Socially-led creative agency We Are Social has appointed Caitlin Hislop to the role of head of strategy and Sarah Macrae to editorial director.
They join the 55-strong Sydney team as the company continues to bolster its strategic and creative capability in support of a growing client base.
Head of strategy, Caitlin Hislop (main photo, on the right) joins from Tribal DDB, where she worked with key agency clients including Kmart, Westpac and Volkswagen and helped to shepherd a period of strong growth for the agency.
Previously, Hislop was group strategy director at Mindshare, where she led strategic thinking for IAG, IKEA and HSBC. She has a special interest in using creativity to change behaviour and this passion for transformational work has led to her being recognised as one of Media Week’s 30 Under 30 as well as earning shortlists at the Performance Marketing Awards and B&T’s 30 Under 30.
Hislop will lead a team of 6 strategists, research and paid media specialists, working with We Are Social’s clients to deliver on their vision of ideas worth talking about. As part of the leadership team, she will also contribute to shaping the future of the business.
Macrae (main photo, on the left)was appointed to the editorial director role after five years at Are Media (previously Bauer Media), where she was head of commercial content, working with brands such as CommBank, Dyson, Diageo and Google on digitally-led content solutions.
She also directed the digital output for the publishing company’s purpose-driven content campaigns on financial literacy, gender parity and coercive control, which collectively earned four awards, including Australian Marketing Institute’s Best Change Social Marketing.
Previously, Macrae was a beauty editor in the UK and Australia, working on titles including Cosmopolitan, Woman, OK! Magazine and POPSUGAR.
Macrae will direct the editorial team, consisting of 10 culturally-connected content editors and social media managers, constantly ideating and creating planned and reactive branded content and establishing effective creative partnerships with influencers.
Hislop, said:“I’m thrilled to join the agency, having watched the formation of their leadership team with jealousy from afar. Suzie has an unbelievable reputation for developing talent and our client roster is impeccable so I can’t wait to get stuck in.
“I’ve always had a passion for understanding how and why people make decisions and that is at the heart of what the agency does. After all, social isn’t about platforms, it’s about people.”
Macrae, editorial director at We Are Social, said: “The appetite for branded editorial continues to grow at pace. I’m so excited to join We Are Social and lead a team of editors and experts that are as immersed in the culture as they are in the platforms.
“The work they’ve created in recent years has been best-in-class and I look forward to building on that to ensure our clients are always at the forefront of cultural conversations.”
Suzie Shaw, managing director at We Are Social, said: “We’ve enjoyed strong growth this year, which has seen us bring in some exceptional new talent, like Caitlin and Sarah. Their skills and experience are outstanding, and are already helping us go from strength to strength.”
In 2021, the We Are Social team has expanded with new hires across client services, strategy, creative, production and operations, following a surge in new business and organic growth.
