Samsung Ads Australia, the advertising division of Samsung Electronics, has announced two new hires to enhance Samsung Ads’ local product marketing and sales strategy offerings.
Samantha Cooke joins the team as head of product marketing APAC. Her previous roles include commercial marketing lead at Domain Group, where she was responsible for driving acquisition, retention and revenue growth, and head of digital advertising and brand partnerships at Foxtel.
L-R: Samantha Cooke, Gideon Hornung & Alex Spurzem
Cooke is stepping into a newly created role at Samsung Ads Australia, where she will act as a conduit between the local sales, global product marketing and business development teams. She will be integral in identifying and prioritising product needs based on her extensive understanding of the Australian market.
Of her new role, she said, “It is full steam ahead! I’m looking forward to representing the voice of the customer and ensuring we have the right product-market fit for Samsung Ads products locally. It’s great to be back in the TV space, and this time from the lens of the manufacturer.”
Gideon Hornung also joins the team as the sales strategy lead for advertising partnerships. In the newly created role, Hornung will be responsible for developing an intimate understanding of client challenges in order to build deeper partnerships with advertisers. Hornung’s role will be to align partners, clients, and internal teams around challenges and long term objectives, facilitating more sustainable business relationships.
Before joining Samsung Ads, Hornung was group client strategy manager at Seven West Media, responsible for integrated cross-platform content solutions and has previously worked at several media agencies in a number of senior strategic positions.
Hornung commented: “It’s never been a more exciting time to work in TV, as the CTV industry in Australia expands, it is clear that audience-driven data and insights will play a big part in helping advertisers unlock further growth opportunities. I’m excited to be working alongside Samsung Ads’ clients to offer solutions that meet their needs and facilitate long term relationships.”
Cooke and Hornung will also represent Samsung Ads Australia with the IAB. Cooke will represent the business on the IAB’s Video Advertising Council and Gideon for the IAB’s Gaming Working Group.
Alex Spurzem, general manager Samsung Ads Australia, said of the appointments: “Our team here is an important force in the growing CTV market. Each hire is strategic in nature and brings a wealth of TV and data experience to the expanding team. We look forward to the contribution that both Samantha and Gideon will make, and this is another step towards providing industry leading and best-in-class products that can deliver even better results for clients and advertisers.”
