Former Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide digital creative director Tom Eslinger named first-ever global chief creative officer of Burson-Marsteller

Further strengthening its commitment to offering clients strategic counsel paired with integrated communications, Burson-Marsteller has lured world-renowned and internationally awarded executive creative director Tom Eslinger to be he firm’s first-ever global chief creative officer.

He will be responsible for the seamless integration of strategy, planning and analytics to yield powerful, integrated creative ideas for application across all traditional, digital and mobile platforms as well as emerging platforms like virtual, augmented and mixed reality.

Before joining Burson-Marsteller, Eslinger was consulting Executive Creative Director for visual effects and virtual reality firm Framestore’s integrated advertising efforts. Before that, he spent 13 years in the Saatchi & Saatchi network – starting at Saatchi’s Wellington in its heyday – eight of which as Worldwide Digital Creative Director. In that role, he led digital creative direction and strategy on global new business and client initiatives, identified creative production partnerships and talent recruitment and led cross-network partnerships via the Publicis Groupe. He served for 10 years on the Publicis Groupe’s Worldwide Creative Board of Directors and was a member of its mergers and acquisitions/investment group of directors.

Before leaving Saatchi & Saatchi, Eslinger added Regional Digital Executive Creative Director for Greater China to his duties, providing hands-on creative leadership across digital and m-Commerce capabilities and leading merger and acquisition identification for the region. His brand experience includes Diageo, General Mills, Mondelez, Procter & Gamble, Sands Casinos and Resorts, T-Mobile and Toyota, among many others.

“We are deeply committed to investing in the very best talent who will deliver significant benefits to our clients,” said Kevin Bell, Worldwide President, Burson-Marsteller, to whom Eslinger will report. “Tom Eslinger is an extraordinary creative talent and leader who will bring the latest creative processes and new thinking to our work. In an era where the lines between advertising, branding, media and public relations have blurred, Tom will use his broad expertise to ensure creativity is at the forefront of everything we do at Burson-Marsteller.”

“Burson-Marsteller has a powerful and proven legacy of delivering world-class counsel and results for clients,” said Eslinger. “I am excited to take on this brand-new role bringing creative, strategy, analytics and production together. I have a passion for creating truly integrated creative solutions across emerging channels and devices to build brands and businesses. Working with the great team I am joining, we will evolve and grow the next phase of Burson-Marsteller’s legacy.”

Over 20 years, Eslinger has been highly awarded at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity across multiple categories, and he has won dozens of other international and regional awards including The Effies, Clios, D&AD, Axis, AWARD, SPIKES and The One Show (U.S. and China). He has served as president of the Cyber Lions and inaugural Mobile Lions juries and as a jurist on the Cyber, Innovation and Titanium Lions.

Eslinger’s first book, Mobile Magic: The Saatchi & Saatchi Guide to Mobile Marketing (Wiley, February 2014), is a resource for brand marketers focusing on the strategic opportunities and practical implications of mobile marketing. His typographical and interactive work has been showcased in multiple publications and is part of the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He has contributed articles and op-ed pieces for Contagious, AdAge and ADWEEK. Eslinger earned his Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from the Minneapolis College of Design.