Edelman has named Megan Van Someren global chair of Brand, effective immediately. Edelman’s Brand practice is made up of more than 1,000 employees globally. Van Someren, who joined Edelman back in October as global chair of the firm’s Food & Beverage offering, will be based in London and report to Katie Burke, Chief Strategy Officer and global head of Practices and Sectors. Van Someren will continue to oversee global Food & Beverage.
“Brand marketing is a core part of our heritage and our future,” said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman. “Dating back to the founding of our agency in 1952, we have been responsible for some of the most innovative brand marketing campaigns in history. But we must continue to evolve the global practice and our work to best meet the needs of our clients. Megan has a proven track record of creating and implementing innovative ways of working, whether it be at a global client level or via new agency models and offerings.”
Van Someren brings over 20 years of strategic planning experience across a number of global agency networks, including Leo Burnett, Wunderman, JWT and most recently running strategic planning departments as well as global client strategy teams. An industry veteran, she has worked with some of the world’s leading brands, including Danone, Kraft Foods, Nestle, Kellogg’s, Mondelez, Nespresso, Treasury Wines, Kimberly-Clark, Microsoft and Whirlpool.
Van Someren also has a proven record of launching new offerings within the agency model, most recently, Canteen Consulting, part of JWT, which was designed to help food and drink brands innovate and evolve reflective of food culture. She also helped drive JWT’s Female Tribes Consultancy, designed to re-imagine the role of female capital as a strategic force for brands and business.
Van Someren joined Edelman from J. Walter Thompson in London, where she served as global strategy director leading brand strategy for Special K and Nespresso. Previously, Van Someren was executive vice president, global strategy director and senior vice president, group planning director at Leo Burnett. At Leo Burnett she launched Marinate, a think tank focused on monitoring insights and best practice of brands within food culture. Prior to Leo Burnett, Van Someren was head of planning and group planning director at Wunderman Chicago.
Edelman has served as lead idea agency on a number of award-winning Brand marketing campaigns, including the Taco Bell Hotel, ASICS Eternal Run and HP Escape Therapy.
Over the past few years Edelman has strengthened and expanded its Brand offering by bringing aboard diverse talent including Judy John, as our first global chief creative officer, and Yannis Kotziagkiaouridis, as Edelman’s first chief Data & Analytics officer, as well as veterans of Razorfish, Ogilvy, Spark 44, Lewis and others.
“Trust and relevance are not something that can be demanded or bought,” said Van Someren. “Now more than ever, it has to be earned. Never has this been more pertinent for brands than today. Which is why I see Earned Creative, ideas and solutions that are social by design, rooted in purpose, as fast as the news cycle and able to spark substantive change and dialogue, as the way forward. The time is now to harness all the great success and strength in Edelman’s brand practice, including its unparalleled depth of knowledge around Brand Trust, and elevate its value for our client’s business.”
Van Someren and the teams she has led have won numerous awards. These include gold and silver Effies for Special K and Kellogg’s Masterbrand, respectively, and FAB Awards for Burger King Retail and Kellogg's Frosted Flakes. She is an ongoing contributor to the BBC and is also active on panels, as both a participant and a facilitator, covering topics such as luxury in food, the future of sustainability and health and wellness. Van Someren is a graduate of Drake University in Iowa.
About Edelman
Edelman is a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations. Our 6,000 people in more than 60 offices deliver communications strategies that give our clients the confidence to lead and act with certainty, earning the trust of their stakeholders. Our honors include the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for PR; Advertising Age’s 2019 A-List; the Holmes Report’s 2018 Global Digital Agency of the Year; and, five times, Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work. Since our founding in 1952, we have remained an independent, family-run business. Edelman owns specialty companies Edelman Intelligence (research) and United Entertainment Group (entertainment, sports, lifestyle). For more information please visit: www.edelman.com