Thom James joins Fever as head of social

Fever has brought in Dentsu’s Thom James as its new head of social, as the agency looks to further enhance its digital offering.

James joins the Fever board from from Dentsu’s digital creative shop Isobar, where he has headed up the agency’s social division since 2013.

At Isobar, James led Kellogg’s EMEA social media programme, IKEA’s UK social and digital business and AB InBev’s World Cup and Wimbledon campaigns for Budweiser and Stella Artois.

James has also worked on a number of award-winning social and digital campaigns. He was responsible for launching American Express and Tesco Mobile’s social programmes, led social strategies for retailer Next and Coca-Cola’s vitamin water, and launched P&G’s influencer programme for Aussie Haircare.

In his new role at Fever, James will be responsible for growing the agency’s digital offering. He will lead a team of specialists that already includes designers, photographers, videographers, animators and social campaign managers.

He will also take board responsibility for Fever’s current social clients, which include Logitech, The True Honey Company, Ultimate Ears, Black Tower, Dinosaurs in the Wild and Jaybird.

Bruce McLachlan, MD of Fever, said: “While we have invested substantially in our video and social content studio capabilities over the past twelve months, we’re now increasingly seeing our clients look to us to drive and develop full social strategies that cover paid as well as earned.

“Thom’s experience in this space, as well as in developing influencer relations programmes, will be integral to our future growth. Three of our last four client wins have been as a result of our social content capability as much as our publicity experience, and Thom’s appointment will further enforce our ability to develop through-the-line, integrated campaigns for our partners.”

James added: “Fever understand that great storytelling works irrespective of channel, and the best creative sits at the intersection of PR, content and social. The number of recent wins that allow Fever to deliver on that blend of disciplines shows clients also buy into that way of thinking, and I’m looking forward to helping the agency build on what’s already an extremely strong platform.”