Global social-first creative agency Born Social has appointed Olivia Wedderburn as its new Head of Influence, as the agency doubles down on scaling its creator and influence proposition.
The hire follows a year of growth for Born Social’s influence offering – the fastest-growing part of the agency in the past 12 months – and reflects the rising strategic importance of creators within the modern brand-building mix. Over the past year, the agency has developed creator strategies and campaigns for existing clients including Barclays, Ford and Guinness, while also winning and executing creator work for new clients such as AllSaints, Calzedonia, Elizabeth Arden and Juicy Couture.
With more than 12 years’ experience in social and influencer marketing, Wedderburn joins from TMW, where she launched and led TMW Tomorrow, the agency’s social, influence and PR specialism. She has overseen social, influencer and community strategy for clients including Unilever, Ferrero, Canon, Logitech, Emmi and the Rail Delivery Group, as well as delivering creator strategies for multiple UK Government departments and arm’s-length bodies. This included developing creator strategy with the UK Government and attending its first-ever influencer reception at No.10 Downing Street.
Reporting into Kate Higham, UK Managing Director, Wedderburn will oversee a team of 11 and be responsible for evolving Born’s creator proposition into a more integrated, strategically driven model – embedding creators and communities at the heart of brand building.
This also reflects how influencer and creator work is becoming increasingly central to the wider Born Social and Croud proposition as part of the same group, with Chapstick serving as a prime example of how creator activity can drive both brand building and performance media impact when integrated. Wedderburn will also oversee creator strategy and delivery across key clients, including Barclays, Ford and Chapstick in the US. Her remit includes advancing the agency’s Influence GPT platform and developing a new measurement and effectiveness model for creator campaigns.
A respected industry voice, Wedderburn has previously chaired the DMA Social Media Council, been named a BIMA 100 Rising Star, and was shortlisted in the Campaign Female Frontier Awards 2022. She has spoken at SXSW and BIMA, as well as being a regular contributor to marketing industry and business publications. The appointment follows the recent hire of SEEN Connects’ Charlee Elson as Influence Director, another key addition to the Born Social influence team.
Kate Higham, UK Managing Director, Born Social, said: “We’re so excited to have Olivia join us. She brings huge experience and real strategic firepower to the table, paired with a deep understanding of how social and culture collide. The influence space is evolving fast, and with Olivia leading the charge, we’re confident we can take our creator and influence offering to a whole new level. Olivia brings a rare blend of strategic vision and cultural fluency, and her arrival marks a major milestone in our ambition to set a new benchmark for what influence can achieve across our clients and markets. We can’t wait to see what’s next.”
Olivia Wedderburn, new Head of Influence, Born Social, said: “I’m so excited to evolve Born’s creator proposition into a future-facing vision that recognises the immense and immediate potential of influence in brand building. I’ll be developing a culture of effective, measurable and meaningful creator-led campaigns, while exploring how our AI capabilities – including Influence GPT – can be paired with talent, partnerships and strategy to deliver new ways to cut through, creatively. With the incredible team, tools and talent at Born, there’s a huge opportunity to build something truly special.”
