• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, March 8, 2007

Weeks after bringing in two heavyweights to lead its burgeoning communications practice, spunky independent KSL Media has recruited a third regarded as one of Madison Avenue's top digital media strategists. But unlike other shops that are forming digital media specialty units within their organization, the new digital guru will participate as an integral part of KSL's overall management team.

The executive, Ed Kelly, joins KSL as its first executive vice president-digital media and comes from Omnicom's Atmosphere BBDO unit, where he was managing director and lead strategist for integrated and interactive marketing.

He is the third executive vice president to join KSL in as many weeks and is the second with a strong track record in digital media. Jeffrey Mahl, who was named KSL's chief buying officer, was a pioneer in digital and online media at ESPN, AskJeeves, and Gemstar TV Guide.

Kelly will work with Mahl, and the third new member of the management team, Tom Solfi, a veteran strategic planner who joined from WPP's MindShare unit, as part of an integrated team conceiving, planning and buying media for clients.

In fact, he says it was that approach - as opposed to the opportunity of running an autonomous digital media operation - that attracted him to KSL.

"It's not a digital division. It's just a digital competency within our overall competency," he explains. "This is not KSL Interactive, or KSL Digital. It's just KSL. What we're trying to do is create a structure that offers integrated solutions for clients, and basically, you can only do that when everyone works together in terms of thinking, in terms of planning, and in terms of buying."

Without specifically knocking his former employer Omnicom, Kelly said that spirit of integration is lacking in many big Madison Avenue organizations where digital strategy and execution is often parsed out to specialty units, creating environments that are less than holistic in terms of the bigger media picture.

"It's not in their DNA," he asserts.

Kelly has a strong digital track record, working with advertisers at both big and small shops. He launched Intercept Interactive's full-service agency and directed interactive services for Atmosphere BBDO, AnswerThink, Zentropy/McCann and Euro RSCG MVBMS.