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Ioannis Diakonikolas

@ioannisdiakonikolas

Creative at AKQA who co-developed campaigns for Visa, Volvo and Bvlgari across digital, retail and experiential.

At AKQA, I co-developed campaign ideas for global brands including Visa, Volvo and Bvlgari, shaping narratives, copy and visual direction. On Lotus, I stepped up as sole creative lead and delivered the client-facing toolkit.

I’ve worked across campaign development, copywriting and art direction, from social concepts and brand messaging to mood boards and creative briefs. I also used generative AI to create concept visuals and motion ideas, and built an internal guide to prompting.

Before AKQA, I led visual merchandising for the UK flagship at Scotch & Soda, with creative autonomy over local visual execution and brand adaptation. I delivered a 40% sales uplift in UK pop-up stores at John Lewis and led and mentored a team of 10.

My work also includes the Visa Click to Pay campaign, Volvo EX90 launch, Bvlgari social messaging and the Loewe × On Running Selfridges pop-up. I bring experience across luxury and lifestyle, retail and experiential, with a focus on how brand ideas connect across digital and physical touchpoints.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Creative

AKQA

May 2023 - Jun 2026 (3 years 1 month)

Co-developed campaign ideas for global brands including Visa, Volvo, and Bvlgari, and served as internal go-to creative lead on retail and experiential projects. Led creative on Lotus and contributed to winning pitches for Coca-Cola, Sky Glass, and Adidas.

Copywriting Art Direction Creative Strategy AI Image Generation Adobe Creative Cloud Figma Midjourney Nano Banana Veo3 Capcut Presentation Skills New Business

Associate Creative

AKQA

May 2022 - May 2023 (1 year)

Developed campaign ideas and content across digital and retail briefs, working on copy, brand messaging, and creative ideation. Contributed to experiential concepts and social media creative strategy.

Copywriting Brand Messaging Creative Ideation Experiential Content Proposals Social Media Strategy Trendspotting

Senior Visual Merchandising Ambassador

Scotch & Soda

Feb 2018 - Apr 2022 (4 years 2 months)

Led visual merchandising for the UK flagship store, consistently ranked second-best-performing store. Delivered +40% sales uplift in UK pop-up stores at John Lewis and mentored a team of 10.

Visual Merchandising Brand voice adaptation Team Leadership Cross Functional Collaboration Retail Strategy

Visual Merchandising Ambassador

Scotch & Soda

Jan 2016 - Jan 2018 (2 years)

Implemented visual merchandising strategies to enhance brand presentation and drive sales in the London store.

Visual Merchandising Brand Presentation Retail Operations

Content Manager & Digital Creative

The WeekID

Mar 2013 - May 2016 (3 years 2 months)

Managed content and digital creative projects, developing engaging content across platforms.

Content Management Digital Creative Content Creation

In-store Visual Merchandiser & Supervisor

Levi Strauss & Co.

Jun 2012 - Dec 2015 (3 years 6 months)

Managed in-store visual merchandising and supervised store operations, ensuring brand standards and customer experience.

Visual Merchandising Supervision Retail Operations

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

University of West London

Master of Arts, Advertising, Branding & Communication

2020 - 2022

Grade: Distinction (89/100)

Completed an MA in Advertising, Branding & Communication with Distinction (89/100). Thesis involved building a complete brand from research to launch-ready identity for a conscious-consumption rival to Depop, targeting Gen Z.