Mi9 Media boss Matt James has switched to Nine's creative solutions unit. The former Publicis man will become group director of Powered, with Emma-Jayne Owens assuming responsibility for digital across Mi9.
Nine sales and marketing director Peter Wiltshire said the move meant better alignment between digital and broadcast that came at a "very important juncture" following the acquisition of Mi9 ahead of Nine's float.
The Powered division has also launched a new production unit. That means the company can work with clients to create more strategic advertising from start to finish. But Wiltshire stressed that the creative solutions unit was not about taking business from agencies.
"Most media agencies are becoming better at collaborating with clients. So the relationship is three-way and that is beneficial to clients and the marketplace," he said.
All of the networks are talking up the capabilities of their creative units and Wiltshire said those operations would continue to drive growth. "We have significant resource behind it and there is gravitation [from industry] towards [creative and strategic solutions]. All media companies realise that we have to move away from a transactional relationship into a partner relationship and all are building that resource."
Wiltshire said James would lead a Powered team of "over 30" full-time staff that were not duplicated. Nine said the sales leadership group will become even further aligned with the change as Owens works more closely with team.
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