AKA Expands Paid Media Leadership Team

Arts and entertainment advertising agency AKA has announced the expansion of its Paid Media offering. The newly expanded Paid Media team brings together senior leadership across digital, search, social, performance marketing, ad operations, and legacy media investment. 

Online Media is led by Hailey Barton, recently promoted to Senior Digital Director, alongside new hire Joe Antonini, who joins AKA as Senior Digital Director. The team also adds Performance Marketing Directors Gianna Schott and Marshall Shaffer, deepening AKA’s ability to connect media strategy directly to business outcomes through performance architecture, conversion strategy, optimization, and the integration of audience, creative, and media data.

Alyssa Wagner has been promoted to Director of Paid Search, continuing to lead AKA’s Google practice as intent, discovery, and AI-influenced behavior reshape how audiences make decisions.

Legacy Media is led by Wei Ma, Senior Media Investments Director; he will guide strategic planning and investment across traditional and high-impact media channels, ensuring offline placements are part of a connected audience and performance strategy.

The structure is supported by AKA’s growing Business Intelligence practice, helping clients connect audience intelligence, creative insight, technology, media investment, and business performance into one integrated data growth engine built to move audiences from discovery to demand to purchase. 

Nishant Varughese joins AKA as Director of Commercial Strategy & Insights within the agency’s Business Intelligence team. In the newly created role, Varughese will work closely with Paid Media, Strategy, and Client Services to translate audience behavior, market demand, campaign performance, and commercial signals into sharper growth strategies for clients.

The expansion comes as marketers across arts, entertainment, attractions, and sports face fragmented attention, evolving platform behavior, rising acquisition costs, and increasing pressure to prove business impact.

“Media is no longer just about buying attention. It is about building intelligent systems that understand audiences, shape demand, and drive measurable outcomes,” said Samantha Bussell, Head of Paid Media at AKA US. “AKA sits at the intersection of data, technology, creativity, and live entertainment. Our singular scale gives us a powerful view of the entertainment market, but our people are what turn that intelligence into strategy, performance, and growth for our clients.”

“Our clients are not looking for channel plans. They are looking for smarter decisions,” said Amanda Blackman, Chief Strategy Officer at AKA US. “The future of media belongs to agencies that can connect the speed of technology with the nuance of human behavior. That is especially true in live entertainment, where the product is emotional, time-sensitive, culturally driven, and deeply human. This team gives AKA the structure, senior talent, and technical rigor to lead that future.”

About AKA

AKA is an award-winning, full-service advertising agency with unparalleled expertise across the theater and live entertainment, arts and culture, attractions and destinations and sports/leisure sectors. The agency is content-forward and data-fueled, with a proven record of delivering cross-platform campaigns that get results.

AKA proudly partners with some of the most iconic names in entertainment, culture, and live experiences with a client roster that includes Broadway’s biggest shows, world-renowned institutions like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vibrant attractions such as American Dream, and dynamic sports organizations including The Harlem Globetrotters.  

From the magic of live theatre to the energy of stadiums and the wonder of cultural landmarks, AKA crafts campaigns that connect audiences with real experiences—providing real stories, real emotions and real connections. 

For more information, visit https://aka.nyc.

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