Cranston shifts to head up Proximity China

<P>BBDO's inter-active arm, Proximity China, has begun ramping up its presence in the mainland, with three senior hires bolstering its offering.</P> <P><br><br><BR>Gavin Cranston, formerly of Proximity Sydney, has been appointed director of the agency's China unit. He is joined by two hires from live marketing agency ANPC: Jude Rogers, founder and creative director of ANPC, who joins as director; and Simon Tung, senior account manager.</P> <P><br><br><BR>Cranston and Robert - who have already pitched and won business from Volvo and Veuve Clicquot since joining - will report to recently-appointed BBDO and Proximity China CEO Carol Potter,  responsible for strategic communications and new-business development. </P> <P><br><br><BR>"The new position involves a lot of development of integration, in terms of strategic advertising ideas across multiple media," said Cranston. </P> <P><br><br><BR>"There are more people on broadband in China than in Australia, so that gives you so much more breadth and depth in terms of opportunities in reaching people."</P> <P><br><br><BR>Cranston has been involved in the interactive sector for about eight years, and prior to his stint at Proximity fronted digital teams at D'Arcy Australia and Leo Burnett. </P> <P><br><br><BR>Robert worked on a number of premium brands during his time at APNC, developing and managing a wide range of events for Gucci, Cartier, Panerai and Zegna among others.</P> <P><br><br><BR>Cranston said another key area for the pair is growing the Proximity brand on the mainland, adding they were already looking to fill key positions in Shanghai and Beijing.</P> <P> </P> <P> </P>