Australia – Mediabrands Content Studio (MBCS) in Australia, has strengthened its leadership and strategic capabilities by promoting Toby Maclachlan to head of strategy & product and hiring Trent Peppercorn to the newly established position of head of Melbourne. The newly-designated posts take immediate effect.
Maclachlan, in his new role at MBCS, will assume the responsibility of leading the overall strategic output and team across both offices. His role involves enhancing MBCS’ integrated product offering, with a specific emphasis on delivering creative and innovative experiences aimed at establishing deep connections with people.
Maclachlan, who has been the head of creative strategy at Initiative Media for three years, brings three years of expertise to his new position. His experience includes a range of positions in brand planning and leadership across FMCG, entertainment, fashion, automotive, government, and tourism.
The move to Melbourne is planned for Peppercorn, who was MBCS’s Head of Creative Services. His duties in this new role will include growing the workforce to satisfy client demand and guiding the office through the next stage of growth.
The appointments follow MBCS’s steady annual growth since the company’s founding in 2022. The agency was founded with the intention of improving the way that IPG’s media-driven and supported creative, content, and experience capabilities are integrated.
Speaking about the promotions, Olivia Warren, managing director, MBCS, said, “Our agency’s growth and new client wins come down to the experience, creativity and capability of our team. Toby and Trent’s new roles recognise their leadership and success, and importantly will create new opportunities and pathways for our next generation of leaders to grow, while continuing to create the very best outcomes for our clients.”
She added, “When we repositioned in 2022 our point of difference was powering our creative and strategic thinking by media, so we invested early in creative and strategy talent that could sit alongside our media specialists to deliver campaigns anchored in this ethos. Move forward to 2024 and our team has exponentially expanded, our client roster continues to grow and our creative capabilities allows us to conceive and execute integrated campaigns across both offices.”
Speaking about his appointment, Maclachlan said, “2024 is going to be an interesting year; defining and pivotal on so many fronts, in so many ways. People expect a lot of brands RN. And rightfully so. Who brands are, how and where they show up for people, it really matters. I’m looking forward to helping brands navigate their now and next — IRL, URL, and whatever WEB 3, ai, spatial computing and next gen social media etc. brings — with true-to-brand strategies and ideas that hit different and make difference.”
Warren commented about Maclachan, “Toby is the definition of a high achiever striving for outstanding solutions to assist clients solve their problems. He’s generally known for finding solutions to seemingly impossible asks, that are true to brand and results driven.”
Speaking about his appointment, Peppercorn expressed, “It’s an exciting time to make this move and I am incredibly pumped to embark on a new chapter of my career and continue to work alongside such a skilled and inspiring team not just in Sydney but now in Melbourne.”
“My new role will see me work closely with both offices providing the ability to apply my craft to help solve a range of client problems regardless of the platform, fitting perfectly with MBCS’s proposition of borderless creativity. I’m excited with opportunities to grow Melbourne’s client base organically and also bring new and exciting clients on board. It’s a burgeoning market and I am excited about the potential of what lies ahead,” Peppercorn added.
Furthermore, Warren stated, “Both promotions are genuinely worthy and I’m delighted Toby and Trent are stepping into these new, expanded and elevated roles. I’m looking forward to seeing what our new leadership team can achieve in their new roles.”
