KOMI Group – the Manchester headquartered social media, marketing, and licensing business – has appointed Michael Hodkinson as its new Head of Creative Solutions.
Michael’s role in the commercial team will see him focus on driving revenue across the firm for its various core services including commercial content, licensing and video production. He will also be working hard to develop relationships between KOMI and the media and creativity agency sectors in the UK.
Prior to joining KOMI, Michael was sales director at Social Chain Media (part of Social Chain Group). He has also worked at Mediacom and The Telegraph Media Group.
Michael said of his appointment: “The talent within KOMI is exceptional so I’m excited to be joining the business. It continues to build some of the most engaged communities on social media and boasts industry leading expertise that delivers fantastic content for clients across multiple sectors. Add in the fact that it owns 100,000+ pieces of content in the licensing arm and you have a pretty unique offering. All of this means the opportunities for growth in every area of the business are exceptional.”
Michael’s arrival follows the announcement that Terry Pierce has been made Head of Commercial and will now oversee all sales and marketing activity within KOMI Group. Terry joined the business in January 2021 as Head of Partnerships. A recent restructure of the sales and marketing operations has created a more consistent and uniform commercial offering, enabling more flexibility across the core solutions the group offers. The commercial team are aiming to more than double their headcount by the end of the year.
KOMI Group is a three-divisional agency business consisting of dedicated social media, marketing, and licensing teams. Its team of content creators, analysts and video producers have made and then distributed video content and viral campaign adverts for international brands such as BBC Films, O2, Universal, Bud Light and Disney.
Content is shared across its Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts including the It’s Gone Viral page as well as Go Fetch, a platform for dog lovers to connect with one another; Happiest, which focusses on bringing the most entertaining and uplifting content and real-life stories; and Ultimate which is a community based around crafts and lifestyle. On average the company delivers over one billion views across its portfolio of pages each month.
It recently doubled its office space at Beehive Mill in Manchester after taking an additional 1,300 sqft on a six-year lease. The firm moved its operations to the site on Jersey Street in early 2020. It has also grown its headcount to 50.
In September, ARK Media, KOMI’s licensing division, signed distribution partnerships with Reuters and AFLO that will give the business the opportunity to distribute its content to a broad network of leading international publishers and broadcasters for the first time.