It's hard to keep up with all the latest moves across media, marketing and advertising, so we've made a list. Check out the biggest moves in adland this week.
TikTok continues local expansion
TikTok has tapped former media and tech executives for its content division as it continues to grow its local team. Ex-YouTube and Google executive Felicity McVay joins as director of content partnerships for Australia and New Zealand. McVay will oversee the creator and community ecosystem across the regions. Also joining the video-sharing app is Simon Bates as director of content programming for the platform locally. Bates is the former head of MTV for APAC. He will now lead the programming, promotion and curation of TikTok content. Joining McVay’s team is Lucy Chesterton, who previously worked at Yahoo Australia and Pacific Magazines in senior editorial roles, as communities and education lead. Delia Deng, previously at YouTube, is also joining as creator growth and partnerships lead.
UnLtd tap former IPG boss
Danny Bass, a former CEO of IPG Mediabrands, has been appointed chairman for UnLtd, the industry’s social purpose organisation. Kerry McCabe, the founder and previous chairman of UnLtd, will continue to serve as a director and take on a more active role in other projects, including the launch of the organisation’s first B2C offering. Danny Bass says he's honoured to be offered the opportunity to continue the incredible work Kerry McCabe and UnLtd have achieved over the past 15 years.
Joe Hildebrand joins 2GB
Joe Hildebrand has announced he will be joining Nine’s 2GB radio after his exit from Ten morning show Studio 10. Hildebrand has started with an appearance on the Nights with John Stanley show, but is expected to announce more roles across the station in the future.
CHE Proximity boosts media team
CHE Proximity has appointed Mike Deane as chief media officer to lead its media practice and Tim Russell as head of strategy. The duo join the agency after launching communications consultancy Saintsmiths earlier in the year following their departure from Mediacom. They previously led strategy at Mediacom as former chief strategy officer and group director of digital strategy. Deane's immediate focus will be collaborating with other practice leaders at CHE Proximity across data, technology, experience, brand and influence to drive the agency's connected creativity product. He replaces Ben Shepherd who left the agency to join Thinkerbell.
Southern Cross ramps up on-demand investment
Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is ramping up its audio on-demand and podcasting growth strategy with two new senior hires. Sam Cavanagh, who has been with SCA for 16 years, steps into the role of head of entertainment and news content for digital audio, with a focus on developing the on-demand content slate for SCA and PodcastOne Australia across culture, comedy and news. Jennifer Goggin steps in as head of features and special interest content for digital audio. Goggin has been content director at PodcastOne Australia for the past two and a half years. In her new role she will focus on specialist audio on demand features, true and real crime, health and wellbeing, business and tech, branded content and emerging on demand and podcasting categories.
VCCP Sydney reveals new leadership
VCCP Sydney has announced a new leadership team with international managing director Suzie Roberts taking on the local MD role, following a permanent move from London. Roberts has worked across all of the agency’s offices in the 17 years she has been with the company including in London, Berlin, Madrid, and New York. In further appointments, Scott Huebscher joins as executive creative director and Will Frew has come on board as client services director.
Former Mediacom boss joins independent
Independent digital media agency Pivotus has appointed Lam Le as its dedicated account manager for the University of Tasmania’s digital advertising portfolio. Based in Hobart, Le will work closely with the university on its digital advertising strategy, buying and analysis, while also servicing Pivotus’s growing Tasmanian client base. Originally from Vietnam, Le has worked in senior advertising roles for almost two decades, including as managing director of MediaCom Vietnam. He was also client leadership director for Mindshare in Vietnam, before moving to Melbourne in 2016 to take on a media planning consultancy role with MediaCom Australia.
TBWA Sydney promotions
TBWA Sydney has promoted Tanya Vragalis to general manager, and Lisa Brown has been elevated to director of production and creative services across the TBWA Group. Vragalis joined TBWA in 2018 as head of business management and has led key client relationships including Amazon, Optus and CUB/Great Northern Brewing Co. Brown joined TBWA in 2015, as head of TV production, before taking responsibility for all production across TBWA Group Sydney. In 2018, Brown launched BOLT Content, an agile production unit that has now been launched in 12 other global markets across the TBWA Collective.
PHD talent moves to Kaimera
Stewart Gurney, former chief strategy officer at PHD Australia, has joined independent full-service media agency Kaimera. Gurney was with PHD for more than eight years and was instrumental in delivering the company’s consistent growth and new business wins, as well as developing its strategic and innovation product. Kaimera has also recently promoted Conor Riordan to client director and Jade Harley to brand, social and content director, while also currently hiring for two other roles within the business.
Gemba restructures into the Tenka Group
Sports and entertainment agency Gemba has been restructured into a new holding company, Tenka Group. CEO Rob Mills will move into a group CEO role in a business and management restructure that sees the introduction of a new holding company, two new directors and a new managing director for Gemba. Gemba employees Paula Marovitch and Clare Stewart-Hunter have been gifted equity in the business and will become directors of Gemba Australia. Head of finance, Marovitch, and head of client services, Stewart-Hunter, have been with the Gemba for more than 13 and seven years, respectively. At the same time, director and head of marketing Andrew Condon will be promoted to managing director of Gemba.
Former Big Red boss resurfaces at The Hallway
Full-service advertising agency The Hallway has appointed former Big Red partner and CEO Hugh Nairn as national managing director. Based at The Hallway’s Melbourne office, Nairn will be responsible for driving the agency's growth by leveraging the combined capabilities across brand, CX, advertising and media. During his long career in advertising Nairn has worked at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, been managing director of BWM Melbourne and CEO and partner at Big Red.
Pureprofile re-launches media business
ASX-listed martech Pureprofile is re-launching its media business as Pure.amplify, to be headed by Tasneem Ali. Pure.amplify will leverage its position as the only media company to be part of a global data and insights business. Ali joined Pureprofile in March 2020. She was most recently at global marketing technology platform FreakOut, where she was ANZ Lead - Video Supply and Demand.
VERSA appoints first futurist
Conversational agency VERSA has appointed Tomas Haffenden to the new senior role of futurist. Haffenden will support clients and partners to manage change and leverage emerging technologies, specifically, conversational artificial intelligence (AI). Haffenden is a strategist and industry thought leader with experience in technical, production, creative and strategy roles both agency and client-side. He joins VERSA with a background working in roles such as conversational consultant to On_Msg, creative digital producer at The Works and leading digital transformation as CX digital strategist for Business Australia.
Bastion China makes senior appointment
China marketing agency Bastion China has appointed Savannah Zhang to the role of account director, as it gears up for China’s major shopping holiday season. Zhang will be responsible for overseeing client strategy and results across the agency’s mix of retail, property, luxury consumer and travel clients. Based in Melbourne, she will be integral to the expansion of the agency as it helps Australian brands tap into the sizeable local Chinese audience, and offshore Chinese market. Born in China, Savannah has spent the past 12 years as an intercultural strategist and marketer working across education, government investment, hospitality and consumer brands in the United Kingdom, China, Hong Kong, Macau and Australia.
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