Tribal DDB Picks Up Creative Director, Planner in New York

Tribal DDB has added two senior executives to its New York office: Seth Friedman as head of planning and Al Patton as creative director.

The Omnicom Group agency snagged Patton from The Interpublic Group’s R/GA, where he was creative director on that shop’s high-profile (and much honored) Nike account. Patton has also spent time at FCBi and Deutsch, and has worked for clients such as American Express, Kraft and the New York Daily News.

Patton’s arrival at Tribal DDB will serve as a bit of a reunion as well: the agency’s chief creative officer, Rob Rasmussen, was a colleague of his at R/GA, where the two worked together on Nike.

“Al represents the true modern creative director,” said Rasmussen in a written statement. “He weaves brand insight and consumer truths into big platform ideas. In execution, he is as much a conversation architect as he is an excellent storyteller.”

Friedman’s addition to Tribal’s planning team strengthens the agency’s continuing push beyond standard digital agency services. He was previously planning director at Tribal’s sister agency, DDB New York.

Tribal DDB clients include Budweiser, Volkswagen and Phillips.