Key Leaders Elevated to CEO Roles at McCann Worldgroup and IPG Mediabrands

July 21, 2022
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IPG, Mediabrands

Daryl Lee to Lead McCann Worldgroup and Eileen Kiernan to Lead IPG Mediabrands

Bill Kolb Moves to Chairman Role at McCann Worldgroup

Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG) announced today senior leadership changes that will see a number of outstanding, tenured executives assume significant new responsibilities within the holding company.

At McCann Worldgroup, Daryl Lee, previously the Global CEO of IPG Mediabrands, has been named Global CEO. Eileen Kiernan has been named Global CEO of IPG Mediabrands, succeeding Lee in that role. Bill Kolb, the current CEO of McCann Worldgroup, will remain Chairman of the division. While these changes take effect immediately, the three executives will continue working with their existing teams and clients over the next month to ensure that all necessary transitional actions related to their new roles are complete by September 6, 2022.

IPG CEO Philippe Krakowsky noted Daryl Lee’s long record of leadership success, across both the media and creative agency landscape, as catalysts for his being named to helm the company’s flagship creatively focused global network. Krakowsky also noted the depth and breadth of Eileen Kiernan’s experience and exceptional results helping brands achieve long-term transformation goals as key drivers for her being elevated to lead IPG’s media assets. The new role will see her become one of the senior-most female executives in the advertising sector.

On Daryl Lee:
“Daryl is an exceptional thinker, business-builder and leader, who is as passionate about helping our clients achieve success in the marketplace as he is about building organizations where our people can thrive. During his time leading both Mediabrands and UM, he has proven that he can build capabilities and inspire agency cultures that are fully focused on our clients, deliver growth and innovation, as well as invite diverse perspectives into the conversation. In a previous stretch at McCann Worldgroup, Daryl served as Global Chief Strategy Officer and Global Chief Integration Officer, working directly with many of the network’s current clients and much of the global leadership team, so he is familiar with the agency and the ways in which it is evolving its offerings to combine creative ideas with emerging communications channels. This combination of skills and experience, leading a strong team already in place across Worldgroup, means that Daryl is well-positioned to advance the success of the network and drive it to further achieve its ambition of being the global leader of creativity that drives growth for our client partners,” commented Krakowsky.

On Eileen Kiernan:
Additionally, Krakowsky indicated that “Eileen is deeply strategic and equally pragmatic, delivering outstanding work while inspiring the broader organization. She is a great collaborator, never losing sight of client needs, and how we can most effectively continue to evolve our offerings. Her depth of experience working across the media landscape makes Eileen the ideal executive to lead IPG Mediabrands as it continues to set standard for innovating in ways that help clients’ businesses win in today’s digital economy. As we continue to seek to drive more integration across media, data and technology, and as we combine those offerings with the work that’s being done across the IPG portfolio, I am confident that Eileen can play an integral leadership role on that important journey.”

On Bill Kolb:
“Bill has been a colleague for over 20 years and has a deep understanding of the marketing services landscape. As Chairman of Worldgroup, Bill will support Daryl and the senior leadership team, engage in important areas such as ESG and continue to partner with certain clients. He will also work with me on IPG initiatives, where we can draw on his operational experience and knowledge of evolving areas of the business, such as production and marketing technology platform offerings,” said Krakowsky.

Daryl Lee experience:
Since 2019, Lee has served as Global CEO of IPG Mediabrands, a client-first, consultative community of 13,000 media and marketing solutions specialists in 130+ countries. During his tenure, Mediabrands has been known for its winning culture and integration of data and technology to power audience-led marketing that delivers business results. Lee has also been a champion of inclusion in media investment, notably through the industry’s first “Equity Upfronts,” which Mediabrands introduced in 2020. For the previous six and a half years, Lee was Global CEO of UM, a global media and advertising agency within the IPG Mediabrands family. In 2016, Adweek named Lee “Executive of the Year,” citing his record at UM in winning major global new business and fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion. He is a long-term member of the Board of Directors of the Effie Awards, having previously served as its Chairman, and most recently served as President of the Media Jury at the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Lee initially joined Interpublic as Global President and Head of Global Strategy at UM, before moving to McCann, where he served in two key global roles before returning to UM. Hailing from South Africa, Lee earned a Doctor of Philosophy at Oxford University (which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar) and began his business career as a consultant at McKinsey & Company.

“I’m excited to combine McCann Worldgroup’s exceptional strategic and creative strength with the ways in which we’ve harnessed data and technology in the media world to accelerate growth for our clients. A hybrid mindset that understands both content and distribution is something that many clients have been demanding and it’s what is required for growth in the 21st century. I am thankful for the opportunity to help make that a reality in the marketplace. All the agencies within McCann Worldgroup are world-class and together we have the power to unlock unstoppable momentum for brands. It’s an honor to come home to McCann in this role, and I’m very much looking forward to working with Bill and the entire McCann Worldgroup family again,” commented Lee.

