Shivani Maharaj was previously chief content and partnerships officer at Wavemaker.
WPP Media Australia & New Zealand has appointed Shivani Maharaj chief creator officer and Toby Maclachlan head of creative strategy.
Both roles are newly created and span agencies Mindshare, Wavemaker and EssenceMediacom, as well as the group’s central influencer business.
Maharaj was previously chief content and partnerships officer at Wavemaker.
“The future of brand-building is collaborative, social-first, and creatively fearless, and I’m thrilled to help lead the way,” said Maharaj.
“Influence is where it’s at, and there is a huge opportunity ahead of us to scale it. At WPP Media, we do more than influence culture, we creator it, driving innovation and creativity on behalf of our clients,” she said.
In her new role, Maharaj will focus on creator-led storytelling and shaping brand relevance in real-time culture.
Maclachlan joins from Mediabrands Content Studio, where he was head of strategy and product.
Both leaders will also support WPP Beauty Tech Labs, the group’s dedicated influencer marketing agency for L’Oréal across Australia and New Zealand, covering all 32 brands under the beauty group’s umbrella.
“Since launching our dedicated influencer business four years ago, we have seen its rapid expansion and the impact it can have on clients’ businesses,” said CEO of WPP Media ANZ, Aimee Buchanan.
“The way consumers engage with brands and creators is being redefined and we are thrilled to see Shivani and Toby take on these roles to help scale influence by WPP Media and set us up for the next era in this exciting space.”
WPP Media forecasts more than half of content-driven ad revenue in 2025 will come from platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram Reels.
According to its This Year Next Year report, global creator revenue is expected to reach AUD $277.35 billion this year, up 20% on 2024, and more than double to AUD $564.9 billion by 2030.
Locally, Statista estimated influencer advertising spend in Australia will reach $920 million in 2025.
WPP acquired global influencer agency Goat in 2023 and last year launched an Inclusive Influencer tool in Australia aimed at removing unconscious bias in creator campaigns.
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