• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, March 31, 2009

Looking for "hot" digital creative leaders to represent the company in an increasingly digital world, Ogilvy North America has appointed Lars Bastholm to the newly created position of chief digital creative officer. 

To remain relevant in the eyes of clients, traditional agencies are now going out of their way to hire digital stars and produce award-winning digital work.

"Lars is the hottest digital creative talent in our industry," said Carla Hendra, CEO of Ogilvy North America." (The hire) is more evidence of the Ogilvy commitment to creativity first and to innovation in digital."

In his new role, Bastholm will report to Jan Leth, vice chairman of global digital creative at Ogilvy, and will partner directly with JP Maheu, chief digital officer for Ogilvy North America, to help lead Ogilvy's North American operations.

Through its multiple business units, Ogilvy's digital model spans digital experience design, application development, media, analytics, direct marketing, CRM, loyalty, public relations and activation -- all of which is critical to the future success of the agency, according to Bastholm.

"It is becoming obvious that marketing shouldn't live in silos," said Bastholm. "Consumers don't distinguish between what's in which channel, when they shape their perception of a brand."

Before joining Ogilvy, Bastholm spent four years at AKQA -- most recently as co-chief creative officer, where he is credited for winning interactive assignments for Coke, Smirnoff and Motorola.

After starting up Grey Interactive in Scandinavia, he joined Framfab in Copenhagen, Denmark as Creative Director. There he worked on brands, including Nike, LEGO, Sprite and Carlsberg.