Rhian Mason Rejoins Dani Bassil to Lead M+C’s Passions and PR Unit, “Build Something Unique"

Rhian Mason has joined M+C Saatchi Group Australia in the newly-created role of managing partner across its Passions and PR division, spanning M+C Sport & Entertainment, social, PR, and influencer.

She joins from Clemenger BBDO, where she worked with then-CEO Dani Bassil to establish and lead an earned attention offering called Chemistry Set as head of cultural design. Following the merger of CHEP, Traffik, and Clemenger in February, Dani joined M+C as its local boss, while APAC CEO Justin Graham departed. She started last month, and quickly hired her former chief growth officer at Clemenger, Anita Zanesco, as M+C Saatchi Group’s first CMO. 

“M+C Saatchi has always been at the intersection of creativity and culture,” Rhian told LBB.

“What drew me here was the opportunity to take that global ambition and build something unique to this market; an earned-first proposition where PR, social, influencer and partnerships all work together to help brands turn cultural passions into opportunities for people to act.”

Rhian has already commenced in the national role, based in M+C Saatchi’s Sydney office. She will report globally to Robin Clarke, CEO of M+C Sport & Entertainment, and locally to M+C Saatchi’s ANZ managing director Tanya Vragalis, who oversees the Group’s connected agency model.

Tanya said, “This is a hugely exciting moment for us. Rhian is one of the best in the business, and her arrival is a statement of intent. We are building an agency that doesn’t just respond to culture, but creates it, and Rhian will play a central role in further making that a reality.”

Over her 15-year career, Rhian has held senior roles at Emotive, DDB Group Australia, and Mediabrands, working on brands including Asahi, L’Oréal, BMW, TAC, Google, Optus, IKEA, McDonald’s, Unilever, and Volkswagen.

In her new position, Rhian will be charged with growing M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment locally (globally, its roster includes Adidas, Heineken, Coca-Cola, Samsonite, and LEGO). She said she is most excited about “the chance to create the kind of work that’s already being done in other Sport & Entertainment markets, but through a local lens.

“This is a region where passions run deep, from AFL to surfing, music festivals to food culture, and I’m excited to help brands show up in those spaces in ways that are authentic and genuinely add value to the fan experience.”

In the short term, she is setting out to “establish the team as the centralised division for earned-first ideas in M+C, where social, PR, influencer and partnerships are integrated under one roof.”

Longer term, “I want Sport & Entertainment to be the go-to agency for culture-led brands, the ones who want to move beyond campaigns into the places where people connect most deeply and in doing so, help our brand partners lead culture both here and globally.”

She observed three major trends in the social, influencer, and PR space.The rise of the passion economy means “smaller, niche communities and tastemakers are driving more cultural impact than broad, homogenised reach. The future is in the fringes, not the mainstream.”

Influencers as cultural agents means influencers are “no longer just media channels; they’re creators, entrepreneurs, and production partners in their own right.” And she cited an earned renaissance; “brands are rediscovering that PR, social, and influencer aren’t add-ons, they’re the spark that enables ideas to travel.” 

She added, “That’s why this role feels so exciting. It’s about helping brands harness those shifts, to create work that people believe in, participate in, and share, because it genuinely adds value to culture.”

M+C Saatchi unveiled its global positioning, ‘Cultural Power’, at the end of last year, and launched it formally in March. Global CCOs Rob Doubal and Laurence Thomson told LBB once brands have cultural power, “the sky’s the limit,” while locally, CCO Steve Coll said the promise is an answer to the pressures marketers are up against. For Rhian, ‘Cultural Power’ means “being brave enough to go into the fringes, backing emerging voices, subcultures, and communities before they go mainstream.

“It’s about creating work that enriches culture rather than extracts from it. Real influence isn’t bought, it’s believed, and the brands that shape culture are the ones willing to invest in authentic creators, passion touchpoints, and experiences that spark conversation and participation.”