Former Starcom General Manager Naomi Johnston has joined Melbourne animation house Jumbla to drive the studio’s expansion among top-tier advertising clients.

Johnston was tapped to build Jumbla’s public relations and acquisition strategy as Group General Manager, responsible for the studio’s Australia and United Kingdom offices.

The 20-year industry veteran assumes the newly-created role after a six-month hiatus following her tenure as Starcom General Manager.

“Jumbla was a fascinating prospect for me,” Johnston said. “On the one hand they’ve been producing world-class work for a long time, but on the other, there’s little brand recognition among agencies.

“Our goal during the next 12-to-24 months is to raise Jumbla’s profile to the point that we’re front-of-mind when it comes to producing marquee advertising content around the world.

“The work speaks for itself – our challenge is to ensure it’s not going unnoticed.”

Jumbla Managing Director Andrew Dehnert said Johnston was a key plank in the studio’s aggressive global expansion plans.

“We’ve experienced rapid growth since opening in 2011 and reached the stage where we needed to look outside the tent for someone with extensive industry experience and contacts,” he said.

“With her background, Naomi was a perfect fit for the role and we’re confident she’ll be the catalyst to propel Jumbla into the next phase of its evolution.”

Jumbla is Australia’s largest short form animation studio, providing 2D/3D animation and motion graphics videos for corporate and government clients, creative agencies and gaming studios globally.

The studio’s portfolio includes projects for Ogilvy, TBWA, Clemenger, Fernwood, Suzuki, KFC, and Riot Games.

Jumbla is staffed by more than 30 in-house designers across Melbourne and London, providing an unparalleled depth of stylistic and creative talent for cross-industry content development.