Ian serves as the Executive Director of Strategy and Insights for VMLY&R’s many clients across North America. He leads a team of fearless planners, researchers and strategists that infuse cultural trends, audience mindset and brand authenticity into every brief, approach and presentation. He brings 17 years of experience with work that includes Gatorade, BEEF, Sherwin-Williams and United Rentals, among others. He believes that brands exist to solve human problems versus simply selling products or services. That we must give people credit for the lives they live. That our goal should never be to understand our audience, but to like them. While his work has been recognized with Cannes Lions, Effies and Clios, he’s not in it for awards. He’s in it for the grit. The process. The love of finding a human story and making something beautiful out of it.
Prior to joining VMLY&R in 2013, Davidson founded the insights and planning practice at C3, a Kansas City-based agency that specializes in the youth and family consumer segment. He's a graduate of Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Advertising.