Ketchum has created a new position called director of online relationships and reputation for their Food and Nutrition Practice. Filling that role will be Tom Barritt. Good idea. It will be interesting to see how they manage this. Tom says that food is “emotional and evocative and perfectly suited to social media.” So is agriculture in general and greater use of these mechanisms he mentions would help farmers and farm groups get their message out by joining “the conversation.”
Barritt was previously director of the agency’s global Issues and Crisis Management Network.
In his new role, Barritt will be responsible for working with clients to embrace online channels to help them better manage their communications needs to achieve their business goals. As associate director, the practice will capitalize on Barritt’s six years as head of Ketchum’s Issues and Crisis Management Network as he takes on the role of chief adviser on food reputation management, as well as builds and activates growth plans to benefit the practice’s client relationships and business development. This move aligns the Food and Nutrition practice with the agency’s growing global digital strategy capabilities and follows the appointments of Jonathan Kopp as global director of Ketchum Digital and Clement Lau as senior vice president of digital communications in Ketchum’s Greater China division in February.
“There is a dynamic conversation around food taking place online from recipe sharing to food blogs to photos to social networks,” said Barritt. “Food is emotional and evocative and perfectly suited to social media. We have a great opportunity to help our food clients navigate this space and join in the conversation.”