Utility welcomes new director of performance and growth

Wellington digital marketing agency Utility has appointed Lior Kitain as director of performance and growth to oversee its paid amplification and conversion discipline.

Utility describes itself as an information agency, helping brands distil business expertise into marketing that performs.

The agency is the organic search partner for Meridian, Powershop, Hamilton City Council and Ravensdown, and runs broader digital marketing programmes for clients across New Zealand.

Founder Tom Pitchforth says their model is built to last: “We help businesses find and share the knowledge they already have. That is a foundation, not a tactic.

“Businesses that do that well can outlast algorithm changes, platform shifts and whatever the landscape throws at them next. The fundamentals of a strong business, being genuinely useful to your market and communicating that clearly, do not go out of style.”

Think beyond the marketing function

Kitain joins the team from Reason Agency, where he spent seven years as media performance lead, working across brands including DoorDash, Cigna, Bendon, Trustpower, Caci Clinic and Hnry.

Pitchforth says: “Lior brings serious depth across paid advertising, marketing technology and ecommerce. But what matters more is that he thinks beyond the marketing function. He understands how businesses actually work, and that approach fits naturally at Utility.”

Kitain says: “Utility is about marketing where decisions are made. The best marketing earns its place. It helps people understand something, find something they needed or make a better decision. When you use paid amplification to put genuinely useful content in front of the right people, it becomes part of the value, not just a mechanism to deliver it.”