Jellyfish names Maria Africa to lead ANZ paid media

Jellyfish Australia has appointed Maria Africa as Senior Director of Paid Media for Australia and New Zealand, strengthening its leadership in a year of growth and new artificial intelligence products.

Africa will lead paid media operations across both markets. She will oversee team development and client advisory work on Google's advertising and analytics tools.

Jellyfish is a digital marketing performance business and part of Brandtech Group. It works with brands across media, data, creative and marketing technology.

Africa brings more than sixteen years of experience in cross-channel strategy and performance marketing. She has worked with global and regional brands in both business-to-consumer and business-to-business sectors.

She was most recently Group Digital Performance Director at Mindshare in Sydney. She has also held roles at Main Roads Western Australia and Lotterywest.

Africa began her digital career at Starcom Mediavest Group in the Philippines. She has also worked in agency roles in Singapore.

Her remit at Jellyfish covers leadership of the paid media team. She will also focus on growth in Australia and New Zealand and on client guidance around the Google Marketing Platform.

Jellyfish has invested heavily in its relationship with Google's marketing products. The company recently won the Google Marketing Platform Partner of the Year Award in Australia for the second consecutive year.

Google recognised Jellyfish for work with Search Ads 360, Display & Video 360, Campaign Manager and Google Analytics 360. These tools sit at the centre of many large advertisers' digital media operations.

Africa said she joined the organisation because of its focus on specialist skills and technology.

"I joined Jellyfish because its value proposition is rooted in specialist expertise and technology, offering advertisers access to highly skilled practitioners, a global knowledge network, and a proprietary, AI-powered tech stack," said Africa, Senior Director of Paid Media, Jellyfish Australia.

She said the paid media market is moving quickly.

"The paid media space is changing rapidly and is marked by more automation, signal loss, and increasing pressure on creative effectiveness. Brands need partners who can move with agility and help them navigate that change with confidence", said Africa.

Growing AI suite

Jellyfish has expanded its suite of AI-based tools during the past year. It has launched Share of Model, Agent Shopper and the Jellyfish Marketing Platform, known as JMP.

These tools complete what the company describes as its Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO, suite. The GEO products sit across different stages of marketing planning and execution.

Jellyfish positions this GEO suite as an end-to-end generative AI solution for marketing activity. The tools link into the company's broader technology stack and data services.

The group also operates platforms such as the Share of Model platform and Jellyfish Cloud. These systems analyse marketing data and support decision-making for campaigns.

Jellyfish says it combines in-house technology with human expertise in creative and media. It aims to use real-time data feeds in its media planning and content strategies.

Local team expansion

The Australia operation has grown its paid media team to ten people. This paid media group sits within a wider local organisation of more than 40 staff.

The Australian business now includes specialists in marketing technology, media, creative and search engine optimisation. These disciplines support the company's focus on integrated digital marketing assignments.

Jellyfish is part of Brandtech Group, which invests in digital marketing and technology businesses. The connection gives Jellyfish access to a broader network of tools and international teams.

The company's growth in Australia reflects rising client demand for data-led marketing services. It also reflects increased use of AI systems within large brands' media and creative workflows.

Ashleigh Johnson, Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand at Jellyfish, said Africa's appointment follows several years of expansion in paid media.

"Maria has an excellent track record and significant experience in running paid media campaigns for brands in Australia and Asia," said Johnson. "Her expertise, experience, and tech-first approach make her the perfect person to lead our team into its next phase after our significant growth in paid media over the last few years."