• by Amy Corr  @MediaPostOTL, October 14, 2016

Walrus hired Mel Stern as media communications director, a new position. Stern will be responsible for leading Walrus' newly-launched media department, which will provide media and communications planning to the agency's clients. Prior to Walrus, Stern was a partner at J3/Universal McCann, where he was responsible for leading integrated media planning for Johnson & Johnson brands including Acuvue, Simponi Aria, Invokana, Animas, DePuy-Synthes, and Lifescan. Before that, he served as a brand strategy supervisor at Horizon Media, where he led media strategy for Capital One Finance, Little Caesars, Mohegan Sun, and Ruby Tuesday. Stern began his media planning career at Wieden + Kennedy, working on the Nike NY and Jordan brand accounts.

"The opportunity to build a modern media department from the ground up within a smart, successful creative agency is what drew me to the role at Walrus," said Stern. "This move signals the direction our industry is headed and the solutions needed to address a complex, fragmented media landscape."