Michael Lamb joins as a creative strategist in earned media, where M&C Saatchi Talk said he will work in "driving the agency’s proposition, process and practice forward". This will involve "supporting clients with identifying the truths within their audiences and communities, and shaping the brand conversations between them to enable meaningful, long-term impact".
He will work with head of strategy and creative Will Cooke and head of growth Alex Michael. Like Cooke, Lamb previously worked at Golin – as a director – and before that held roles at The Media Foundry, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Eskenzi PR and elsewhere.
Shinal Pancholi joins M&C Saatchi Talk as a social creative strategist. She was previously head of digital and social at M&C Saatchi World Services, where she was responsible for social growth, supporting clients spanning government, not for profit and charitable organisations.
Pancholi spent more than five years in digital and comms roles at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust before moving agency-side at firms including Aurora Healthcare Communications, W2O Group and Punch Communications. In her new role, she will support head of creative development Sophie Bannister in "defining social conversations for brands" and overseeing paid, influencer, and content strategies, the agency said.
Creative strategist Sophie Newman moves from the role of business development director at M&C Saatchi Talk, having joined the agency in a previous guise as Talk.Global in 2017.
M&C Saatchi Talk, which formed in 2020 from the merger of M&C Saatchi PR and Talk.Global, made a number of senior hires earlier this year. In May, it announced the appointment of former Golin and VCCP figure Alex Michael, alongside two creatives – and later a new head of consumer, Steve Kirk, from The Brooklyn Brothers.
M&C Saatchi Talk chief operating officer Ryan Woor said: “As announced six months ago, in the wake of our significant agency and client growth, we’ve been working to invest in the strategic, creative talent that now joins us to reinforce our success in crafting compelling conversations for our clients. I am delighted to have Michael, Shinal and Sophie join us in leading this exciting and business-defining journey.”
M&C Saatchi Talk underwent a leadership shake-up late last year after managing director Chris Hides announced he was moving to The Academy.
Account wins at the agency this year have included David Lloyd Leisure and global beauty brand Sally Beauty. It also works with EE, Homebase, Currys and Pernod Ricard.
