• by Wayne Friedman , May 7, 2009

Mindshare senior business planning executive Tim Elton has been named chief strategist for the agency's Invention group.

In his new position, Elton will combine brand and consumer insights to form communication ideas in the U.S. and globally. He will work with current Invention co-heads David Lang and Margaret Clerkin.

To date, the group has created entertainment platforms such as "In the Motherhood," "Sprint Heroes" and "Business on Main."

The Invention unit is an alliance of the media agency creative thinking -- melding disciplines such as sponsorship, retail, digital and strategic planning. Elton's new position will also engage with George Michaelides and Graham Bednash at Mindshare Worldwide in London, who took over the agency's worldwide Invention group last October.

Elton joined Mindshare New York in the summer of 2007 as head of communications planning for Unilever. Before Mindshare, Elton worked at Leo Burnett in the U.K. as a senior communications planner and as communications planning director at Aegis-owned Vizeum, a U.K. media agency. He also worked as communications planner on brands including Coca-Cola, AOL, Volkswagen and BMW, among others.