STEVEN TOWNSEND
Senior Creative Director and Head of AI Creative. Fifteen years of integrated campaign work for global brands. USC MFA Screenwriter. UC Berkeley Haas AI credential. Based in Los Angeles.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Senior Creative Director | Head of AI Creative - Aicandia
Feb 2021 to Present. Los Angeles.

Creative leader and agentic workflow specialist. AI can make a thousand versions. It can't pick the right one. Aicandia offers fractional creative leadership with experience at leading global agencies, running on proprietary agentic AI workflows. Involved start to finish from ideation, to execution and final delivery of integrated campaigns: branding, broadcast, experiential, social, and digital.

Selected work:
- Genesis GV80, "Pull In Imagination." Came up with the big idea and wrote the spot. Shifted the strategy to position the GV80's cargo space as room for ideas: room enough to adopt a dog, or start a shelter. Worked with creative leadership from concept through final.
- Workrise, "Something Better." Wrote the scripts and worked with the design, art, and copy teams on the broadcast spot, billboards, and wild postings.
- Workrise, "I Got It." Wrote the spot and helped guide it through post.

Clients include Amazon, DoorDash, Headspace, Waymo, Supercell, Activision, Motorola, and Genesis.

Creative Director - Sid Lee

Aug 2019 to Feb 2021. Los Angeles.

Owned the creative process from concept to production across social, digital, experiential, and broadcast. Clients included Dickies, The North Face, LA Rams, and FC Cincinnati.

Selected work:
- The North Face, "Made to Defy." Brand campaign built around the question: what if?
- Dickies, "Yours to Make." Brand platform celebrating the makers Dickies has dressed since 1922: mechanics, skaters, carpenters, artists, farmers.

Freelance Creative Director - Deutsch LA and Ace Content

Jun 2019 to Aug 2019. Los Angeles.

Wrote the Emmy-nominated series "Rewind Nature" for The North Face and National Geographic. Led design, art, and writing teams. Contributed to new business pitches that won multi-million-dollar accounts: Zillow Offers for Deutsch and Dickies for Sid Lee.

Group Creative Director - Ayzenberg

Jun 2018 to May 2019. Los Angeles.

GCD across Art and Copy. Built creative strategy and insights-driven ideas for global Microsoft campaigns: Surface, Windows, and Bing. Led large design, art, and copy teams across social and digital. Notable: Microsoft's nostalgic Ugly Christmas Sweaters trio.

Creative Director - TBWA\Chiat\Day LA

Nov 2015 to Jun 2018. Los Angeles.

CD across Art and Copy on multi-platform global campaigns. Won multi-million-dollar accounts through new business pitches. Contributed to global SWOT analyses for Apple, McDonald's, Adidas, Jameson, and Intuit. Clients included Nissan, Buffalo Wild Wings, Paramount Pictures, Universal, and Peak Games.

Selected work:
- Cannes Bronze Lion. Nissan, "Battle Test" VR Experience.
- Nissan Heisman House campaign featuring Bo Jackson, Baker Mayfield, helicopters, ninjas, and Sumo wrestlers. Earned media that became a fan favorite among NCAA football audiences.

Associate Creative Director, Writer - Saatchi & Saatchi LA

Aug 2014 to Oct 2015. Los Angeles.

Led junior teams on fully integrated campaigns: broadcast, social, OOH, and experiential. Wrote three Super Bowl spots, launched new vehicle models, and produced brand films.

Selected work:
- Toyota Prius, "The Longest Chase." Super Bowl 50 spot. Cannes Shortlist. Admeter Top 10.
- Toyota Tacoma, "Play Now." Repositioned the category leader as the ultimate play truck. Tacoma sales tripled the year of the campaign.
- Toyota Camry, "How Great I Am." Super Bowl spot built around the words of Muhammad Ali.

Freelance Associate Creative Director INNOCEAN USA

Jul 2014 to Aug 2014. Huntington Beach.

Concepting for Hyundai across print, OOH, digital, and experiential.

Freelance Senior Copywriter - 72andSunny

Jan 2014 to Jun 2014. Los Angeles.

Brought in as a writer on Activision's Destiny launch, one of the biggest in the company's history. Pitched scripts for the launch film, stunts, and viral videos. Also wrote brand films for Sonos and Google.

Co-Executive Producer - Go Go Luckey Entertainment

May 2013 to Feb 2014. Los Angeles.

Writer and Co-EP on "Loredana, Esq." (Sundance Channel) and "Raising McCain" (Pivot Network). Broke show formats, wrote episodes, and managed the story department and editorial staff through post.

Co-Executive Producer - NBCUniversal, Bravo Network, Lionsgate, E! Networks

Sep 2009 to Apr 2013. Los Angeles.

Developed and sold TV series. Created and co-executive produced "Gallery Girls," an original docu-series on Bravo distributed internationally by E!. Cast twelve women across eight art galleries, produced the sizzle and treatment, pitched to networks, and ran an eight-episode order through delivery.

Creative Manager, YouTube - Google

Apr 2011 to Aug 2011. Los Angeles.

Partnerships team. Repositioned YouTube as a leanback experience by helping creators develop series, brand their channels, and raise production values.

Writer / Story Producer - Pie Town Productions

Jun 2008 to Sep 2009. Los Angeles.

Writer and story producer on HGTV's "House Hunters" and "House Hunters International."

EDUCATION

MFA, Screenwriting. University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts.
BA, English Literature. Brigham Young University.
Professional Credential, AI: Business Strategies. UC Berkeley Haas School of Business, 2022.

LANGUAGES

English (native), Spanish (fluent).

SELECTED RECOGNITION

Emmy nomination, "Rewind Nature." The North Face x National Geographic, Sid Lee.
Cannes Bronze Lion. Nissan "Battle Test" VR Experience, TBWA\Chiat\Day.
Cannes Shortlist and Admeter Top 10. Toyota Prius "The Longest Chase," Saatchi & Saatchi.
Shorty Awards finalist, Vertical Video. Genesis "Road to NYFW," INNOCEAN.
Featured Speaker, Onward Search AI Portfolio Show. Spoke on AI creative direction and agentic workflows.

CONTACT

steventown@gmail.com
townsendsteven.com
linkedin.com/in/steventown