Draftfcb has named Paula Fedoris EVP and chief analytics officer and Sara Bamber chief strategy officer for its New York office. Bamber’s hire took effect September 6, while Fedoris started work at the agency last week.
Bamber replaced Vita Harris, who was appointed Draftfcb’s global chief strategy officer on September 6. Fedoris’ position is new to the agency.
Bamber oversees the New York office’s account planning, digital strategy and customer intelligence teams. She has 12 direct reports, split between the agency’s planning and digital strategy teams.
Fedoris works with Bamber to develop the New York office’s strategy, as well as its analytics practice. As a member of Draftfcb’s global capabilities team, she is also charged with growing the company’s global analytics services.
Bamber and Fedoris both report to Draftfcb New York CEO Dana Maiman. Fedoris also reports to Draftfcb EVP and global CMO Debra Coughlin for her international duties.
Bamber said she plans to focus on developing work that taps into the idea of “branded utility” to deepen the relationship between brands and consumers beyond campaigns.
“Frankly, the age of the campaign is dead. Now it’s about ongoing storytelling and ongoing engagement,” she said. “So the pressure for all the strategic ideas at the heart of briefs is even higher, but the opportunity is greater.”
Bamber previously served as interactive agency SapientNitro‘s global head of strategy for The Coca-Cola Co. account. She had also worked as head of planning at ad agency Anomaly NYC.
“When I saw that [Bamber] was somebody who led a planning department like Anomaly’s and iconic brands such as Coke, there was never a question this was the person for Draftfcb,” said Maiman, who is also the president and CEO of Draftfcb Healthcare, via email.
Draftfcb used a recruiter to hire Bamber, said Jennifer Comiteau, director of content creation at Draftfcb, via email. She declined to disclose the recruiter’s name.