Eileen Kiernan experience:
For the past nine and a half years, Kiernan served in a succession of increasingly senior global leadership positions at UM, rising from CMO of the agency to Global President to CEO. She was a key driver of the development of a dedicated agency model that for nearly a decade has incorporated data-led decision-making to media planning and buying for Johnson & Johnson, was a key member of Lee’s team that differentiated UM through its “Better Science, Better Art, Better Outcomes” positioning, and most recently launched the agency’s “Future Proof” business model, which incorporates close collaboration with other Mediabrands units and Interpublic’s Acxiom and Kinesso offerings to uncover new sources of growth for clients. Last year, Campaign named UM its “Global Agency of the Year” and recognized Kiernan as a finalist in the “Agency Leader” category. Prior to UM, Kiernan held leadership roles at media agencies, as well as on the client and media-owner sides of the business.

“I am so pleased to take the helm at Mediabrands at a time when we are experiencing tremendous momentum as a network and great change as an industry,” said Kiernan. “Like Daryl, I am a true believer in Media for Good – media that is responsible, equitable and ethical – and I look forward to doubling down on our commitment to make media a positive societal force through relentless innovation and new industry standards. Our people and connectivity as a community are what drives us all forward, and I will continue to champion global initiatives that improve our internal processes, inspire our people and reflect our values.”

For an initial period, Kiernan will remain in her UM role, in addition to her new IPG Mediabrands responsibilities. A new CEO for the UM network will be named later this year, though a timetable for that appointment has yet to be finalized.

Bill Kolb experience:
Prior to his role as CEO for McCann Worldgroup, Kolb served as COO of the network, where he was responsible for overseeing business operations across all agencies and markets. Kolb’s long and successful history within McCann Worldgroup spans over two decades, inclusive of client leadership roles, as well as operating leadership at MRM and Momentum.

“I’m proud of all that we’ve been able to accomplish here at Worldgroup over the last two decades. Being part of the leadership teams at Momentum, MRM and here at Worldgroup, I’ve seen firsthand the magic and business results we can create for our clients when we help their brands play a meaningful role in people’s lives. I look forward to working with Daryl as he carries our work forward, and with Philippe on broader group initiatives,” said Kolb.

Read the press release here.

How Mediabrands Is Recruiting DE&I Talent Through Social Media

July 13, 2022
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‘We See You’ social media push aims to attract talent from non-traditional and underrepresented backgrounds

Mediabrands is launching a talent recruitment campaign for a new client: Mediabrands.

The Interpublic Group of Cos. network is taking a consumer marketing-style approach, using social media and digital video, in an effort to lure talent from non-advertising fields and “historically excluded groups,” according to the agency.  The effort, titled “We See You at Mediabrands,” begins running this week on TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Google with a series of 2-minute and 15-second videos that showcase the personal and professional stories of Mediabrands’ employees at UM and its other brands. Alongside these personal videos, the campaign features graphics-driven videos that highlight the media careers available within the company.

The ad push is notable in an industry that puts most of its focus on promoting clients rather than itself. But Hermon Ghermay, Mediabrands’ global chief culture officer, said that when the company was looking to recruit prospective employees without a traditional creative background, they decided to treat the process as if they were working for a client. “We are uniquely positioned to use the same strategies, tools and resources that we use to build our clients’ businesses to help address the challenge of attracting new people, and especially those from historically excluded groups, in a tight talent market,” Ghermay said.

Creating a safe space

The resulting videos stand out from dry recruitment ads with a series of personal interviews of Mediabrands’ employees whose career trajectories began outside media companies. In the two-minute-long video of Jim DeBarros, for example, the Mediabrands Content Studio’s executive VP and group creative director described his creative career, which began in the entertainment industry. He recalled initially joining Mediabrands’ UM because he needed more personal time following his mother’s diagnosis of dementia and said he felt supported by his current employer. He added that following the murder of George Floyd, Mediabrands’ Black leadership quickly “used it as an opportunity to reach out to all of the Black individuals, working to create a safe space.”

“We were privileged to interview so many people for this campaign,” said DeBarros, who also serves as the creative director on the effort. “People of a certain age coming back to work for the first time in a couple of years who were not sure if they have the necessary skills and if their experiences would have value, and were pleasantly surprised that their experiences did have value; People who, for the lack of a better term, were bullied in their workplace elsewhere because they were LGBTQ and were made to feel unwelcomed, and discovered that [at Mediabrands], they could be their whole self. Every story was illuminating in different ways about the culture of inclusivity, about [the employees] not just wanting to be here, but thriving here.”

