Soames Hines

In 2008, Soames moved to Ogilvy’s Asia Pacific HQ in Hong Kong to work with Miles Young and Paul Heath, responsible for a regional portfolio of the agency’s largest global clients including Danone, Yum Brands (KFC, Pizza Hut & Taco Bell), Kimberly-Clark, Mondelez and Nestle. During this 10-year period, Soames won numerous industry awards including; the WPP Atticus Award in 2008 for “Ogilvy on Recession”; the 2013 Campaign Asia Pacific “Account Person of the Year” award for his leadership of the Yum Asia business; as well as many Cannes awards (most recently for KFC), and numerous Yum Recognition Awards.

In 2006, Soames took on the role of Greater China President of International Clients. In this role, Soames was responsible driving growth on Ogilvy's international client portfolio in Greater China with specific responsibility for Unilever and Motorola.

In 2004 after getting married and having a son, Soames returned to China with Ogilvy where he managed the BAT China business as well as developing Ogilvy Action's shopper, experiential, field and trade marketing capabilities in China.

Post the Dotcom Boom & Bust of 1999/2000, Soames set up his own marketing consultancy (Timbuktu), working with a number of UK clients including The Times & Sunday Times (Andy Mullins) and UK retailer The Co-Op.

In 1999, Soames shifted his career to focus on the exciting new world of the internet and digital marketing. He left J. Walter Thompson to join Swedish internet start-up LetsBuyIt.com as European CMO and launched the brand across 14 European markets in 6 months. LetsBuyIt.com went on to become Europe’s largest online retailer during the Dotcom boom of 1999-2000 with over 1 million members and sales of US$ 1m per week. The company went on to successfully IPO in June 2000 and the US$ 150m launch campaign won the Euro EFFIE 2000 Gold Award for E.Commerce and the New Media Age Grand Prix Award for Best Online Retailer (beating Amazon, Ebay and Lastminute.com). Soames created the Brand Idea himself and then worked with ex-creative partner Paul Leeves to produce the award-winning launch campaign. The European business was then pitched and awarded to AMV/BBDO under the care of Andrew Robertson (ex- Ogilvy London and now Global CEO of BBDO).

Shortly after the Hong Kong handover in July 1997, Soames returned to the London with J. Walter Thompson to help manage the global Unilever and Diageo business. During this period, Soames worked directly with Keith Weed (ex-Unilever Global CMO) on several of Unilever’s global brands.

After setting up Lintas in Vietnam in 1993, Soames joined J. Walter Thompson in China and led a dream team that built JWT into the largest and most respected agency in China. JWT Shanghai became China’s No.1 billing agency (1996 HK4As) with 130 people and staff-turnover of less than 3% during the 3 year period 1994 to 1997.

Responsible for setting up Lintas' first agency operation in Vietnam via a partnership and memorandum of understanding with Vietnam Advertising Corporation.

Regional client leader on Johnson & Johnson. Additional responsibility as Client Services Director of Lintas Hong Kong.

Regional client leader on Johnson & Johnson. Additional responsibility as Client Services Director of Lintas Singapore.

In late 1988, Soames was enticed to leave Ogilvy to become a founding partner in an exciting new creative hot-shop, Tilby & Leeves (the former ECDs of BMP with creative legend John Webster). After the sale of the agency to the BDDP Groupe (TBWA). Tilby & Leeves won numerous creative awards in its first year of launch, most notably for its work for Oddbins.

In the summer of 1982, Soames went to London to secure a job in one of the leading London agencies. He met with several agencies and was fortunate to be offered a position at Ogilvy & Mather, based in Brettenham House on Waterloo Bridge. He started in the Traffic department and after a year transferred to Account Management where he had the privilege of regular encounters with advertising legend David Ogilvy, an experience that had a profound impact on Soames’ beliefs and values.

Soames was originally going to go to University to study journalism. A summer holiday job at Tibbenham Advertising in his home town of Norwich changed all that. On July 21st 1980, he joined Tibbenham Advertising as a trainee, one of the UK's oldest and most respected regional agencies.