Thrive bolsters Sport and Digital Content divisions with new appointments
Thrive PR is expanding its offering with the addition of two new leaders to head up its Sport and Digital Content divisions, Mumbrella can reveal.
Alex Robinson has been appointed as director of social, content and digital, overseeing the growth of Thrive’s in-house production studio, while Ryan van Haalen takes on the role of head of sport, expanding the agency’s sport division.
Robinson joins the agency from a stint as managing editor of social content for Netflix ANZ at Ooh! Unmissable, and has also previously been digital marketing manager at Football Australia, as well as running his own digital agency 3pin Digital.
van Haalen brings 16 years of experience to the agency, having most recently served as bureau chief at Sky News, alongside roles at 7News. Fox Sports and ABC News.
Both roles will report into executive director: chief growth officer, Claire Basire. Robinson will be based as the agency’s Sydney HQ, while van Haalen will work out of Thrive’s Melbourne office.
Commenting on the appointment Robinson said: “The opportunity to lead a team that has seen tremendous growth in the past 12 months is exciting, particularly at an agency that has the opportunity to be so agile, working with incredible global brands. I’m looking forward to shaping what the future of the digital era looks like at Thrive and for our clients across Australia and New Zealand.”
van Haalen added: “I’m thrilled to be returning to the world of sport and look forward to working for one of the leading communications agencies in Australia and New Zealand. It’s a huge period ahead for sport in this country with the hosting of World Cups, Commonwealth Games and Olympics all on the horizon. I can’t wait to build on Thrive’s rich heritage in sport, grow the existing sports consulting team and share plenty of amazing stories for clients.”
Thrive CEO’ Leilani Abels welcomes the new appoints, having spent the last 12 months focusing on growing the agency’s local and international presence.
“Sport has been part of Thrive’s DNA since our inception. From representing TAG Heuer in motor sport and reshaping the Spring Racing Carnival for Melbourne Racing Club in our early years, through to more recent times working for ANZ at the Australian Open tennis, LEGO at this year’s Australian F1 Grand Prix to launching and leading comms for SailGP in Australia, Thrive has continued to provide a first-class communications service to its clients in sport. We are privileged to represent big brands like MG Motor Australia who have major sponsorships in sport.”
Abels added: “Alex Robinson’s appointment from Netflix social is also an exciting one for us as more and more clients explore new channels of communication with TikTok and other social channels. We have an incredible team of in-house creatives, producers, editors, videographers and designers delivering work for leaders in travel, financial services, automotive, sport and entertainment, food and drink, and more.
“These new business leads will bring more diverse services to our clients in 2023.”
Thrive’s clients include Harley-Davidson, MG Motors, ANZ Group, GoPro, airbnb, LEGO, Cisco, Tinder and Reddit.