DeBarros said there is a practical reason for the campaign. “A lot of People [of Color] simply don’t know [about the creative industry],” he said, “I didn’t know before I started there. I knew about advertising, but I didn’t know about the other sides of the business. It’s just a matter of exposure.”

Social media was a logical choice, said Ghermay, for “meeting people where they are”—for the “We See You” campaign. “There’s a very intentional choice of picking a video-form platform,” she said, “and then be part of conversations. The way we think about work and career has blurred so much that, [for topics like] who we are, how we interact, it’s not compartmentalized anymore … We intentionally wanted to talk to and try to reach people who have all of the amazing raw skills needed to be successful in this industry, but may not have the practical experience or the knowledge … Instead of expecting them to find out about us, we’re trying to go to them.”

Support network

After acquiring talent from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, Mediabrands will implement mentorship programs to keep them. “[We want to] make sure there’s a support network, there’s education, formal and informal on the job, and there’s a sense of safety and belonging,” she said, to give people “access and visibility to navigate this industry.”

Ghermay said that the “We See You” strategy was to show respective candidates that Mediabrands is  focused on “both representation and inclusion,” and live up to it.  “Do we have the right culture that’s actually going to allow them to be successful? That’s an important part of the equation, and that’s the hard work. We got to look inside at individual leaders and organizations, and question our assumptions, norms, behaviors.

The Mediabrands campaign comes as agencies struggle to hire fresh talent that will allow for more diversity of thought.

“Across the board, recruiting is difficult in this day and age,” said Debra Sercy, managing partner at Grace Blue, who applauded the idea of using consumer marketing techniques to reach people without a traditional creative background. A campaign of this kind deserves a “huge ‘thank you’,” she said, “because the investment in this campaign will benefit the entire industry.”

Read the full article in AdAge.

A view from Daryl Lee: Media is Getting Creative as an Awards-worthy Force for Good in Troubled Times

May 3, 2022
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The president of Cannes Lions media jury says the sector has been making a greater social impact since the Ukraine war.

As we start the countdown to the first in-person Cannes Lions festival for three years, we face a time like no other – with a global pandemic persisting, a brutal invasion of a nation under way and many trusted media platforms once again becoming highly contested arenas between truth and lies.

There is seemingly very little space for the niceties of creativity when media is a battle zone for survival.

It is in this fraught context that my colleagues and I will be gathering to award this year’s Cannes Media Lions.

Typically, we look for work that is exceptional, that transcends the bounds of what media conventionally does in terms of reach and scale, and celebrate, instead, the most creative examples of game-changing channel strategies in action that create a deep connection with people and deliver real business results for brands.

This year, we will do the same, of course, as we seek to recognisze the most creative media work in the world. But we will also be paying new attention to the ways in which media is being hacked to unleash its potential as a force for good in the world.

We are seeing a flourishing of a brave new world of media creativity from the crucible of the battles around truth and lies that should alert us to new opportunities for the future.

What is changing, out of necessity, as we watch media narratives and social media memes get twisted with vaccine misinformation, conspiracy theories and Russian propaganda, is our passive pose towards the most powerful media sources in our world. We are no longer prepared to sit idly by and be the good students of social media any more.

We have spent the past years understanding the nuances and rhythms of every new social media platform as it emerged, learning to understand the uniqueness of each and finding ways to test the special properties that make audiences trust brands on those platforms as welcome.

We have played with the reality reframing lenses of Snap, the aesthetic perfection of Instagram, the quick retort of Twitter and the addictive musical sampling of TikTok. Our creativity in media has meant learning the codes of each environment and finding ways to express them authentically and imaginatively.

We have seen the power of these platforms exemplified by those people and brands who followed the rules and gave purest expression to the deepest intent of each new media property.

The viral sensation of 420doggface208 on TikTok sipping Ocean Spray cranberry juice while skateboarding to Fleetwood Mac, the Snapchat Vogue Noir filter that makes everyone a cover model or an ironic version of one and, of course, the epic Oreo Super Bowl blackout tweet “You can still dunk In the dark” in 2013 that showed the power of Twitter to cut through chaos and get everyone’s attention.

A shift in media creativity

However, something has shifted recently in media creativity, and it is something we should all celebrate.

Along with the amazing courage and resilience shown by the Ukrainian people in the face of a brutal military attack, we have also witnessed the flowering of tremendous creativity in the use of media to speak truth to power.

These extraordinary times have yielded a new frontier of media creativity where the urgent aspiration is to twist and mold the platform to serve the moral purpose of the creator. Otherwise known as the media hack.

