R/GA Builds New Digital Branding Shop, Hires TBWA's Shillum

R/GA set up R/GA Brand Design, to address the shift of branding in the digital age. The new division takes into account early consumer impressions, if not first impressions, including when a prospective customer lands on a Web site to find out more about a brand or product. “As brand-consumer relationships shift to the digital sphere, the responsibility of brand perception is shifting to digital agencies,” R/GA said in a statement.

The agency’s core competency has always been digital, and has later expanded to encompass TV and other media. The Brand Design shop will include branded interfaces for online, mobile, retail, and out-of-home. R/GA Brand Design takes into account user experience such as visuals, sounds, movement and navigation. Marc Shillum was hired by the agency as director of brand design to lead the practice. He was creative director at TBWA London, where he worked on the pan-European Sony Playstation software account. In the past he also worked at Wieden + Kennedy in London.