Marketing and technology agency LBi has appointed Ed Ling as UK Media Director and Chief Media Officer with responsibility for strengthening the agency’s media offering in the UK and key international territories.
The dual role will see Ling spend the majority of his time in the UK working to evolve LBi’s media proposition as a key part of its service offering, which blends strategic, creative, media and technical expertise to build business value for clients.
Reporting to UK Chief Executive Anil Pillai and sitting on the UK Executive Board, Ling will help clients devise and execute strategies across bought, earned and owned media channels, while also working to develop LBi’s Audience Engagement Platform – a propriatary technology suite that enables the distribution, measurement and optimisation of content across multiple media platforms.
Ling will spend the rest of his time working on an LBi Group level to drive the agency’s media offering across its entire global footprint, which spans 32 offices in 17 countries. He will devise a media roadmap for key international clients, while working with LBi offices around the world to strengthen their local media capabilities. As Chief Media Officer, Ling will report to Global Chief Executive Luke Taylor and will join the Group Executive Board alongside EMEA Chief Executive Ewen Sturgeon and Chief Creative Officer Chris Clarke.
Ling joins LBi from WPP-owned MEC where he led its international business as Managing Director for Global Solutions. At MEC Ling lead a team of 100 specialists working on a global client list that includes Activision, CHANEL, Paramount, Visa, Star Alliance, Colgate Palmolive, Accenture and Xerox.
Prior to this, Ling was one of the founder partners of start-up agency AnalogFolk. He also spent nine years at i-level having been the first full time employee hired by founders Andrew Walmsley and Charlie Dobres.
Anil Pillai, UK Chief Executive of LBi, said: “Media is a key part of our blended service offering and a crucial driver of growth for our agency. It’s testament to the size and scale of our ambitions that someone of Ed’s pedigree is joining to help us take the next step on our journey. I look forward to working with him to supercharge our media proposition in the UK.”
Ewen Sturgeon, EMEA Chief Executive of LBi, said: “On a global level Ed will play a central role in helping us strengthen the vision, leadership and management of the media component of our business. He will partner with clients on an international scale to help us deliver on our brand promise of linking bought, earned and owned media to power customer journeys in a way that no other agency can.”
Ed Ling, UK Media Director and Chief Media Officer of LBi, said: “I’m excited to be joining an agency that prides itself on blending its media firepower with its strategic, creative technical expertise to build real business value for clients. I’m looking forward to working with LBi’s management team to help define What’s Next for the agency’s media offering in the UK and around the world.”
