Motion Sickness Hires Robbie Allen as Strat Director Plus Creative Duo, Account Director

Motion Sickness has bolstered its ranks with a string of new hires across strategy, creative, and client service. This follows a strong year of growth and industry recognition including two Cannes Lions Grands Prix, and new client wins such as Pizza Hut, Ryman Healthcare, and Shine Lawyers.

The 2025 Grand Effie-winning Motion Sickness strategy team is joined by Robbie Allen as strategy director. His experience spans behaviour change programmes, start-up innovation, and global consumer and tech brands.

He previously worked at Clemenger BBDO Wellington, and most recently at a number of London design and brand agencies, where he led strategy and innovation projects for Google, Netflix, Nike, and more.

Robbie said, “Motion Sickness feels different. I've been inspired by and jealous of the ideas that have come out of this place for a long time now -- the kind of ambitious, effective, category-breaking work that shifts behaviour, culture, and brands. I'm stoked to be a part of building out what we can offer our clients and creating more defining work with this crew.”

Creative duo Josep Jover and Jacob Newton reunite, joining from DDB Aotearoa and Saatchi & Saatchi UK respectively. Josep said, “Jacob and I have been keeping an eye on Motion Sickness for years, their work consistently hits on every level. Getting the chance to join forces and help make more of that work is incredibly exciting.”

Jacob added, “The pull of the homeland, rekindling my creative affair with Josep, and the chance to join a team who are truly at the top of their game proved stronger than any pint of Guinness. Looking forward to replacing my homesickness with Motion Sickness.”

Lucy Bell also joins the fold as senior account director, bringing experience from her time at DDB Aotearoa working across brands including Goodman Fielder, as well as previous roles in Melbourne and London.

Lucy said, “I’ve been cheering Motion Sickness on from the sidelines since the very beginning, so joining the team feels like the perfect next chapter. The talent and energy here is something else, and now that I’m joining this epic lineup I can’t wait to get stuck in and help deliver more genuinely great work.”

Motion Sickness will be actively hiring and growing its creative, account, and production teams across New Zealand and Australia into 2026.

Hilary Ngan Kee, head of strategy at Motion Sickness, added, “The agency’s growth over the past year has given us the opportunity to bring in some of the best strategic, creative, and client service talent from around the world.

"It’s exciting to be in a place where we can keep raising the bar for our clients, both existing and new. With fresh thinking and a shared ambition, I can’t wait to see what alchemy is created next.”