Ogilvy PR promotes Scott McBride as regional social media director

McBride will be on board in the company's Hong Kong office from 21 June, and will report to Thomas Crampton, Asia-Pacific director of Ogilvy PR's 360 Digital Influence. McBride was formerly GM of OgilvyOne Malaysia for two years, and prior to that ran his own digital agency in Scotland.

"Our regional social media team is expanding aggressively to 80-strong in 16 markets and 23 cities since I joined the company a year ago, as interest from clients for social media marketing is tremendous. They now understand the power and need for engagement across social media platforms," said Crampton.

"McBride's hire is proof that social media is a core part of the whole Ogilvy Group and not just for Ogilvy PR. We have grown our social media revenue from four markets a year ago to 15 markets," he added.

The agency's list of clients, most of which have been actively embracing social media recently, includes Intel, Lenovo and LG.

Crampton pointed out that the talent pool out there for those with passion and understanding of social media as well as the ability to work with clients across a wide range of industries is not very deep. "The best solution right now," said he, "is to hire and train people in-house."

More and more companies are using online channels such as Facebook and Twitter in their marketing efforts. In May, McDonald's appointed its first director of social media in the US.