The most recent ones are already globally famous:

  • In a brilliant subversion of Tinder, pictures of the atrocities of the war in Ukraine were sent to young adults in Russia. When they swipe right, instead of a fresh-faced potential date, they see someone who has changed their location to Russia and replaced their profile picture with a real, uncensored picture from the conflict. This media hack, from Slovakian agency JANDL, tapped into the deep hunger to speak to young Russians and have an honest conversation with them. And the best way to do this was on Tinder, where all pretence is dropped. Apparently, the conversations that were started, while not all cordial, were all conversations that had not happened before, and are centred on depictions of the truth about the war.
  • Reporters Without Borders and DDB Germany ingeniously hacked Twitter to create The Truth Wins project, using publicly available numbers from national lotteries. On Twitter, people drop winning lottery numbers (that are continually updated) into the search bar to unlock uncensored news in Russia, Turkey and Brazil, including news about the Russian invasion. If Twitter is blocked, then news journalists email links to the block-chain domain news sites that are unlocked by the winning lottery numbers.
  • There has been brave hacking of Russian-owned media directly: these include the Russian news producer who photo-bombed a live news programme on Russian state TV’s Channel One with a placard that said, simply, “No war”, the numerous hacks of Telegram with fact-checks against the Russian state propaganda that is circulating on it and the specific use of Telegram to showcase to Russian parents that their captured Russian soldiers are still alive.
  • Lastly, while not technically media, there has been the maverick use of Airbnb as a mechanism to send funds to Ukrainians by booking accommodation in Ukrainian cities from people around the world who don’t intend to stay but rather to support Ukraine, is so creative and inventive that it might well turn Airbnb into a medium for messaging and support in all war-torn places in the future.

These are all intensely creative, viral in all the right ways, signs of the times. The creative use of media for immense social good, which is a refreshing change.

Until now, we seemed to be living in a rather depressing era when media seemed to have become weaponised, driven by the terrifying power of social media to make lies, misinformation and disinformation swirl with ease, masquerade as truth in a “news feed” and where at least one social media algorithm has been shown to prioritise rage-inducing stories for viral sharing above all others.

But instead of feeling helpless, what the most creative media thinkers in our business are doing is striking back. Making “neutral” platforms find space for the truth and making us all feel empowered to bend technology to our human needs, rather than be lab rats in a vast social experiment created by computer science nerds.

Media hacks are happening everywhere. And they are only going to get bigger and more creative. They are the hope for a better future for all of us, where media is a force for good and a source of creativity in the world. Humans are fighting back in media. Let’s all pay attention and celebrate. I know we will be when we meet in June as the 2022 Cannes Media Lions jury.

Daryl Lee is chief executive of IPG Mediabrands and president of the media jury at Cannes Lions 2022

Read the full article in Campaign.

IPG Mediabrands Appoints Dimitri Maex Global CEO of Initiative, and Jarrod Martin Global CEO of Reprise Digital

April 28, 2022
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Maex and Martin both bring deep performance and analytics expertise as Mediabrands positions all units to better help clients drive marketing transformation through data

IPG Mediabrands named performance marketing expert Dimitri Maex as Global CEO of Initiative, its full-service global brand, and appointed Jarrod Martin, an experienced data and analytics leader, as Global CEO of Reprise Digital, the Mediabrands digital marketing and e-commerce specialist agency.

Martin is assuming the top spot at Reprise from Maex, who had been Reprise’s Global CEO since 2019, while Martin was previously Global Chief Operating Officer at Initiative. The two executives share a background as longtime Mediabrands leaders with a depth of expertise in data- and performance-marketing capabilities at Mediabrands:

“In Dimitri, we have a seasoned global leader who has turned Reprise into a performance marketing powerhouse, and he will bring that experience to Initiative to enhance its already powerful product in the marketplace benefiting clients and teams alike,” said Daryl Lee, Global CEO of Mediabrands. “Jarrod will be equally transformative as he applies his AI and analytics expertise to accelerate the depth and power of our precision digital and e-commerce solutions.”

Lee continued: “Plus, what is more satisfying than promoting next generation leaders from within. Both Dimitri and Jarrod exemplify Mediabrands’ deep bench of talent who were born and raised in a data-rich world.”

Under Maex’s leadership at Reprise, the specialist agency has grown substantially by simplifying capabilities and integrating around clients. Maex merged the search and social departments into integrated performance marketing teams dedicated to clients and aligned to the core global brands of Initiative and UM. He launched Reprise Commerce and grew that practice into a leading global capability with a full suite of solutions for global clients. He scaled the performance marketing content capabilities of Reprise by building out key hubs around the world.

