• by Todd Wasserman , January 10, 2022

Media by Mother, the media operation recently formed by independent ad agency Mother has hired Maria Van Buskirk as head of communication strategy for the New York office.

Van Buskirk joined Media by Mother from GroupM’s Essence in December. She’s tasked with developing communication strategy as a discipline for the agency and its clients.

Van Buskirk had previously worked with Dave Gaines, CEO and founder of Media by Mother, at Maxus, which like Essence is a GroupM entity. Gaines also previously served WPP global head of media strategy before setting up Media by Mother which was formally unveiled last June.

“Maria is a spectacularly accomplished communications strategist, and one of the brightest young minds in media right now,” said Gaines.

Gaines founded Media By Mother with the goal of disrupting the media industry and reshaping the way media buying works. An independent shop, Media by Mother acts as a consultant for brands including Everlane, GoFundMe and Premier.

As a strategy lead at Essence, Van Buskirk worked across client Google’s portfolio of companies and services, managing campaign budgets in excess of $200 million. She was handpicked by Google leadership as the agency sponsor for a global, Google-led initiative intended to improve marketing efficacy for the portfolio.

She also is credited with co-developing Essence’s Audience Strategy product, which has been adopted by leading brands and is credited with securing new business globally.

Van Buskirk also led strategy for the Vistaprint global business pitch, which the agency won in 2020.