The path of Whole Foods Market’s global director of creative and branding has been a scrappy one.
Will Chau’s career history has been a long trip up and down the West Coast, with stops at (mainly independent) agencies in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles. From there, he pivoted to Austin, Texas, spending 13 years at famed agency GSD&M before becoming Whole Foods Market’s global director of creative and branding.
But it was his first gig at Kresser/Craig in Los Angeles that truly set the foundation for Chau’s thinking.
“My partner and I would show my first ecd, Dan Mountain, our work,” Chau recalled. “He would say, ‘This isn’t the kind of work that I do, but that’s why I hired you. I don’t get it, but I respect it.’”
Armed with that experience from that point forward, Chau believes that it impacts the way he perceives creativity in a team dynamic. “My job is not to influence the team in terms of my vision, but to take all of these different thoughts, styles and ideas to make the work more robust,” he explained.
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
Whole Foods' Will Chau Has Had A Scrappy Path
The path of Whole Foods Market’s global director of creative and branding has been a scrappy one.
This Is Your Brain On Marketing
Brands toy with sensors to better understand their customers.
The Barbie Doll
On the eve of her 60th birthday, a look at. America's most primped, perfect and polarizing plaything.
Marketing Needs To Be Inclusive
Diversity efforts must be authentic and go further than checking off a box.
OMD
The agency clawed it's way back to the top by making ‘better decisions, faster’.
Meet The New Broadcast TV Chiefs
After taking over last fall at ABC, FOX, and NBC, these four execs are ready to reveal their strategies.
Initiative
Today’s media agencies face a new slew of challenges, as more clients slash budgets, issue RFPs and take everything in-house, from planning to programmatic. But clients aren’t the only ones making big changes. Both OMD and Initiative bounced back from challenging years with strategic pivots, picking up new business from brands like Daimler Mercedes, Liberty Mutual, Revlon and the U.S. Army. Breakthrough network Essence transcended its reputation as Google’s digital resource to score new partnerships with BP, Peloton, T-Mobile and more while doubling its headcount and adding 11 offices around the world. On the work front, these shops proved their media mettle with headlining campaigns for Amazon, McDonald’s, Target, USA Network … and who could forget the International House of Burgers? Read on to find out why these three earned Adweek’s Media Agency of the Year honors
Essence
A strong vision and a key investment from holding company WPP Fueled an incredible year.
Eryk Rich
Deutsch’s Head Of Music Straddles The Record And Advertising Industries.
Agencies Scramble Over OTT
Investment teams try to get up to speed while they educate clients.
