Former EHS Brann chief Phil Jones and Ogilvy lifer Rory Sutherland have joined the likes of Tim Berners-Lee, Martha Lane Fox and Stephen Fry who are among the first 20 influential Britons inducted into the Digital Hall of Fame.
The accolade is the brainchild of the British Interactive Media Association, which, according to its own blurb “showcases and rewards great digital work, celebrating excellence and raising standards, and in doing so inspires and supports current and future talent”.
Jones (pictured left) started his career as a designer and typographer. He joined EHS in January 2000 when Havas merged it with digital shop Real Time, where he was managing director at the time. He went on to become EHS Brann vice-chairman and director of operations until 2004.
He now holds a host of non-exec and mentoring roles within the digital industry at organisations including CTI, Precedent, the British Inspirational Trust, Real Time Consultants and StartJG. But it is his role as founder of Digital Podge Lunches – the annual lunch for movers and shakers in the digital world, specifically executive creative directors, chief execs and managing directors – for which he has become most well-known.
First hatched as a bonding session for beleaguered agency bosses during the recession of the early Nineties, the Podge Council Lunch spawned the Digital Podge Lunch in 2002. “Stodge Podge is the North of England version,” said Jones.
Serial blogger and digital champion Rory Sutherland (pictured right) joined Ogilvy & Mather Direct in 1988, and became creative director when it relaunched in 1997 as OgilvyOne. He was appointed executive creative director in 2002 and is now vice-chairman of the Ogilvy Group in the UK.
He said: “It isn’t about consumers being digital or analogue. Most consumers will form their impression of brands from a whole mixture of digital and analogue media – and of course real world experiences. What we need to understand much better is the idea of context – the idea that messages should have a target moment, not just a target audience.”
The full list is: Andrew Walmsley, co-founder i-level; Ajaz Ahmed, AKQA; Mark Cridge, formerly of glue Isobar; Martha Lane-Fox, co-founder of lastminute.com, Catriona Campbell, Foviance; Sir Jony Ive, Apple; Stephen Fry; Phil Jones, Podge; Warren East, ARM; Nicolas Roope, Poke; Robin Klein, The Accelerator Group; Nick Hynes, Somo; Alan Rusbridger, Guardian; Tom Roope, Rumpus Room; Andy Hobsbawm, EVRYTHNG; Dr Michael Lynch, Autonomy; Helen Milner, Online Centres Foundation; Pete Cashmore, Mashable; Rory Sutherland, Ogilvy; and Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web.