“Performance marketing is no longer a subset of a marketing strategy, it needs to be the core of any integrated marketing strategy,” said Maex. “I am excited to be asked to lead Initiative, an industry leader in media craft and cultural creativity, through its next chapter as we look to enhance the performance of all media. And I look forward to working closely with Jarrod as we build integrated teams for our clients.”

Over the last five years at Initiative, Martin turned his passion for data and insights into a competitive advantage for the award-winning global agency. He has been a champion of building new service models for clients across core data functions of digital reporting, analytics, and optimization. Martin’s career at Mediabrands began in 2013 where he started a specialist analytics unit in Australia, later moving to New York, becoming Global President of Mediabrands Insights before joining Initiative.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Reprise,” said Martin. “During my time at Initiative, I frequently collaborated with my colleagues there as we built out Initiative’s suite of analytic services, so it is incredibly gratifying to now work with them from the inside to accelerate the shift to more AI-driven solutions for our clients.”

It’s not the first time Maex and Martin crossed paths as they both worked at OgilvyOne in London 20 years ago, a time they call the “go-go years”.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Maex would become Global CEO at Initiative, succeeding Amy Armstrong, who is leaving Initiative to join one of the agency’s long-standing clients, Amazon. Armstrong, whose 25-year career at IPG included five years in top leadership roles at Initiative, will become Director of Global Client Development at Amazon Ads.

About Mediabrands
IPG Mediabrands is the media and marketing solutions division of Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). Mediabrands manages approximately $40 billion in marketing investment globally on behalf of its clients and provides strategic services and solutions across its award-winning, full-service agency networks UM and Initiative and through its innovative marketing specialist companies Reprise, Magna, Orion, Rapport, Healix, Mediabrands Content Studio and the IPG Media Lab. Mediabrands clients include many of the world’s most recognizable and iconic brands from a broad portfolio of industry sectors. The company employs more than 13,000 marketing experts in more than 130 countries representing the full diversity of humanity. For more information, please visit our website: and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram.

About Initiative
We’re a global media agency designed to grow brands through culture. Over the last three years, we’ve been named as the fastest growing media agency in the world by independent media ratings agency, RECMA. Key to our success is the fact most media agencies are built for brand awareness, with a bias for paid media. We’re a little different. We’re built for brand relevance, with a bias for Cultural Velocity. We believe the brands that succeed move and adjust with consumers at speed, showcasing their relevance and meaningfully contribute to their lives. We call this Cultural Velocity™- a measure for the speed at which a brand moves through culture to drive relevance. The faster a brand can move with culture, the more relevant they become and the greater the growth.

Operating in over 90 countries, Initiative employs 4,000 of the smartest and most diverse talent in the industry.

Read the full press release here.

WarnerMedia, IPG Mediabrands Partner for Alternative Measurement Test Ahead of Upfront

April 7, 2022
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Comscore, iSpot and VideoAmp will measure identical campaigns as Discovery merger looms

WarnerMedia teamed up with IPG Mediabrands to test alternative measurements across the same campaigns, in one of the last announcements the company is expected to make ahead of its imminent merger with Discovery.

Top line

The partnership is in collaboration with Comscore, iSpot and VideoAmp and is designed to inform WarnerMedia’s strategy when it comes to alternative audience-based currency offerings ahead of this year’s upfront.

Between the lines

With Mediabrand’s Magna and as part of WarnerMedia’s efforts to create a measurement alternative to Nielsen, the three measurement companies will deliver IPG alternative measurement services across participating advertiser’s campaigns.

“Gearing up for the 2022 upfront, we have been committed to developing a more expansive portfolio of measurement solutions for our clients and partners,” said JP Colaco, president of advertising sales, WarnerMedia, in a statement. “This test-and-learn with Magna is one of the first steps in actionizing on our goal to offer best in class measurement capabilities and provide greater visibility into return on ad spend across our award-winning IP.”

WarnerMedia and IPG will implement alternative measurement across certain verticals and advertisers to try and evaluate the application of currencies beyond panels. This is the first of several expected trials.

“As media consumption habits have shifted beyond just traditional linear television to multiple platforms and devices, a greater diversification of measurement systems is critical to support the growth and effectiveness of advertising,” said Dani Benowitz, U.S. president, Magna, in a statement. “This increasingly-fragmented ecosystem has complicated the task of driving a consumer through the purchase funnel, so we’re excited to test-and-learn new ways to measure the effectiveness of our advertising with WarnerMedia.”

Bottom line

The move comes just days ahead of the expected close of the WarnerMedia and Discovery merger, and is one of several recent alternative measurement initiatives the company has taken. At the next upfront, the company hopes to have a portion of its inventory based off an alternative measurement solution.

