• Adweek, Monday, April 13, 2009 9:30 AM

Universal McCann has hired Jacki Kelley -- whose career spans two decades in the media business -- as the shop's North America president. Kelley was most recently at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia as executive vice president, media sales, where she led the creation of an integrated media team.

Her hire is a sign that the agency is redefining its relationship with media owners. Matt Seiler, global CEO of Universal McCann, says that buyer-seller relationships usually lack depth and tend to focus too much on the final transaction. He believes that "early in the media planning process, [ties have to be forged] to create strategic connections to what the client's business objectives are."

Seiler is seeking to reshape UM, which he joined eight months ago. In the following weeks, the agency is expected to appoint a handful of North American executives to be liaisons to specific media companies with a mandate to forge more meaningful ties.

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