WiTH Collective appoints Downstream Marketing COO Justin Hind as managing partner

WiTH Collective has appointed Downstream Marketing chief operating officer Justin Hind as managing partner.

Hind will step down from his role at the digital performance marketing company at the end of the year to join WiTH Collective, the digitally centric creative ideas agency launched by his wide, the former digital chief of Leo Burnett, Dominique Hind.

Dominique Hind launched the agency in July 2010 and has quickly grown WiTH Collective to 15 staff and won 17 new clients and projects including Allergan Health, Amaysim, Canon, Macquarie Bank, Katies Fashion and Westpac.

Downstream Marketing will promote five-year veteran Mark Dawson to client services director, responsible for overseeing all client engagement across search, social & display.

The agency will also welcome two new senior staff from Efficient Frontier in the UK & US: a senior account manager who joins the team from Efficient Frontier in London, and a social marketing lead who joins from Context Optional headquarters in San Francisco.

Says Dominique Hind: “WiTH Collective started as an idea that Justin and I came up with in a Brisbane bar 10 years ago. The idea was to create a different type of agency, focused on partnership and collaboration at all levels, externally with clients and internally with staff, which is what WiTH Collective has created. The ambition was always for Justin to come on board and we are excited to work together again to build WiTH Collective.”   

Justin Hind leaves Downstream Marketing after more than four years with the agency, which is Australia’s largest and fastest growing performance digital media agency. Downstream has recorded 50% year on year compound growth over the last four years and has been awarded AdNews Specialist Agency of the Year in 2010 and 2008 and B&T Emerging Agency of the Year in 2008. Last month Downstream Marketing was acquired by Silicon Valley-based technology partner Efficient Frontier.

Says Justin Hind: “When I joined Downstream Marketing in 2007, my agreement with both Downstream Marketing CEO and founder Stephen Knowles and founding investor, netus was to help build Downstream’s brand, reputation, client service operations and client base. Downstream is an amazing business and now that my original goals are complete I want to return to a creative agency.

Downstream has been the absolute highlight of my career so far, I’ve learnt an immeasurable amount from working with Steve and netus and I’ve gained experience and exposure to world-class marketing technology companies in Silicon Valley. I plan to take that experience into WiTH Collective as a digitally centric creative ideas agency focusing on the intersection between creative ideas, marketing technology platforms and data driven insights.”

Prior to joining Downstream Marketing, Justin Hind was head of direct and digital at BMF, head of direct and channel planning at Leo Burnett and was director of CRM at Wunderman.

Says Stephen Knowles, CEO of Downstream Marketing: “Justin has played a key role in developing the company from a small start-up to being one of the leading digital performance agencies in Australia. Justin has done an amazing job of helping Downstream Marketing deliver innovative solutions to digital marketing challenges for the past four years and we wish him every success moving forwards with WiTH Collective. It is now Justin’s time to develop his own business with his wife Dominique and we are all very excited for him.”

Says Alison Deans, CEO of Netus (Downstream Marketing’s foundation investor): “Justin joined the Downstream team over four years ago, at a formative time for the business. Together we grew the company to become a world class digital agency. It’s time for Justin’s next chapter with WiTH Collective and we look forward to his continued success.”

WiTH Collective and Downstream Marketing have worked collaboratively as agency partners on a number of client briefs and intend to continue this agency relationship moving forward.

Justin Hind will officially start at WiTH Collective on Tuesday, 3rd January 2012.