July witnessed some big-name job switches, leadership transitions, investments and rollouts. Here’s our look at the biggest movers and shakers this month.
Esme Rice launches new creative influencer agency, Painted Caves
Former VaynerMedia Global Influencer Lead Esme Rice has launched her own Influencer Marketing Agency, Painted Caves. Operating independently, the venture aims to move beyond simple ad-buys toward human-first storytelling. Lucy McGettigan, UK Partner at The Romans, joins as an equity partner overseeing operations, with both McGettigan and The Romans Founder Joe Mackay-Sinclair joining Rice on the agency's board of directors.
Painted Caves was created to challenge transactional, short-sighted influencer tactics by focusing on long-term strategy, education, and meaningful brand-creator partnerships. Highlighting the agency’s vision, Rice stated: "Humans have wanted to tell their stories since the beginning of time... Social storytelling is the most powerful form of connection, and Painted Caves is here to unlock that power for brands and influencers." She added that the key to long-term success will be a focus on "ideas that last more than a 3-second scroll and creating systems for better partnership in influence."
Welcoming the venture, McGettigan praised Rice’s track record and industry leadership: "We would struggle to find a more credible name in influencer marketing than Esme. Not only does she have an incredible body of work to show for her decade in the industry, but she’s consistently vocal about the challenges and opportunities in the influencer space... She is a powerhouse of a founder, and we can’t wait to work with her."
Roxanne Becker appointed UK Publisher Director at Taboola
In July, Taboola announced the appointment of Roxanne Becker as UK Publisher Director.
In the new role, Becker, who has over a decade of experience at Taboola, will take on responsibility for growing Taboola’s UK publisher portfolio and leading relationships with its existing partners, including Reach, The Independent, and Bauer Media.
Alongside this, Becker, who has previously worked across publisher account management, enterprise sales and commercial leadership, will drive the rollout of DeeperDive, the company’s generative AI answer engine for publishers.
Trippant taps Joanna Oosthuizen for Chief Client Officer
Commercial communications consultancy Trippant selected Joanna Oosthuizen, former Ogilvy Public Relations EMEA CCO, as its Chief Client Officer.
Oosthuizen brings with her over 25 years of global agency and communications leadership experience and will spearhead Trippant’s global client experience strategy, including senior client counsel, delivery excellence, operational development and commercial growth.
Commenting on the move, Tom Scott, CEO of Trippant, called Oosthuizen “one of the most accomplished communications leaders” in the industry, noting that the “landmark” appointment signifies the direction the consultancy seeks to move in.
YouTube announces its Shopping Affiliate Program in the UK
YouTube is launching its Shopping Affiliate Programme in the UK, which enables creators to tag products from retailers when uploading videos, Shorts and livestreams, as well as edit existing videos to tag products.
To be eligible for the new programme, announced at CreatorFest by YouTube’s Head of Creator Partnerships for the UK & Ireland, Rajarshi Lahiri, creators must reach 500 subscribers and be accepted into the YouTube Partner Program.
During the event, Lahiri said: “Your content might already be shoppable…It's just YouTube shopping will be there to sort of enable some of that, some of those conversations with your audience."
At launch, retail partners include Debenhams, Marks and Spencer, Boots UK, Currys plc, Etsy Next and Wayfair, alongside its affiliate platform partner, Awin Global.
In a post on LinkedIn, Alison Lomax, MD, YouTube UK and Ireland, said: “Today, we’re taking the next step by launching the YouTube Shopping Affiliate Programme in the UK. This opens up huge new opportunities for creators to tag products in their content and for viewers to seamlessly shop from creators they trust.”
Paul Street and VaynerMedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk team up for strategic partnership
Affiliate marketing agency Paul Street and Gary Vaynerchuk, Chairman of VaynerX, CEO of VaynerMedia and investor, announced a strategic partnership in July.
Vaynerchuk has invested an undisclosed sum into Paul Street, and while details of his contribution and responsibilities are yet to be shared, the announcement said that together, Aaron Paul and Gary Vaynerchuk “aim to codify” what premium partner marketing looks like at scale and “build Paul Street into the agency that the best consumer brands reach for first.”
Paul Street was founded three and a half years ago and, since launch, has expanded into a full-service partner marketing agency, with its portfolio including exClad, Liquid IV, Todd Snyder, Gruns, and Dollar Shave Club.
Waitrose Chief Customer Officer to take helm at the Advertising Association
This month, the Advertising Association announced that, in Spring 2027, Nathan Ansell, Chief Customer Officer at Waitrose, will step into the role of president.
The Waitrose marketing boss brings more than two decades of experience across retail and FMCG and will take over from Andria Vidler after her two-year tenure, where he will be responsible for informing the strategic direction of the association.
Commenting on his appointment, Ansell said: “Together, we will lead our efforts in promoting a more trusted, inclusive, and effective advertising landscape that delivers real value for everyone and demonstrates the essential contribution our industry makes to the UK economy.”
Nuggit launches £5m Creator Support Fund
This week, Nuggit, a London-based financial services and development platform, announced the launch of a £5m Creator Support Fund aimed at what it called “high-potential” UK-based YouTube creators who have plateaued in professionalising their businesses.
According to the company, this funding is supplemented by strategic and operational support for professionalising operations, including data-led content strategy.
Commenting on the announcement, Johnny Freeland, Founder and CEO of Nuggit, said that typically, the financing available for “all but the very largest creators” has been poorly structured and challenging to access.
“The primary option has been the sale of their channel or IP, which isn’t a solution for creators looking to fund growth while retaining their independence,” he added. “The key is providing creators with end-to-end growth support, breaking them free from the hamster wheel of being a one-person operation trying to do everything within self-funded constraints.”
