S4 Capital’s MediaMonks announces 5th merger with addition of L.E.O.

S4Capital and MediaMonks announced their deepening expansion into the PR and communications space with the addition of Low Earth Orbit (L.E.O.). In joining, former Edelman executives Kevin King and Jess Clifton will be taking on senior leadership roles within MediaMonks. L.E.O. was founded in 2019, following both Clifton and King’s departure from their leadership positions at Edelman, with the intention of building meaningful relationships between brands and consumers through innovative, creative experiences that impact culture and deliver measurable results. Since inception, the team has worked with client partners, including Dole, Sierra Nevada, Facebook and LA28.

In these newly appointed roles, Kevin King will serve as Global Head of Brand Reputation, focused on building a future-forward public relations and communications offering rooted in modern media relations and digital-first planning. Jess Clifton will serve as Head of Brand and Marketing Advisory, focused on scaling MediaMonks’ capabilities to help brands maximise their investments across technology infrastructure, organizational design, go-to-market strategy, media, campaign planning and execution.

Before joining L.E.O as a global advisor, Kevin was with Edelman for 16 years and served as the Global Chair of Edelman Digital as well as being part of the Edelman Executive Committee. Edelman Digital was a pioneer in social media and grew to nearly $200 million in revenue with over 1000 global employees during King’s tenure. Kevin’s expertise in crisis and brand reputation have helped a number of clients navigate issues thoughtfully and transparently, including United Airlines, Unilever, Samsung, to name a few.

Jess Clifton founded Low Earth Orbit in 2019 as a digital-first marketing and communications consultancy. During that time, she worked with a number of clients to organise and reset their approach to technology implementation, digital marketing, media and analytics – often serving in interim consulting roles to deliver immediate impact. Prior to L.E.O., Jess served as US Head of Digital for Edelman, where she led the development of Edelman’s digital portfolio of services, including paid media, social strategy, influencer programming and analytics; she has also worked in senior leadership roles at a variety of advertising agencies, including Goodby Silverstein & Partners and FCB.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jess and Kevin to the MediaMonks/ S4 family. Every brand needs to promote their brand and products, but they also need to protect themselves when faced with reputational challenges. Similarly, every brand is asking for strategic support that is more agile and comprehensive to deliver maximum value. Building out a PR 2.0 and Advisory practice will be a significant competitive advantage as we marry it with the S4 holy trinity of data, content and media,” said Wesley ter Haar, MediaMonks Founder & Executive Director at S4 Capital Group.

“Brands are in a constant state of navigating disruption to their business. We are excited to bring advisory and reputation together with MediaMonks incredible creative, strategy and media capabilities,” said Jess Clifton.

The team will start with MediaMonks immediately.