Renowned creative force Shawn King joins Civilized Worldwide Inc. (“Civilized”) as Executive Creative Director to propel the media and lifestyle brand forward as the Company accelerates its growth and increases its audiences across North America. King is a decorated creative strategist with 25 years of experience and the recipient of countless national and international awards including the Cannes International Advertising Festival.
“There’s an exciting opportunity in this new industry to create change and shift social perceptions. And I don’t want to watch from the sidelines, I want to be in the game,” says King. “I want to play a part in what Civilized has already started.”
King was Partner and Chief Creative Officer with Arrivals + Departures (formerly Extreme Group) in Halifax for the past 17 years. During that time his creative approach has significantly influenced marketing for Tourism Nova Scotia, Bell Aliant and various national beer brands for Moosehead Breweries. Yet, he’s still most proud of his work for the Nova Scotia Department of Health Promotion’s multi-award winning campaign, “Great Reasons to Smoke.” A former competitor on The Amazing Race Canada, he is currently the host of Turning a New Leaf, a podcast bringing King’s creativity and style to conversations dedicated to the upcoming legalization of adult-use recreational cannabis in Canada.
“Shawn is a top-shelf creative star and we couldn’t be more excited to add him to our growing roster of C-Suite talent,” says Derek Riedle, Publisher of Civilized. “He’s on the cutting edge of everything he does. Our senior leadership team will be tapping into his inspired thinking as we continue to showcase the Civilized brand to audiences across North America and around the world.”
King will work closely with Riedle and the leadership team to dream up and realize the creative expression of the Civilized brand and how it connects with B2C and B2B audiences worldwide. He will imprint on product and channel development, client campaigns and company culture.
King lives in Halifax and will be splitting his time between Civilized’s offices in Los Angeles, Saint John and other Canadian markets. He commenced his new role with Civilized on October 22.