Interpublic Group’s global media arm, IPG Mediabrands, has hired Charles Godbold as global director of media intelligence systems. Godbold starts Oct. 1 and will report to IPG Mediabrands global CEO Henry Tajer.
Godbold is the founder of Media Pilot Pty Ltd., a consultancy that developed media analytics, and media auditing firm Mediasenz Pty Ltd. In the newly created role based in London, Godbold will oversee the rollout of his company’s auditing software across all Mediabrands agency systems.
Godbold’s unbranded auditing tech will be rebranded Magnifiq and will be available exclusively through Mediabrands’ agencies.
Prior to this hire, Mediabrands dealt with independent media audit and intelligence firms. Tajer sees the hire as an opportunity to bring in talent and technology to manage the auditing rigor internally.
“This is self-imposed discipline as opposed to client-appointed audits,” said Tajer. “Having the capability and the discipline in-house to redefine, remeasure and then reapply those insights is critical to how we’re going to be engaging with our client base moving forward.”
According to Tajer, the problem with current auditing and benchmarking solutions is that results are retrospective.
“The ability for agencies to be responsive and operate in a real-time fashion with benchmarking is something the marketplace has largely been unable to do,” he explained. “Having it as part of our process and engineering it into how we operate means we’ll be doing it in real time. It’s accessible to the buying and client teams all the time as opposed to on a quarterly basis or a sporadic basis.”
Consequently, he said, agencies can quickly respond to market influences.
The hire also may help IPG Mediabrands show it is adding senior talent in the area of technology- and data-assisted media buying. IPG Mediabrands has weathered no shortage of turnover in recent years, including key execs like Brendan Moorcroft, Quentin George, Michael Brunick and Kristi Argilyan.
“We are looking for every part of our business to grow and from every possible dimension,” Tajer said. “Having expanded leadership and deeper, more capable talent at all levels of the organization is part of the plan.”
IPG’s media agencies include UM, Initiative and ID Media, while Magna Global, Ansible and Mediabrands Audience Platform are among its specialty agencies.
