• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, March 22, 2023

Marketing agency Acadia has hired Rebecca Yi as its first head of influencer marketing.

The agency veteran previously served as marketing director at Village Marketing, an influencer marketing shop that WPP acquired about a year ago. (The holding company placed another big bet today in the influencer space with the acquisition of Goat.)

Earlier she led integrated marketing efforts for Edelman and Ogilvy, serving consumer brands including The Coca-Cola Company, T.J.Maxx, Samsung, White Claw, Corkcicle, and SeatedApp.  

Acadia was formed in 2021 by former 360i CEO Jared Belsky and BizChair founder Sean Belnick.

“When it’s part of an omnichannel effort, rather than an isolated specialty, influencer can yield critical insights that raise the performance of all digital marketing,” said Belsky. “Rebecca has mastered the influencer space in so many categories, from CPG and health & wellness to finance and tech. With her at the helm, we can increase the return on all our client campaigns.” 

“We can build a new version of influencer marketing,” added Yi. By combining influencer efforts with the data, commerce, and search capabilities Acadia has, she said, “we can make clients more relevant and more profitable. It’s a new chapter for the practice and for me.”