Wavemaker appoints Mark Lawson to national head of performance role based in Sydney

Wavemaker, GroupM’s largest agency specialising in media, content and technology, has appointed Mark Lawson as national head of performance.

Based in Sydney, Lawson will develop the agency’s performance offering and is tasked with driving world-class standards, rigour and processes across the agency’s national performance products, covering biddable platforms, search and social.

He makes the move to Wavemaker after more than five years with WPP’s digital-first agency Essence, first in London, then Singapore before he helped launch the Sydney office in 2016. Prior to Essence, Lawson worked as a planning executive at Optimedia UK. At Wavemaker, he reports to chief growth and product officer James Hier.

Says Hier: “Mark is a performance native with global and local experience working across some of the toughest performance clients in the world. Having taken on the mantle of GroupM’s largest media agency, it has boosted our ability to bring in high-calibre individuals such as Mark. Clients are crying out for performance products and Mark’s in-depth knowledge and world-class expertise will bring us to the leading edge of media, ensuring we continue to drive value and growth for our clients.”

Says Lawson: “I was attracted to the opportunity to be part of the biggest agency within WPP and GroupM and to work across Wavemaker’s huge range of clients. I see my role as getting under the hood of what clients want, and helping them understand the right platforms and KPIs for achieving their goals and maximising return on investment. Digital marketing never stands still so to be truly effective in this space, we have to continually push the boundaries and never settle for mediocre – I look forward to working with Wavemaker clients to deliver innovative performance campaigns.”