Pulse MD Jacqui Abbott to join Foxtel, Dan Young promoted to MD
Pulse managing director Jacqui Abbott is leaving Pulse, the consumer brand marketing arm of OPR, to take up the role of group director of content communications at Foxtel Group, including their streaming services, Kayo and Binge and all Foxtel brands.
Abbott has held the role for three years and been with the agency for six years after joining in early 2015.
Jacqui Abbott
Foxtel chief customer, marketing and revenue officer Hilary Perchard, said the newly titled role will have responsibility for the publicity and events team across Foxtel, Fox Sports, Kayo and Binge, along with the Foxtel magazine and Insiders digital content platform. Perchard was appointed in January.
She added: “The new title reflects that the way people are learning about and engaging with our content is changing, and publicity has new opportunities to collaborate and innovate as part of the way we go to market.”
Replacing her is Dan Young who has been promoted from chief digital officer, a role he took up in December 2019. Young first joined OPR in early 2017, and has been responsible for digital campaigns including Envoy, the agency’s influencer marketing tool and Culture Converted, Pulse’s performance marketing planning model launched in 2020. His and Abbott’s appointments come into effect in mid March.
According to CEO Richard Brett the agency has seen significant growth in delivering integrated work across media relations, social, digital and performance marketing since it rebranded with ‘Culture, Creativity, Clout’ in 2019 .
“We are expecting this to continue into 2021 as the market continues to recover and look for increasingly innovative solutions,” he said.
Brett said while he was naturally disappointed and saddened that Abbott was leaving Pulse, he wished her all the very best and thanked her for her outstanding commitment to the business; to the Pulse team; and her valued counsel as part of his leadership team.
He added: “Jacqui will be massively missed. For the past four years she has led Pulse with a singular goal in sight: to bring out the best in her people and provide the best work for Pulse’s clients. Her contribution to the business, her colleagues and her clients is immeasurable and although we will lose her as a colleague she will always be a close friend of OPR’s team. We wish her every success.”
Dan Young
In his new role Young will report to Brett, and take the helm of Pulse as it continues its transformation to be an earned-led digital and social agency focused on guiding brands to implement cultural campaigns.
Speaking of Young’s promotion Brett said: “Dan’s significant clout and skills within the digital space not only serves the Pulse strategy well, but as a seasoned and proven leader he further reinforces the agency’s people-centric culture.”
Young said of the promotion: “I am excited to be given this opportunity where I can draw on my digital, social experience and passion to continue Pulse’s transformation, with the additional benefit of leading such a brilliant team of exceptionally talented people.
“Together with my team I look forward to continuing Jacqui’s legacy of successfully transforming Pulse into an earned-led digital and social agency and achieving outstanding and ambitious outcomes for our clients.”
Pulse will be hiring additional capabilities into the agency as part of the changes, including additional senior digital, creative and publicity support. Recently promoted John Harding Easson (head of social at OPR) will begin to take on more of Young’s digital leadership for the wider OPR group.
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Olivia Kruimel is the managing editor at Mumbrella. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, communications and marketing. Her journalism career began at Fairfax Media (now part of Nine) and includes various B2B publications such as B&T, Travel Today and ALB. As a marketer Olivia has worked for Standard Chartered and various global law firms.
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