Guardian Australia recruits new leader for branded content arm
New Guardian Labs leader will report to Australia's commercial boss Danika Johnston
Guardian Australia is ramping up its branded content push, launching a search for a “highly strategic and innately creative thinker” to lead its creative studio, Guardian Labs.
The publication is seeking a head of its in-house content studio to drive its brand partnership and commercial content strategy, with a focus on building the unit into a “high-margin, sustainable and scalable revenue channel” for Guardian News and Media.
The newly created role will report to Danika Johnston, former managing director of WeAre8, who joined as Guardian Australia director of commercial partnerships for Australia and New Zealand in June last year.
Guardian Labs was originally established as a content marketing arm in Australia in 2016. Today, it operates as a production hub creating integrated media spanning video, audio, podcasts and events for commercial clients.
The masthead has also made recent changes within the division, promoting commercial editor Meg Bellemore to head of content for Guardian Labs.
Meg Bellemore was promoted from commercial editor to head of content within Labs
“Our ambition is to make the Guardian impossible for Australian brands to ignore by delivering trusted, human-led and creatively distinctive work through Guardian Labs,” Johnston said. “This role will be central to accelerating our commercial growth and building deeper, more meaningful connections with audiences.”
The changes sit under the purview of Rebecca Costello, who joined Guardian Australia as its new managing director from Schwartz Media at the beginning of 2024.
Guardian Australia’s investment in its content marketing arm comes alongside plans first reported by Mumbrella to introduce compulsory registration for its heaviest Australian users, as it seeks to lift engagement and grow revenue.
In February, the masthead confirmed it was exploring the move as part of a broader strategy to balance advertising impact with deeper audience relationships.
That same month, editor Lenore Taylor announced she would leave the publication after 13 years at the masthead, including a decade as editor.
Taylor is the longest-serving current editor of a major news website or newspaper in Australia, and one of the longest-serving female news editors in Australian media history. Her role has yet to be permanently replaced with David Munk, a senior managing editor of The Guardian in London, acting as the interim editor.
Meanwhile, Guardian UK has appointed Leah Green as head of its newly formed Guardian Studios, described as “a new creative hub for video-first, personality-led journalism”, based at its London headquarters.
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