However, WarnerMedia declined to comment on how the merger—which could close as early as Friday—will affect these alternative measurement and upfront plans. Discovery is currently engaged in its own data trial pilot with Omnicom Media Group, using measurement data from Comscore and VideoAmp, and it is unclear how the combined company, which will be called Warner Bros. Discovery, will approach alternative measurement after the deal closes.

Several top WarnerMedia execs—including CEO Jason Kilar and evp, chief revenue officer Tony Goncalves (whose purview included U.S. ad sales)—have already announced their departure ahead of the merger.

Last month, WarnerMedia and Paramount partnered for the first-ever alternative measurement test during the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. WarnerMedia first announced plans to create a measurement alternative to Nielsen last year, following that company’s public stumbles throughout the pandemic.

Last month, Nielsen was acquired by a consortium of private equity firms for $16 billion following a year of measurement woes. While the company has promised to make the appropriate fixes, this new partnership is the latest example of other media companies creating their own measurement alternatives.

Read the full article in Adweek.

IPG Mediabrands And HBCU 20×20 Partner To Connect Students With Careers In Media

April 5, 2022
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The partnership will kick off later this month with a Media Immersion Day event, which is open to all HBCU students and recent grads.

A brand-new initiative between IPG Mediabrands and HBCU 20×20 is gearing up to help students get into media-based careers.

The partnership was announced yesterday, and it’s centered on building a “pipeline” between IPG Mediabrands and various HBCUs. It’ll officially kick off on April 20 with an initiative dubbed Media Immersion Day. Notably, the virtual event’s open to both current students and recent grads interested in media and marketing.

“As someone who wasn’t even aware of career opportunities in the agency world until I came across the single agency that recruited on campus, I know how important it is to be in the places where the talent we want to attract is,” Hermon Ghermay, Global Chief Culture Officer at IPG Mediabrands, said. “Through our multi-faceted partnership with HBCU 20×20, we are excited to be able to provide access to opportunities across our global network to 25,000 talented Black students and alumni who will be critical contributors to how we want to grow our company.”

On top of HBCU 20×20 assisting the company in recruiting illustrious talent, it’s also helping Mediabrands market itself to students. It’s also worth noting that this partnership will include HBCUs all throughout the country, thus “broadening opportunity for all students.”

“We are excited to build this unique partnership with Mediabrands,” HBCU 20×20 Founder and CEO Nicole Tinson began. “Careers in media span data science, business, marketing, tech and liberal arts, so we know curating events like the Media Immersion on April 20 will serve as a valuable resource and great steppingstone for students pursuing their careers in the industry. We’re grateful to Mediabrands for being an industry leader and providing the HBCU community [empowering opportunities].”

Karen Chaykovskaya, a Senior Manager at IPG Mediabrands, also spoke on the “industry-first partnership.”

“We acknowledge that media could be somewhat obscure, so our approach is to be more supportive and educational,” she noted. “We genuinely want to help people figure out how to develop satisfying career paths.”

Eligible HBCU students and grads can RSVP for the Media Immersion Day here.

Read the full article in Blavity.

Reddit Reaches Global Enterprise Partnership Agreement With IPG Mediabrands

March 3, 2022
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A new trending insights dashboard will help the agency group’s clients get the jump on trends

Reddit reached its first ever global enterprise partnership agreement, with IPG Mediabrands.

The companies said the partnership—which will be led by Reddit’s global agency development team—will benefit clients of Mediabrands agencies and help Reddit to bolster its global advertising business.

Reddit reached its first ever enterprise partnership agreement last March, inking a pact with Omnicom Media Group, and independent performance marketing firm Tinuiti became Reddit’s first independent agency partner in February.

Several Mediabrands clients already have global relationships with Reddit, and the partnership will enable them to work with the platform’s community, local sales and marketing teams, as well as give them access to a trending insights dashboard tailored specifically to their needs.

Reddit described the trending insights dashboard as an interactive tool that algorithmically determines trending content on its platform based on engagement, growth trajectory and viral spread, giving advertisers the chance to leverage those trends before they become mainstream.

The platform said it plans to release insight reports for all major industry verticals throughout the course of its partnership with Mediabrands.

The agency group’s clients will also have access to creative services from Reddit’s in-house creative strategy agency, KarmaLab, and they will receive other commercial benefits, as well.

Lindsay Kaufman will lead the partnership. She joined Reddit last summer from IPG Mediabrands’ Initiative, where she was head of digital partnerships for the East Coast, and she had been with Mediabrands for 14 years, based in New York.

Reddit global executive vice president and president of advertising Harold Klaje said in a statement, “We look forward to developing more sophisticated solutions to meet the unique needs of IPG Mediabrands’ clients. We have appreciated our strong relationship with Mediabrands for many years and believe that this collective partnership will take it to the next level. We’re refining tools, teams and resources to ensure that Mediabrands’ clients are set up for long-term success on our platform.”

