Silva Appointed Head Of GroupM Search

GroupM and Outrider, formerly known as 24/7 Real Media Search, have announced a restructure to further integrate search within each of the group's media brands including Mindshare, MediaCom, Maxus and Mediaedge:cia.

Marcelo Silva, currently General Manager of Outrider, becomes General Manager GroupM Search Australia across the five GroupM brands with all search teams now reporting to him.

Silva will be supported by Susan Zabeti, Director of GroupM Search and David Fernandez, Search Operations Director.

"The move shows GroupM's increased focus on search marketing, particularly in the area of search engine optimisation (SEO), search analytics, social media optimisation (SMO) and market research. When used in combination, the above search disciplines drives strong performance and results for clients both online and as part of a fully integrated media campaign," Silva said.

About Outrider:
Outrider (formerly known as 24/7 Real Media) is a global search marketing agency and a division of Group M, WPP's media buying and planning arm with 30 offices serving more than 40 countries. Outrider has pioneered holistic, advanced search marketing strategies and integrated cross- media planning for global, national and local category-leading clients. Services include paid search, paid inclusion, search engine optimisation, and advanced search strategy (social search, mobile search, local search, video search and more).

About GroupM:
GroupM is the leading global media investment management operation and part of the WPP family. Worldwide billings US$60.51 bn projected 2006 (RECMA July 2006). 31% share of global network business, 402 offices in 81 countries, 14,000 staff worldwide.