Bates quits Indicia for Creston shop

Indicia creative chief Ian Bates has quit the agency – where he has been for 13 years, including nine at its predecessor Entire – to join Creston-owned The Real Adventure as board creative director.
Launched in 1991, the agency’s clients include Danone, Tesco, Walkers and Tropicana. The Real Adventure was the second acquisition made by Creston’s chief executive Don Elgie in 2001 and specialises in digital, direct and CRM.
Like Indicia, it is based in Bristol, with a management team which includes joint managing directors Matt Hardy and Beth Pope.
Bath-born Bates started his career at Colleagues Direct Marketing in 1995 as an art director, staying five years before joining Entire as a creative director. He took on the top creative role when Entire merged with Marketing Databasics to form Indicia in January 2010.
A well respected figure in the DM industry, Bates is vice-chair of the DMA Agency Council, a member of the DMA Grand Prix panel and was a D&AD judge in 2013.
Bates commented: “The Real Adventure is a hidden gem – a passionate group of talented people delivering high quality, innovative CRM for an enviable range of clients. This is a team that’s producing outstanding work for the likes of Danone, Cow & Gate and Walkers and I’m honoured to become part of it. This is a very exciting challenge.”
Joint managing director Matt Hardy added: “Batesy will be superb as a creative champion within the agency. He has the skills and experience to drive creativity through innovation across direct, digital and social platforms. He knows what it takes to deliver award-winning work for clients.”