Magna U.S. president Dani Benowitz added, “Reddit remains an increasingly popular way for users to recognize creator content, interact with those communities and build further within each sector. Through this strategic partnership, our clients can expand direct communications between Reddit’s 100,000-pkus communities, their interests and connected conversations across sectors.”

Read the full article in Adweek.

How IPG Mediabrands is Looking to Expand Its Investment in Diverse-Owned Media in the Upfronts

February 28, 2022
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The agency’s clients tripled their spend in Black-owned media channels since last spring

IPG Mediabrands’ clients spending with Black-owned media properties nearly tripled since the company held its first equity upfront last year, it announced today.

The agency plans to host its second equity upfront in April to bring attention to Black-owned and other BIPOC media companies. Last year, the agency announced its commitment to invest at least 5% in Black-owned media across its clients by 2023.

The agency said that “we are on track to deliver our three-year goal and continue to create opportunities for our clients.” It has seen growth in all of its client categories.

While last year’s event exclusively focused on Black-owned media companies, 2022’s equity upfront will include Latinx, AAPI and LGBTQIA+ companies, IPG Mediabrands announced. Widening the net was partly a response to client needs, said Dani Benowitz, president at Magna U.S., but was also viewed as “the next natural extension” of increasing media spend diversity.

The first equity upfront came at a time when Black-owned media companies called upon brands to spend a minimum of 2% of their ad budgets on Black-owned media; at the time, less than 2% of total ad spend was going towards Black-owned media companies even though Black consumers make up 13% of the population, according to Nielsen Ad Intel.

WPP’s GroupM made a similar pledge a few days after IPG’s 2021 pledge for its clients to spend 2% on diverse and Black-owned media, with a shorter activation timeframe of 12 to 18 months. GroupM also created a fund to put dollars specifically towards Black and other BIPOC creators.

More broadly, IPG and other agencies ramped up diversity initiatives in 2020 during the uprisings and increased scrutiny of racial inequity following the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd. Those efforts included appointing DE&I leaders, altering hiring practices and creating employee resource groups and business resource groups, although concerns have been raised around members not getting compensated for their work in these groups. Other agencies increased mentorship opportunities for employees of color and created programs to make the talent pipeline more diverse.

Benowitz confirmed that the equity upfront will be a yearly event. The agency has also created an internal “equity portal” that provides a directory to the media companies it is working with.

Read the full article in AdAge.

Alfonso Marian Named Global CEO and Creative Officer of Mediabrands Content Studio

February 3, 2022
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Mediabrands

The creative leader spent over 10 years at Ogilvy

IPG’s Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS) has named Alfonso Marian its new chief executive and head creative. Marian comes from Ogilvy, where he was chairman of Ogilvy Spain and co-chief creative officer of Ogilvy New York.

The company’s move and the leadership changes come as its parent company, IPG, is broadening the size and scope of its content offerings, including more access to addressability, media platform creativity and greater connections to the creator economy. IPG Mediabrands launched the studio in 2020 with a presence in 12 markets.

Marian began the new role on Feb. 1 and, as CEO, he will oversee the company’s global expansion while based in New York. In the next year, the company plans to expand its presence to 20 key territories.

The expansion will enhance MBCS’ ability to create local, regional and global content campaigns. Currently, MBCS operates in the U.S., Canada, Spain, UK, Brazil, China, Japan, Australia, Netherlands, Germany, Mexico and India. New markets will include Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Nordics, South Africa, LATAM countries within the region (outside of Brazil and Mexico), Italy and Thailand.

“The idea is to expand what MBCS has been doing so far—in terms of markets—and in terms of the creative outcome and really take the creative quality that MBCS has already to the next level,” Marian told Adweek.

Marian succeeds global chief content officer Brendan Gaul as leader of MBCS and will report to Gaul in the new role. Gaul will remain global chief content officer at Mediabrands while also filling the global president role for Mediabrands’ film and television studio, TRAVERSE32. Marian hopes that the transition will be seamless and told Adweek that he and Gaul will have a close partnership.

“I am excited to be a part of MBCS at such a pivotal time in the company’s genesis. MBCS is not only leading a movement that will forever change the media and content landscape, but evinces Mediabrands’ commitment to understanding how the brave new world of content is moving audiences emotionally, moving ideas across media plans and—most importantly—moving client KPIs and sales,” Marian said in a statement.

Before MBCS, Marian spent over a decade at Ogilvy in senior roles, including worldwide creative director for customer engagement and ecommerce. His accolades include 25 Cannes Lions and three consecutive Cannes’ Direct Agency of the Year awards.

