One of the UK and Ireland’s largest independent digital marketing agencies, Mediaworks, has appointed Oliver Goldring as managing partner of its Manchester operation.
The agency’s client base in the North West has grown rapidly and Oliver’s appointment to head up operations there marks a concerted effort from Mediaworks to increase its physical footprint in Manchester and across the North West.
The hire follows the agency’s recent client partnerships with various brands including Leisure Lakes Bikes – recently acquired by JD Sports – Johnnie Johnson Housing, and United Utilities. Mediaworks’ statement of intent comes off the back of launching and growing successful operations in Leeds, Edinburgh and Dublin in the last 24 months. Its combined workforce across those three sites alone now nears 50.
Oliver arrives with a wealth of experience, not least in the housing sector, as well as in utilities, telecoms and recruitment. He was most recently director of communications, marketing and digital at Trafford Housing Trust. He also ran his own consultancy for eight years, advising c-suite and executive teams on corporate strategy in digital, customer experience, and marcomms. Most notably, he led on the hugely successful re-brand and international launch of Airswift, the Manchester-based global workforce solutions provider, following their $1bn merger in 2016.
Brett Jacobson, CEO and founder of Mediaworks, said: “Having someone of Oliver’s stature and experience steering our plans for expansion into the North West is a huge statement of ambition. His understanding of the housing and utilities sectors in particular is complementary to our own agency specialisms. That’s a potent combination that will drive both regional and group growth.
“The potential for increasing Mediaworks’ presence in the city is huge. We have more exciting announcements on the way as we strengthen our position in Manchester.”
Oliver added: “Mediaworks is a business I have had my eye on and admired from afar as one of the best digital agencies in the UK. The ambitious vision for the company was an immediate draw.
“This is a huge opportunity to drive growth in the North West. I’m excited to be on board and working with a brilliant team, both in region and across the wider Mediaworks group. We’re already recruiting for several digital roles in Manchester, so already starting to realise some of these exciting growth plans.”
Mediaworks delivers a range of services across SEO, PPC, web dev, brand, content and digital PR. The rapidly growing agency currently has 190 staff across its six offices in Newcastle, Leeds, Edinburgh, Manchester, London and as MWi in Dublin.