Marketing will keep you updated with all of the movements within the industry in August 2024. This article will continually update throughout the month.

Appointments

TAG appoints Ben Desailly as martech and data advisor

2 August: Challenger marketing agency TAG has announced the appointment of Ben Desailly as martech and data advisor. In his role, Ben will support TAG’s mission to deliver future-facing products and platforms that seamlessly integrate and adapt to meet the needs of customers. 

Prior to joining TAG, Ben worked in leadership roles at The Lumery and Loud & Clear (now Avanade) and founded Bend Consulting. In these roles, Ben partnered with more than 30 household Australian brands, including Wesfarmers, Carsales and Myer, working across most verticals.

HAVAS appoints Richard Clarke as chief growth and client officer

5 August: Leading advertising and media communications agency group, HAVAS, has named Richard Clarke as its newly minted chief growth and client officer in Australia. Clarke has relocated from HAVAS UK where he spent over four years at PR firm HAVAS Red, most recently as managing director for HAVAS Red London and was responsible for running the London office and focusing on growth targets that saw the agency triple in size. Prior to this, he was a senior partner at Ogilvy UK.

HAVAS Creative Network ANZ group CEO and HAVAS PR Network global chair James Wright said: “Having him in this newly created position in Australia will ensure we are even better set up to service cross-agency clients and grow.”

HAVAS Media Network appoints Mitchell Long as chief strategy officer

8 August: Havas Media Network has appointed Mitchell Long as chief strategy officer. Long joins the Havas Media leadership team from PHD where he worked for 12 years, most recently as national head of strategy. Lauded by previous bosses, colleagues and industry heavyweights, Long has been described as “one of the best strategists in Australia right now”.

HAVAS Media Network CEO Virginia Hyland said: “Mitch is a rare talent within our industry with a sharp focused mind that can unpack and develop business solutions for clients with compelling results.”

Untitled Group announces a series of strategic appointments and promotions

9 August: Untitled Group, Australia’s largest independent promoter of festivals and events, has announced a series of strategic promotions within its ranks following a bumper 2023/24 summer season. The changes span its marketing, PR and communications, brand partnerships, festival and event operations, ticketing and touring and talent departments.

Co-founder and managing partner Christian Serrao will now lead a new commercial growth department. This division encompasses a new-look partnerships team, led by former Red Bull executive Dwayne Thompson and including Samantha Fifer who has joined the business as partnerships manager. The ticketing team will also sit within the commercial growth department, with Courtney Tahar elevating to head of ticketing.

Changes to the PR and comms function are headlined by the promotion of Laura Hughes, who has been elevated to director of communications, where she also joins the senior leadership team. Additionally, Jim Hennessy has been promoted to head of marketing.

Magic Agency announces a new leadership team

12 August: Independent media agency Magic has announced a significant investment in its leadership team following strong organic growth, with experienced appointments to strengthen its core disciplines as it embarks on its next phase of growth.

The leadership team includes Shahram Ghaffurian promoted to CEO, new appointments Bernie Cullen as head of media, Sarah Baskerville as head of growth, and the promotion of Sam Terminelli to head of strategy.

YouGov appoints Marc Ryan as chief product officer

12 August: YouGov has appointed Marc Ryan as its chief product officer to lead YouGov’s industry-leading suite of audience intelligence, brand tracking and behavioural products. 

In his new role, Ryan will set YouGov’s long-term product vision across its entire product ecosystem, including cross-product convergence.

YouGov CEO Steve Hatch said: “I’m thrilled to have someone of Marc’s deep experience in data, research, product, AI and leadership join as YouGov’s CPO. He has a proven track record of customer-centric innovation that delivers data products exceeding users’ needs and expectations.”

News Corp announces a series of strategic appointments and promotions

13 August: News Corp Australia today unveiled its newly established client partnerships leadership team to deliver integrated, end-to-end campaign solutions across the entire News network.

Cameron Curtis joins in the newly created role of general manager of performance, planning and strategy. He will develop, implement and prioritise strategic sales initiatives across the national group. Additionally, Ian Paterson will join as general manager of advertising sales NSW. He will lead the NSW strategy and drive business results for clients while ensuring News’ continued success and industry leadership.

Newsamp executive general manager Renee Sycamore moves into the newly created role of general manager of client growth and experience. She will develop and implement strategies that optimise the client journey, cultivating loyalty and fuelling business growth. 

Head of agency VIC Natalie Grabbe has been promoted to general manager of advertising sales VIC. Executive general manager of client growth Belinda MacPherson takes on the newly created role of general manager of SMB growth and marketplace. General manager of commercial operations Nathalie Delpierre takes on the newly created general manager of client delivery, ad tech and programmatic role. Lastly, strategic programs and transformation director Victoria Obee has been promoted to general manager of client enablement and operations. 

Innocean Australia appoints Nick Cole and Pat Allenby as creative directors

13 August: Nick Cole and Pat Allenby have joined the Innocean agency as creative directors to lead the Kia business. Cole and Allenby both have more than 10 years of industry experience. They were previously at DDB Australia where they were creative leads on sports sponsorship for McDonald’s. Prior to that, the coveted pair enjoyed stints at The Royals and Special Group, where they created the highly awarded Uber Eats Australian Open ‘ambush’ campaign.

