AdUnion has welcomed the appointments of Katrina Stratton and Siddharth Bhakay to its leadership team following significant growth and the retention of challenger brands, More and Tangerine Telecom.
Stratton joins the independent full-service media agency as head of client services and investment and will deepen the agency’s media strategy offering alongside Bhakay.
Bhakay steps into the role of head of digital and will work closely with the team from partner business AdMatch to build efficiency and effectiveness across all streaming media channels.
Stratton comes to AdUnion with more than 20 years of experience with media agencies and media owners, most recently as group business director at Zenith, working with clients across various verticals, including retail, FMCG, automotive, and financial services.
Prior to this, she was the group sales director for News Corp and the group business director for UM, leading campaigns for Target, Australia Post, Origin Energy, Stockland and AIA Australia.
Bhakay brings nearly 15 years of experience as a digital advertising specialist to AdUnion, having worked with some of the nation’s biggest brands, including Menulog, Coles, Dan Murphy’s, Qantas and ING Bank. He joins AdUnion from Nunn Media, where he was a digital account manager, and has also worked with Matterkind, Blis and mobile wallet app Stocard.
Both appointments follow a strong growth period for AdUnion, which includes the multi-year contract extension of national telco brands, More and Tangerine Telecom. The agency will be responsible for advertising strategy and media planning and buying across broadcast, streaming, audio and out-of-home for both brands.
Rick van Emmerik, chief marketing officer, More Telecom and Tangerine, said: “We retained the team at AdUnion to provide integrated media strategy and execution for the Tangerine Brand launch campaign in 2023. Since then we have been constantly impressed by the level of engagement, over delivery on expectations and contribution to our rapid growth. We have now committed to a long term contract and are expanding their remit into more areas than originally planned.”
AdUnion managing director, Robert Ong, said: “Sid and Katrina’s appointments demonstrate our commitment to investing in experience and capability across all media channels, and continually building out our leadership team to support our clients’ ambitious growth targets.
“Sid brings a wealth of knowledge around digital and streaming media to further elevate AdUnion as a leader in this space, while Katrina has deep experience in integrated marketing strategy and a keenly developed client-centric approach – we’re excited about her contribution to client outcomes across our portfolio.
“Sid and Katrina join the team during a substantial growth period for AdUnion, as we continue to deliver for our clients. We are particularly delighted to have retained the key telco challenger brands More and Tangerine, as innovative, Australian-owned, high-growth, mobile and internet providers. As an independent media agency, we’re proud of our sustained expansion and growth, particularly in light of the decline in consumer and advertising spending; it shows the strength of both the AdUnion offering and the broader indie sector.”
Meanwhile Stratton said: “I’m delighted to join the AdUnion team during this exciting growth phase for the agency. The commitment to deploying an integrated media strategy approach across all channels and delivering meaningful campaigns have helped AdUnion to build long-standing client relationships. I look forward to continuing these partnerships, while also working to build our client stable.”
Bhakay said of his appointment: “AdUnion’s unique attribution platform makes it an attractive proposition for any streaming media specialist. Having spent my career working across the digital space, I’m excited to join an agency that is leading the way in streaming media, and is committed to use efficient, effective data and technology to drive results.”
–
Top image: Katrina Stratton and Siddharth Bhakay