MediaWorks is strengthening its Executive Team with the appointment of Outdoor industry veteran Mike Watkins as Chief Executive Officer Outdoor and current Outdoor Director Brad Morgan as Chief Operating Officer Outdoor.
MediaWorks CEO Wendy Palmer said the appointments are a reflection of the business recognising the importance of Outdoor in its overall product offering.
“New Zealand’s Outdoor market is growing rapidly and this new dream team will help drive MediaWorks’ growth in this space.”
Mike Watkins has an extensive background in many of New Zealand’s leading advertising, design and film production companies, including Generator, Meares Taine, M&C Saatchi, Designworks and Film Construction.
In 2016 he moved into media, taking a role as General Manager of APN Outdoor, which was later acquired by JCDecaux. Until late 2023 he was Country Head of JCDecaux New Zealand.
Watkins initiated the idea of Calibre, a universal Out of Home audience measurement system, playing a key role in building the platform which has now been adopted as the industry standard in New Zealand. For the past four years he has also served as Chairman of the Out of Home industry body OOHMAA.
At MediaWorks Watkins will be reunited with former colleague Brad Morgan, who will move into the newly established COO Outdoor role. Morgan has been at MediaWorks for more than two years, most recently as Outdoor Director, and has extensive Out of Home experience with previous stints at APN Outdoor, JCDecaux, and Go Media.
Watkins says he is getting onboard at a pivotal time for the industry. “It’s a dynamic area, with some big contracts up for tender, new asset formats and offers emerging, alongside the continued rise of programmatic. MediaWorks is primed to capitalise on all these opportunities alongside its radio and digital growth and I am thrilled to be part of the team to do this.”
On stepping into the COO role, Morgan says: “I’m excited to be working alongside Mike again, leading MediaWorks Outdoor through an unprecedented time in the Out of Home industry and continuing to deliver exceptional results for our partners and clients.”
Watkins and Morgan start in their new roles on Monday, November 20.