Australia — Bastion Amplify, an integrated PR and social media agency, following several high-profile national client wins, has announced a series of key senior appointments to its PR team namely Nancy Mcdonald as group business director, Georgia Comensoli as the agency’s first media director, and Susana Liu as business director in Melbourne.
McDonald was previously the head of PR and content for Petbarn and Greencross Vets. Prior to joining Bastion Amplify, she also spent 13 years working in PR, marketing and journalism in Australia, working across clients including Hungry Jack’s, Kraft Heinz, Honda, Hyundai, Access Corporate Group, and as a journalist and presenter for NewsCorp. In her new role as group business director, she is responsible for client growth in NSW.
Comensoli holds extensive experience in journalism previously working for Channel 7 as a journalist and chief of staff in the Channel 7 Newsroom, filing for multiple national bulletins including Sunrise, Morning News, and The Latest. She also has experience in the 3AW Newsroom and regional television including WIN News.
Alongside journalism, she has experience in content and brand creation freelancing for global firm Goldeneye Media and crisis management experience with Melbourne firm Crisis Shield. As the agency’s first media director, she is expected to bolster the team’s media success for clients and drive innovation through an owned news platform for clients.
Meanwhile, Liu has worked with companies across different industries namely property, financial services, and tech sectors to deliver strategic communications and integrated campaigns. Previous clients include Charter Hall, Frasers Property, Architectus, ME Bank and MessageMedia. Most recently she was an account director at Keep Left. In her new role as business director in Melbourne, she is tasked with leading Bastion’s B2B portfolio comprising a range of leading property brands including Jinding, Australia 108, and Melbourne Square.
The new hires follow a number of new client wins for the Bastion Amplify team with the signing of European luxe camping brand Dometic, fintech disruptor Tiiik Money, Unilever and international developer SPG Land.
Richard Chapman, CEO of Bastion Amplify, said the key hires came off a strong 2021 during which Amplify rebranded from Bastion Effect as part of the Bastion network’s new Think Wide positioning, and it oversaw one of the most important campaigns of the agency’s 20-plus years’ the Million Dollar Vax.
“Bastion Amplify continues to innovate and grow in the market with a number of terrific new clients and strong strategic partnerships in place with our long-term client family. We’re delighted to have Nancy, Georgia and Susana join, all of whom bring a wealth of experience, new ways of working and process into the team and specialist expertise. It has been heartening to see throughout the pandemic how our teams have risen to the challenge, delivering truly integrated campaigns, and working with our clients to demonstrate the value of PR, whether it be in media, or with influencers on social,” Chapman said.
