R/GA continues public sector practice growth with fresh recruits

Established around the middle of last year, R/GA’s public sector practice in Canberra is picking up momentum, with a growing team and roster of clients.

Digital marketing consultancy R/GA has been building up its burgeoning public sector practice in Canberra over the past six months, including through the recruitment of Deloitte Digital pair Skye Kibbey and Joe McKinley as respectively senior product strategist and DesignOps director.

Former Ernst & Young manager Nick Trembath has also come on board as a group account director, along with Merkle recruit Sam Brunno as technology director.

Launched just under a year ago with another Deloitte Digital recruit – Tish Karunarathna – installed at the helm, R/GA’s stated aim for the practice was to disrupt traditional public sector consulting through a greater focus on creativity as a transformational tool so as to support government in creating a ‘more human future’. The firm also says it’s responding to the sector’s increased demand for specialist capabilities, transparency, and emphasis on skills sharing.

“Our Public Sector practice introduces a nimble, collaborative, mission-first approach which is reshaping public sector engagement by turning services into experiences, campaigns into movements, and bureaucracies into brands,” Karunarathna stated. “In recent months, we’ve cultivated a seasoned senior team, merging extensive expertise from the public and mission-driven sectors with innovative thinking from diverse industries, to drive fresh and creative approaches.”

Karunarathna hasn’t had to cast the net too wide in fleshing out his senior team, bringing in former colleagues Kibbey and McKinley from Deloitte Digital, the latter award-winning full-stack design leader who he also worked alongside at Merkle/Isobar together with Brunno. Trembath has meanwhile crossed from Liquid Interactive, prior to which he spent eight years between Ernst & Young and its 2018 acquisition Adelphi Digital Consulting.

The firm says that its new public sector practice has already met with some success, with the federal government signed up as its founding client. Other engagements have included brand and experience work for the Museum of Chinese in Australia, a digital platform project for the Victorian Department of Education, and a collaboration with Indigenous social enterprise We Are Warrior on the City of Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks and Calling Country display.

“We’re committed to shaping a more human future,” commented Victoria Curro, who took over as R/GA Australia managing director alongside now APAC CEO Michael Titshall at the beginning of last year. “Our evolved offering bridges the gap between public policy and citizen engagement, responding to emerging consumer attitudes and behaviours. Our exciting projects with Commonwealth, state, and public sector organisations truly embody this commitment.”