MSLGroup has a new hire to help bring expertise in paid social and digital to the public relations firm’s growing consumer practice business and lead it into new categories in Canada.

Caroline Murphy has joined the agency as SVP, consumer practice leader in Canada to focus on growing business in the broader lifestyle category, which includes food and beverage, spirits, consumer electronics, automotive and travel and tourism. Murphy comes off of more than three years as VP digital, PR and social media at Mosaic Sales Solutions, where she oversaw clients including Loblaws, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Labatt, NFL and Mattel across North America. She had also been a VP at Harbinger and Veritas.

Also named SVP, consumer practice leader is Nadia Beale, who will focus specifically on the style and beauty portfolio, as well as home retail. Beale had previously been SVP and group director for style and beauty, and Gayla Brock-Woodland, president for Canada at MSLGroup, credits Beale’s work with her team as building the breadth of double-digit growth the agency has seen in the category.

“This new development with Caroline is really signaling that we’re moving to expand like that in other areas,” says Brock-Woodland. “Some of them are categories in which we have big experience, so it’s creating that dynamic engine to take that to the next level.

“Paid is now a huge part of the [digital and social] mix to amplify programs, so we’ve been extending digital resources as well,” she adds. “We’re always talking about digital transformation in our industry, but there’s an incredible step up specifically in paid that we’ve seen. Even over the last six months, we’ve seen incredible demand to amplify content that way.”

In addition to new hires, Brock-Woodland says the agency will be bolstering their lifestyle work by looking at things that have led to growth in style and beauty categories, such as utilizing influencers online, which she says is also becoming more of a source of paid reach in addition to earned.

In December, MSLGroup announced six new hires, including a VP of style and beauty, and bolstered its social and digital offering by hiring Tara Hunt as the lead.

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