Telstra appoints Nicky Bryson as head of creative excellence

Telstra has appointed senior strategist Nicky Bryson as its new head of creative excellence, as the telco sharpens its ambition to become one of the most creative brands in the region.

The appointment was announced by Telstra CMO Brent Smart in a LinkedIn post, with Bryson set to join the business in late January next year.

Bryson brings deep agency, consulting and brand-side strategy experience to the role. She has previously led strategy at TBWA, M&C Saatchi and Leo Burnett, played a key role in building PwC’s CMO Advisory practice, and later co-founded Sayers’ — now known as Tenet Advisory & Investments — Brand & Customer consulting practice.

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Across those roles, Bryson has worked on growth strategies for major brands including Woolworths, Medibank, CommBank, Amazon, Myer and the ABC, as well as advising start-ups, scale-ups and both State and Federal Government.

Smart said creative excellence at Telstra would extend beyond strategy into capability building across the organisation.

“Creative Excellence at Telstra is more than strategy, it’s also about instilling creative confidence through teaching and coaching,” Smart said in his post.

Bryson is also the founder of The Trenches, a global mentoring program that has delivered more than 1,500 mentoring sessions for emerging creative talent. She is also an alum of The Marketing Academy leadership program.

Smart added that the appointment would not change Telstra’s agency model, confirming ongoing partnerships with +61 and Bear Meets Eagle On Fire.

“Importantly, this changes nothing for our brilliant creative partners at +61 and Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, except that they will get even better briefs and closer partnership,” he said.

Bryson will commence in the role in late January.