Matt Holmes has left Emotive three months after starting as head of PR and earned creative on 4 March.
He was set to boost Emotive’s fame offering, but Simon Joyce, Emotive’s founder and CEO, explained that he needed to make a quick but difficult decision because the agency needed strategic leadership, versus PR leadership.
Joyce said the fame offering was launched in February to unite five specialisms: social, talent, partnerships, brand experience, and PR. The goal was to position fame as “an essential, not just desirable part of the creative process.”
“Matt, as head of PR and earned creative, was an integral part of this launch,” Joyce told Mediaweek. “However, given the trailblazing nature of this structure and the impact it has on how we do both strategy and creative, we quickly realised that we needed greater senior leadership in the strategy unit, as opposed to senior PR skills.
“For that reason, we parted company, and as difficult as it was, as Matt is a terrific operator who brought wonderful energy and smarts to the business, we had to make a quick call which is essential for a tight knit business like Emotive.”
Emotive has restructured the fame division to be led by one person, a head of fame, across all five specialisms. Irnin Khan – who has worked at Leo Burnett and JOY – is currently in that role in an acting capacity.
Holmes was a high profile hire for the independent agency – he co-founded creative PR and social agency Poem with Rob Lowe, and announced his departure in October last year, selling his 50% stake in the business.
He told Mediaweek he is currently freelancing for a couple of agencies and having discussions about permanent roles. He is “as keen to make sure the next one is the right fit as much as you ever can!”
Head of social, talent, and partnerships Rhian Mason recently left Emotive after three years. Joyce confirmed that, in light of the restructure, the agency will replace Mason by hiring two social, talent, and partnership directors.