technology with meaningful cultural change to achieve lasting commercial impact.

We are committed to helping clients navigate these complexities, ensuring they can drive growth while fostering innovation and cultural transformation. As the industry evolves, we’ll continue supporting businesses in adapting to these dual challenges, ensuring they remain competitive and impactful in an increasingly digital and culturally conscious landscape.

Has the addition of any AI solution made the profound impact on your business that was expected?

Much like blogs and mobile internet democratised content creation, large language models are transforming communication.

Our InsightXD tool analyses human- and AI-generated data, identifying emotions and ideas to support informed decision-making. This significantly enhances our ability to deliver impactful campaigns for our clients and stay ahead in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Creative Salon on Digitas’ 2024

This year saw Digitas UK redefine its position as a leading agency within the digital ecosystem under CEO Jennifer Berry.

Berry's leadership team includes CCO Carren O’Keefe, who joined in 2023, and COO Matt Lodder, appointed in 2024, However, Berry is due to step down as UK CEO at the end of 2024 after almost two years in the role and 17 within Publicis Group. CEO of EMEA, Sam Hawkey will take over leadership of the agency as it plans the next phase of its evolution.

in an interview with Creative Salon earlier this year, Digitas' leadership team said that they aimed to realign its offerings to better meet client needs while embracing creativity, technology, and cultural insights.

The agency is focused on recognising and developing the potential within its 450 UK employees and 200 Indian team members, delivering comprehensive media, tech, data, and creative services. These efforts have been borne out in its work; awards juries were particularly impressed at the BIMAs.

Alongside its sister Publicis Group agencies, Digitas played a pivotal role in EE's various campaigns, including 'Curfew', which emphasises the benefits of the "EE One" customer package that combines broadband and mobile services. Digitas developed a comprehensive suite of digital content to promote this integration, targeting existing EE customers.

Digitas was instrumental in the audience-driven campaign 'The Search Is Over', targeting busy families, modern independents, and empty nesters. To enhance customer engagement, Digitas created a 90-second explainer video that highlights the platform's features, driving traffic to the EE website.

The agency contributed to developing the EE LearnSmart platform, created in response to the 600 per cent increase in UK AI companies over the last decade. The platform features a new artificial intelligence education skill designed to unleash learning from the classroom and help kids become smarter, safer, and kinder online.

Further demonstrating their focus on societal issues, EE and Digitas introduced 'Hate. Not In My Shirt', a multi-million-pound integrated PR and marketing campaign to combat all forms of online and offline hate. The campaign called on the nation to be proud supporters ahead of the summer tournament in Germany.

On International Women’s Day, Digitas collaborated with former Lioness striker Ellen White to launch 'Unfinished', a memoir that highlights the challenges girls face in sports. The free audiobook is available for download via EE’s LearnSmart platform and Spotify, along with bespoke content designed to inspire young people.

The agency also teamed up with McCann London in June to enhance the non-profit Women’s Association’s ties within the advertising industry. This collaboration aims to empower its network of young women by providing access to valuable educational resources from the creative sector and facilitating connections with influential leaders.

The agency also released its 2024 Impact Report, The Impact Balancing Act. This report explores the evolving roles of marketers amid changing consumer behaviours, sustainability demands, and the challenges of operating under tight budgets. It delves into how business leaders navigate today’s fast-paced environment while balancing commercial objectives with cultural impact.

Creative Salon Says: Berry and her team can look back on her time running Digitas UK with some pride. Through its work (most notably on EE) the agency showed a strong commitment to innovation and social impact. As one chapter closes, a new one opens - Sam Hawkey knows to continue ploughing this furrow.