Former co-founder and executive creative director of Poem, Matt Holmes, has taken on a new role as head of public relations (PR) and earned creative at Emotive, bolstering the creative agency‘s integrated ‘fame’ offering.
Holmes who co-founded independent creative PR and social agency Poem with Rob Lowe, announced his departure in October of last year, 2023. He exited the agency following a sale of his 50% of the business.
See also: Poem co-founder Matt Holmes announces his departure from the agency
Holmes said of his departure at the time, “I’ve worked at some of the best agencies in the world but will forever be thankful for the phone call I got from Rob eight years ago speculatively asking if I’d be interested in starting something a bit different. Even more so that we stuck our necks out and what we’ve achieved since.”
Holmes’ new role will be deeply integrated into Emotive’s ‘fame’ offering that sees PR delivered internally alongside the agency’s existing social, talent, partnerships and brand experience specialisms.
Holmes said of the appointment, “I have always believed in putting PR at the beginning of the creative process with the ambition to earn fame for brands and maximise marketing spend ROI via a genuinely integrated approach. Briefs like this are still frustratingly rare, with PR often seen as a bolt-on in silo. So, my next move was never going to be another PR agency.
“With the strength of Emotive’s idea first creative offering alongside their expertise in areas proven to garner earned media, this is the perfect fit to help brands create multi-channel fame and real impact. It’s the future of brand PR in my opinion.”
Emotive chief executive officer and founder Simon Joyce added, “The truth is, good advertising doesn’t always look like advertising any more. Our purpose is to create ideas that change the way people feel, and with the majority of brands met with indifference, and people actively dodging ordinary advertising, that increasingly means ideas not ads and fame as essential not just desirable.
“Enter Matt. He’s a proven creative PR leader and working closely with Rhian Mason, head of social, talent and partnerships and Darren Wright, group creative director, will seamlessly weave PR into the fabric of our creative and production processes. ”
Homes assumes his position from March 4.
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Top Image: Matt Holmes