Firm Adds Senior Hires to Bolster Influencer Offering
NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2018 – Ketchum, one of the world’s leading communications consultancies, today announced the promotion of partner Ann Wool to chief integration officer, a newly created role focused on accelerating the adoption of new products and services across the firm’s global network. In this new role, Wool will continue to oversee Ketchum’s growing Influencer, Sports and Entertainment specialties.
Consistently scaling new products and services to support clients globally, as well as identifying new partnerships, is a strategic imperative as Ketchum expands its communications consultancy model globally. Wool’s proven leadership in the rollout of Ketchum’s Influencer offering, and in overseeing large global teams, including complex sponsorship campaigns around the Olympics, demonstrates her innate understanding of the global marketplace and how to scale expertise, offerings and campaigns.
“Ann Wool has been a change agent for Ketchum – she created our sports practice, launched Ketchum Sounds, and was early to recognize and embrace the power of influencers,” said Ketchum partner, president and CEO Barri Rafferty. “Among the most experienced sports and entertainment marketers in the industry, we are lucky to be able to leverage her entrepreneurial mindset more broadly across the firm in ways that directly benefit our clients and colleagues.”
In 2014, under Wool’s direction Ketchum launched its initial Influencer offering in North America, which has grown into a global capability blending analytics and influencer relationship-building to deliver high-impact brand campaigns. She also built the firm’s Sports and Entertainment specialty by producing award-winning programs, aligning brands with high-profile A-list Hollywood talent, tapping into the dynamic world of e-Sports and the music industry for clients, and working with Oscar-winning directors to pioneer long-form documentaries. Wool has been recognized as one of Sports Business Journal’s Game Changers in 2012, a Champion of PR by PRWeek in 2016 and was most recently honored by Adweek as one of the 2018 Most Powerful Women in Sports.
“Understanding the nuances of markets around the world and the challenges clients face is critical for the success of a global organization,” said Wool. “Building Ketchum’s Sports, Entertainment and Influencer teams from the ground up in the U.S., and then expanding them to key markets like the U.K., Asia and Brazil – ignited my passion for scaling services globally. I am excited to take this new role leading integration to help us best service our clients everywhere they do business.”
As Wool moves into her role as chief integration officer, the three key leaders of Sports, Entertainment and Influencer marketing – Shawn McBride, EVP of Sports, Courtney Nally, EVP of Entertainment, and Marcus Peterzell, partner, Entertainment – continue to oversee their respective areas, reporting to Wool.
Under Nally’s leadership, the firm added to its Influencer area with the hires of several veteran influencer marketers, including:
- Kate Durkin joined Ketchum in August as SVP, influencer marketing and media strategy, based in New York. Durkin joins Ketchum from SheKnows Media, where she spent four years leading influencer and integrated marketing. She also served in various marketing, client service and account management roles for RecycleBank, G2 Worldwide, ThinkPassenger, and Faith Popcorn’s BrainReserve.
- Florencia Lujani joined Ketchum in August as associate director of influencer marketing, based in Ketchum’s London office. Lujani most recently served as senior influencer marketing strategist for We Are Social U.K. and previously was head of social media and influencer relations for JWT London. She began her career in Buenos Aires, where she worked for firms including Tribal Worldwide and TBWA.
“The tremendous talent we have in place – including our newly hired influencer experts – are the key to Ketchum’s continuous growth in Influencer, Sports and Entertainment,” said Wool. “I am thrilled to have them on our team working on some of our clients’ most important business challenges.”
About Ketchum
Ketchum is a leading global communications consultancy with operations in more than 70 countries across six continents. The Holmes Report’s Creative Agency of the Year, Ketchum is the winner of 75 Cannes Lions and an unprecedented six PRWeek Campaign of the Year Awards. Ketchum partners with clients to deliver strategic programming, game-changing creative and measurable results that build brands and reputations. For more information on Ketchum, a part of Omnicom Public Relations Group, visit www.ketchum.com.
About Omnicom Public Relations Group
Omnicom Public Relations Group is a global collective of three of the top global public relations agencies worldwide and specialist agencies in areas including public affairs, marketing to women, fashion, global health strategy and corporate social responsibility. It encompasses more than 6,000 public relations professionals in more than 330 offices worldwide who provide their expertise to companies, government agencies, NGOs and nonprofits across a wide range of industries. Omnicom Public Relations Group is part of the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. that includes more than 200 companies in a wide range of marketing disciplines including advertising, public relations, healthcare, customer relationship management, events, promotional marketing, branding and research.
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