MRM names Ed Kim as global chief commerce officer

As the advertising industry continues to chase growth in commerce media, Ed Kim has a new title at digital agency MRM: Global chief commerce officer.

The newly minted role marks a promotion from Kim’s position as EVP and general manager of MRM Commerce, which he has held since September 2021.

Kim will report to global president and chief operating officer, Bradley Rogers.

In a statement, Rogers noted Kim will “accelerate commerce growth opportunities for brands across multiple B2B and B2C categories.”

Since Kim took the reins in 2021, MRM’s commerce practice has grown more than 30%, as he has helped bring on new clients in sectors like pharmaceuticals and health, as well as nutrition, beauty, travel and hospitality, according to a press release. The agency declined to name specific clients.

He also helped build MRM’s Salesforce practice, which includes integrating RafterOne—a software company that builds commerce “experiences” in partnership with the CRM giant—following parent company IPG’s 2022 acquisition of the firm.

Kim noted he will focus on helping clients navigate increasingly complex customer journeys, as well as performance marketing, which includes monitoring and attributing consumer behavior on digital and physical shelves and driving ROI on creative. His role will also touch the red-hot topic of retail media.

“If you think about all those experiences that happen, they're no longer linear,” he said. “Relationships can be built at any point in time and so now we're trying to figure out [how] to support all those ways that we can have commerce intersect across any of those structures.”

His team will work to ensure clients are operational across commercial channels including retail, e-commerce, and social media, as well as DTC channels, with services encompassing everything from sales planning, to media performance to creative content services.

“Nothing should be really divorced, at the end of the day, from commerce,” Kim said.

Prior to MRM, Kim was managing partner, global principal and head of commerce at Ogilvy. He has also held commerce-focused roles at Publicis Sapient, working with clients such as Ralph Lauren.

His promotion signals a bigger push into e-commerce and retail media for MRM, which has typically been known for its direct marketing and CRM capabilities. 

According to the release, the new position “signals a shift across MRM to embed ‘commerce thinking’ across … the organisation, as opposed to commerce being a siloed agency practice or consultancy capability.”

The renewed focus on commerce comes as IPG’s digital agencies, including MRM, Huge and R/GA have struggled to keep up with industry evolutions, dragging on the holding company’s earnings for the past two quarters as a result.