J. Walter Thompson Melbourne has strengthened its capabilities in data-driven marketing and social media with two new hires.

Catherine Graham joins the agency as director of customer experience. She will manage integrating data and its use organically through the organisation to drive stronger outcomes for clients. Brie Stewart joins as the agency’s creative director, content, to help ensure every idea developed is born out of true social insight and understanding.

Managing director, Michael Godwin, noted that the appointments are part of an “ongoing strategy of investing in new capabilities that complement our core offer”.

“This approach has helped transform our business to be one of the more diversified in this market, providing clients a range of best in class specialist skill-sets across multiple disciplines, all woven seamlessly through the agency – one business, one brand, one bottom line, and one integrated team,” he explained.

“Catherine and Brie’s appointments are an exciting next step in this journey that will provide clients access to a level of experience in CX/CRM and content marketing/social that few in the country can rival. Very importantly, they’re both fabulous teachers – leaders who enjoy mentoring others, which is key to us ensuring their skills and experience are transferred across our organisation. They will be highly valued client partners and members of our Melbourne Management team.”

Graham joins JWT with as a CRM specialist with a career that includes roles in Australia, the UK and Asia. She was most recently director of customer engagement at TBWA Worldwide and has worked with clients such as Volvo, American Express, Pernod Ricard, Telstra, ANZ, Myer, Nestle and Mercedes Benz during her career.

Graham commented, “Bucking the trend of isolating such specialists ‘in the corner’, what attracted me to JWT is a model that will see my role positioned at the agency’s heart, helping to embed a customer experience philosophy across every single client and democratising data within the organisation at large. Instead of using data purely for performance measurement and reporting, we will be using it to unlock customer insight and business intelligence, promoting better strategy and more effective ideas.”

Stewart describes herself as being “part creative director, part account person and part strategist”. Until recently, she was head of channel transformation at Clemenger Melbourne and prior to this, she was national head of social at Ogilvy Australia.

“Too often, there’s a degree of separation for roles such as mine from creative development process, whereas at JWT I’ll be engaged throughout the strategy and ideation phases,” she commented.

“The logical benefit of such a structure is the role of social and content is considered from the very start, ensuring every idea has a true social ‘heartbeat’, which is what modern, relevant brands require.”