Rapp UK has appointed a new executive creative director to succeed Al Mackie, who left the agency in February, eight years after he joined from Rapier to take up the role.
Jason Cascarina, who has been deputy ECD since November 2020, has taken up the post with immediate effect and heads up a diverse team of designers, conceptual creatives, writers, creative engineers and motion graphic artists.
Mackie departed just weeks after Rapp CEO Gabrielle Ludzker left the agency in the wake of Omnicom’s takeover of IPG. He is now reportedly creative chief of an in-house BT agency, dubbed The Exchange.
Cascarina will now join the UK senior leadership team while also working closely with the global creative leadership led by global chief creative officer Troy Hitch.
He started his career as a copywriter at FCB in the mid-1990s, and had spells at Banks Hoggins O’Shea, Elvis, Weapon 7 and Ogilvy before being appointed deputy ECD of Proximity London in 2017. He continued in the role when the agency merged with Rapp in 2020.
His experience spans transformative integrated brand campaigns, and digital and data-driven customer experience initiatives for brands including Barclays, Virgin Media O2, British Airways and Mercedes-Benz. His work has been recognised by some of the industry’s highest honours, including D&AD, Clios, The One Show and the DMA Awards.
In his new role, Cascarina has a brief to deliver on Rapp’s proposition of delivering growth at scale through precision and empathy, ensuring every creative touchpoint is measurable, meaningful and drives impact for clients.
He will also focus on evolving the creative department to tap into Rapp’s data and AI capabilities, with the aim of ensuring creativity remains the ultimate differentiator in an increasingly automated world.
Rapp UK acting chief executive Sam Kennedy said: “Jason is exactly what Rapp needs at this critical moment. He uniquely understands how to harness brand, behaviour and digital at scale. His appointment reinforces our belief that precision and empathy are not opposing forces – they’re complementary. With Jason leading our UK creative department, we’ll ensure every campaign delivers measurable impact while moving hearts.”
Cascarina added: “I’ve spent the best part of my career bringing together brand, behaviour and digital, and there’s no agency better equipped to lead that conversation than Rapp.
“My goal is to ensure we use our incredible data and technology capabilities not just to reach people, but to truly connect with them. Precision doesn’t have to come at the expense of soul. The more we understand individuals, the more we can use creativity to dial up empathy.”
Cascarina joins a long list of top industry names who have held the Rapp ECD role, including Mackie, Ben Golik, Jason Andrews, Rik Haslam and Ian Haworth.
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