Innocean Australia executive creative director Wesley Hawes said: “After an extensive search I’m so excited to welcome Nick and Pat to Innocean Australia. We’ve promised them the chance to grow, a plethora of creative opportunities, and the chance to lead one of the most iconic brands in Australia. We’re all expecting big things, but I know Nick and Pat will more than live up to the hype and continue where the Kia ‘Tasman’ Ute campaign left off.”

FreeWheel appoints Tess O’Brien as managing director for ANZ

15 August: As part of her new role, O’Brien will work to connect FreeWheel, the global technology platform for the television advertising industry, with both buyers and sellers in Australia via FreeWheel’s streaming advertising technology.

O’Brien will be located in her hometown of Sydney after spending eight years in FreeWheel’s head office in New York, in both product and commercial leadership roles. Most recently she led FreeWheel’s buy-side business in North America and was instrumental in the launch of a number of product innovations including FreeWheel’s programmatic marketplace, identity and measurement solutions and linear addressable capabilities.

SafetyCulture appoints Aisling Finch as vice president, marketing

21 August: Finch joins after a short career break, following 13 years at Google where she was most recently senior director of marketing, Australia and New Zealand. Finch will oversee a team of 30 across brand, communications and acquisition, focused on increasing global brand awareness and customer growth.

SafetyCulture chief marketing officer Hamish Grant said: “As SafetyCulture continues to grow at record speed and our bar for success only gets higher, it’s crucial that we bring the best calibre of talent into the organisation. There’s no one more qualified than Aisling to drive our marketing forward as we capitalise on the opportunities ahead of us.”

Genero appoints Jess Lake as senior client director, ANZ

21 August: Genero, a global leader in creative and production solutions, is pleased to announce Jess Lake has joined as senior client director, ANZ.

With this addition, Genero continues to focus on helping marketers transform their creative capabilities. By bringing in Lake, Genero strengthens its commitment to evolving creative processes and supporting clients in staying ahead in a rapidly changing market.

New Business

MADE THIS launches AI Artist Collective in Australia and New Zealand

6 August: Revolutionising advertising by merging technology and art, the MADE THIS AI Artist Collective has launched in Australia and New Zealand. The collective features top AI artists from around the globe, curated by MADE THIS – just as production companies roster film directors.

MADE THIS head of creative technology Marie-Celine Merret said: “Bringing together a global community of artists to this market is a dream come true. We’re ensuring a responsible approach by developing principles and values that address artist ownership and attribution, regardless of AI’s role. We believe technology should elevate and support human work, not replace it.”

HAVAS Red launches INDUSTRY

8 August: HAVAS Red, the micro network of borderless merged media agencies, has announced the global launch of INDUSTRY, an end-to-end strategic communications service. INDUSTRY will empower B2B brands to confidently navigate the evolving external pressures, enhanced scrutiny, changing media consumption habits and elevated expectations transforming communications today.

HAVAS Creative Network ANZ group CEO and HAVAS PR Network global chair James Wright said: “Now is a critical time for B2B leaders to build and maintain a positive reputation, and that really does take a village. There are ever-increasing expectations that B2B companies speak to how their companies are staying aligned to ideals around purpose, and that’s being magnified by the 24-7, multichannel news environment.”

Rocket Agency launches creative division

14 August: Rocket Agency has launched a new creative arm within the agency in response to the increasing demand for combined creative and media services for Australian businesses. Samantha Dodson, who has previous experience at Ogilvy and DDB, has been named creative director and will lead the new division, bringing a wealth of experience in both B2B and B2C marketing. 

This new division was launched after demand from existing clients and research into future needs. The agency found that marketers want a complete marketing solution that avoids the frustration of working with multiple agencies.

Archetype partners with BillWill

20 August: Strategic communications agency Archetype is partnering with Australian startup BillWill, the world’s first Open Banking solution for pre-death bill planning.

The partnership between the two is a reunion of sorts for BillWill founder Colin Jowell and Archetype principal consultant Jillian Nalty, who worked together over a decade ago at the same ad agency. “When I found out that Jowell was launching BillWill, I knew I had to reach out. Not every tech start-up has the potential for connecting with audiences on a human level, [however,] BillWill does,” Nalty said.

Dan Beaumont launches GAME creative advisory

23 August: A new player has launched in the marketing and communications landscape led by former director and partner at The Royals, Dan Beaumont. GAME is positioned as an independent creative advisory that specialises in transforming and building brands.

GAME will co-create with exceptional independent talent who have opted out of traditional agency constraints to provide a full suite of services that builds brand strength. These high-performance teams will work closely with clients on their assignments to design, create and build brands properly so they can engage their audiences in a more impactful way.

QMS partners with Bupa for 2024 Paralympics 

29 August: Leading digital outdoor media company QMS has announced health and care company Bupa is the latest partner to join its ‘Paris 2024 Digital Screen Network’ for the 2024 Paralympic Games.

Bupa will use the QMS network to showcase its Healthcaring Beyond the Games campaign across the company’s best digital large format, City of Sydney, Gold Coast street furniture and The Convenience Network assets. Bupa director of brand Penny Ryan said: “Bupa’s Paralympic partnership is just one element of our goal to make healthcare more inclusive and accessible for every Australian.”

Marketing Movements

Have news to share?

Send us the details at [email protected]

Want to stay updated?

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, here.