NEW YORK—Weber Shandwick is expanding its Mediaco content offering, adding a new innovation council that includes Tony Haile, founding CEO of Chartbeat; Gaby Darbyshire, principal of Framestore Ventures; Mariana Santos, director of interactive and animation at Fusion and Knight Chair of Innovation at FIU; and Rahul Chopra, CEO of Storyful.

The Innovation Council will work with members of the Mediaco team to shape best practices, analyze new services and open doors to partnerships that span editorial analytics, influencer engagement, media distribution, as well as emerging content platforms like virtual and augmented reality.

Executive editor-in-residence Vivian Schiller (pictured), formerly global chair of news at Twitter and general manager of NYTimes.com, will chair the council and assume a new position as editor-in-chief and head of Mediaco in North America.

The expansion also includes a new R&D approach to co-create custom services that help clients address both creative and technical requirements to deliver value through brand publishing programs. These include:

  • Creative Accelerators, including a new data-driven, multi-platform video and content advertising offering from Visible Measures and a preferred video distribution and live media partnership with ViralGains, a consumer-centric video advertising platform.
  • Content Analytics, marrying data science, consulting and testing, the offering helps marketers create pathways to real-time adjustments in content programs.
  • Interactive Experiences, which will workshop creative ideas around emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, as well as creating custom solutions for clients, such as the firm’s Mediaco Publish content management system designed for brand publishers and social crisis simulator firebell.

“The convergence of publishing, social networks and influencer power continues to reshape the rules of engagement,” said Chris Perry, Weber Shandwick’s chief digital officer. “Mediaco is a catalyst to help clients navigate this shift as well as show tangible impact from new marketing practices with branded content at the core."