The creative was intrigued by MBCS because of its emphasis on using data and engagement metrics to connect audiences through content. Marian will work closely with IPG’s media agencies UM, Mediahub and Initiative to elevate the value of client work.

“When you hear everywhere that content is king, in today’s marketing, I think that MBCS is going to carry that flag,” he said.

Read the full article in Adweek.

Mediabrands Promotes Lynn Lewis to Global CMO

January 18, 2022
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Mediabrands, UM

W. Joe DeMiero succeeds her as U.S. CEO of UM

IPG Mediabrands has elevated Lynn Lewis to the position of Global CMO; at the same time, its subsidiary, Universal McCann (UM) has named W. Joe DeMiero as Lewis’ successor in her previous role as UM’s U.S. CEO.

Both appointments are effective today.

DeMiero reports to UM Global CEO Eileen Kiernan and will focus on driving and enhancing the agency’s unique Futureproof approach across its culture, capabilities and client services, according to a statement from UM. As U.S. CEO, he will manage the agency’s largest market, as well as clients like USPS, E.J. Gallo, Rocket Mortgage and Zillow.

In the new role, DeMiero will also lead UM’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Belonging (DEB), sustainability, media responsibility and marketplace equity.

“UM is constantly iterating, innovating and challenging the industry on critical issues in order to drive impact for its people and clients,” said DeMiero. “I could not be more excited to join this incredibly connected community and leadership team at a time when the agency is experiencing great growth and success through their highly differentiated Futureproof approach.”

DeMiero joins the IPG agency from Publicis, where he led CRM agency Hawkeye and worked with clients including Google, AT&T, USAA and Capital One. In the previous role, DeMiero was recognized for scaling the agency and for his commitment to DEI initiatives. During his time at Publicis, he founded the holding company’s immersive reality capability—TiltShift—and SaaS mobile ticketing platform CloudTix.

Before leading Hawkeye, DeMiero held leadership roles at Saatchi & Saatchi and SapientRazorfish.

Leaving Hawkeye was not an easy decision, DeMiero told Adweek. But UM impressed him with its values-based culture, and how those values are reflected at work, but also show up in the work, he said.

For example, DeMiero was heartened to learn that other agency leadership would support him in turning down work that didn’t align with the agency’s values.

“Generationally there is an expectation that the company’s we work for are going to reflect the progressive values that [Lewis] is talking about. The way I think we’re going to be judged in this era on [DEI initiatives]—it’s not just about the commitments or the actions on paper—it’s the outcomes. Are we moving the business forward? Are we holding ourselves and are we holding our clients in the industry in which we occupy to those same standards? Are we willing to say no to live up to the commitments that we’ve made?”

Lewis is now charged with solidifying those values at the group level, ensuring that each of Mediabrand’s agencies have a shared commitment to them.

A series of leadership changes

The move comes on the heels of several leadership changes, including Jeff Marshall’s elevation to U.S. Chief Diversity Officer and Stacy Stewart’s promotion to U.S. Chief Marketplace Officer. Recently the agency pulled in new accounts including Enterprise Holdings, Tonal, Storck USA, Behr Paint and NYC & Company.

“Joe is a transformative leader with a proven track record in driving business growth and fostering strong agency culture, and we are delighted to welcome him to the UM family,” said Kiernan. “With his deep data, digital and operational expertise, commitment to creating meaningful experiences between consumers and brands, and a wonderful entrepreneurial spirit, we are confident that Joe will accelerate our Futureproof ambitions in the marketplace today, and into the future.”

With DeMiero’s appointment to CEO, Lewis will remain UM’s Global CMO while also taking on a new role as Mediabrands’ Global CMO. In the new role, Lewis will report to Daryl Lee, Global CEO of Mediabrands.

Lewis will work across all Mediabrands’ companies, overseeing media responsibilities, DEI initiatives and sustainability in media. Lewis’ remit is to ensure that Mediabrands is the most progressive media and marketing solutions company in the world.

While at UM, Lewis grew revenue and profitability for the agency and won accounts including Levi’s Stauss & CO., CVS/Aetna, EJ Gallo, Enterprise Holdings and Storck USA. Lewis also launched the agency’s Shopper Practice and oversaw the launch of its DEB Council and CSR arm, Better World. Under her leadership, the agency won Adweek’s 2019 Media Agency of the Year award.

“Lynn is an icon and a role model in our business,” said Lee.  “She is a talented marketer who is deeply connected to the positive forces of change in our industry. As Mediabrands looks to amplify the power of media to do good in the world, Lynn will be a critical leader in making our voices heard even louder on behalf of our clients and the communities they serve.”

Read the full article at Adweek.

IPG Mediabrands
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