Digital Agency Essence Announces New Global Leadership Roles

Oscar Garza and Brian Krick to Take Charge of Respective Disciplines

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May 01, 2017, 11:00 ET

NEW YORK, May 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Essence, a global digital agency, today announced two leaders are assuming newly created global positions. Former Global Programmatic Director, Oscar Garza, has been named Global Director of Media Activation, and former Global Search and Biddable Director, Brian Krick, will take on the job of Global Director of Media Planning. The roles were created as part of the agency's strategic global redesign to support client needs and industry shifts.

Oscar Garza, Global Director of Media Activation, Essence

Brian Krick, Global Director of Media Planning, Essence

San Francisco-based Garza previously drove programmatic innovation for the discipline across The Americas, EMEA and APAC. Under his direction, Garza's team was responsible for the agency's programmatic spend surpassing 50% globally year over year. He joined the agency in 2014 as Programmatic Lead for North America. Prior to Essence, Garza was the Director of Acquisition for Electronic Arts, where he developed programmatic audience targeting for the brand's in-house media teams. As Global Director of Media Activation, Garza will oversee the new, 220+ team that manages all media buying and optimization, including biddable, programmatic and reservation.

Krick, based in Essence's New York office, was previously responsible for Essence's performance marketing offering globally. During a period of more than 200% growth in staff, he was responsible for managing more than 100 staff. Before Essence, Krick spent 12 years at Publicis Groupe-owned Razorfish. As Global Head of Media Planning, he now manages a team of more than 70 senior cross-channel optimization experts globally, tasked with architecting plans that maximize returns for clients and optimizing cross-channel investment decisions.

"Oscar and Brian have played a fundamental role in our quest to reimagine the client experience," said Christian Juhl, global CEO of Essence. "Their digital media expertise is of paramount importance when we look at the future of our agency and the way we help brands reach consumers. I couldn't feel more confident having them lead these two crucial practices."

"Essence has centered itself around buying media assisted by technology and data science," said Garza. "Programmatic has been the practice we've associated with these terms, but Search, Social and other channels are, in parallel, experiencing a fundamental reinvention. I am very excited to be part of this transformation."

"Planning and optimization have always been a key pillar of Essence's mission to make advertising more valuable to the world," said Krick. "I'm looking forward to further shaping our audience-based offering and having an even deeper impact on brands and consumers alike."

Garza and Krick's new titles are effective immediately. They will both continue to report into Andrew Shebbeare, co-founder and chief product officer.

About Essence
Essence is a global digital agency that blends data science, objective media and captivating experiences to build valuable connections between brands and consumers. Clients include Google, FrieslandCampina, Tesco Mobile and the Financial Times. The agency is more than 750 people strong, manages over $1B in media spend and deploys campaigns in 71 markets via offices in Chicago, Delhi, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Part of GroupM, Essence is majority owned by WPP, the world's leading communications services group.