WeAre8 Australia brings on CMO as it gears up for local launch

New positive-focused social media platform, WeAre8, has brought on Nine’s B2B marketing strategy leader, Luke Robinson, as Australian chief marketing officer in advance of the company’s local launch in August.

Robinson boasts of senior marketing experience working for Channel 9, Bauer Media and Sony Music. Most recently, he oversaw trade marketing at Nine across TV, radio, publishing and digital for more than six years.

He’s joined on the leadership team by another recent recruit, Danika Johnston, as chief commercial officer. Johnston also has vast media experience across her 25-year career working for Nova Entertainment, Mamamia, SBS and TikTok on both agency and client-side.

The two appointments were confirmed a month ahead of the official launch of the social app platform in Australia on 8 August. WeAre8’s platform is designed to allow consumers to choose the brands that advertise to them, with each ad viewed triggering a donation to charities making a positive impact on the environment and society. The model sees 55 per cent of every dollar advertisers spend on WeAre8 shared directly with people and charities.  Another 5 per cent then goes to a creator fund, again aimed at fostering a hate-free evolution of social media feeds.

The platform was founded by Australian tech entrepreneur and the founder of Standard Media Index, Sue Fennessy, and launched in the UK earlier this year. The company is B-Corp certified and raised $15 million in Series B funding earlier this year to fund operations and marketing. Its supporters include BBC Studios through UKTV as well as English footballer, Rio Ferdinand.

WeAre8 CEO Australia, Lizzie Young, said Robinson and Johnston’s professional media background was a key reason for their respective appointments.

“Luke is recognised for the success he has delivered building brands across a number of different media and content businesses. He has a unique mix of strategic and creative capability and I can't wait to see him build our community,” she commented. “Danika is passionate about delivering results for her clients. More importantly, she is passionate about delivering the right results - ones that guarantee transformational performance, all while enabling brands to drive positive outcomes for people and the planet.

“We are excited to get going and are committed to building a media offering that delivers serious results and has a positive impact on social and environmental causes facing Australians.”

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