M+C Saatchi UK launches Social House practice

The model focuses on helping brands engage audiences through participation and community-building

M+C Saatchi UK has launched Social House, an integrated social communications practice that brings together social strategy, creator marketing, community management, paid social, media buying and measurement under a single offer aimed at helping brands strengthen their role in culture and drive commercial results.

The practice combines specialist capabilities from across the agency group, including creative and content production, influencer marketing, creator commerce and social planning. M+C Saatchi UK said the move reflects the growing role of social platforms as environments where consumers discover interests, build communities and influence purchasing decisions.

Social positioned as a cultural ecosystem

The agency said Social House is designed around the idea that social media functions as a cultural ecosystem rather than a standalone marketing channel. The model focuses on helping brands engage audiences through participation and community-building.

Marcus Peffers, Executive Chair, M+C Saatchi Group UK: "Social sits at the centre of how people discover, participate in and shape culture. M+C Saatchi Social House brings together social expertise from across our different specialisms to create a more multi-discipline, connected social proposition for clients when they need it.

"This is about combining, strengthening and expanding our collective capabilities across the Group through a platform that allows our specialist teams to collaborate more effectively and deliver more joined-up thinking, as well as unlocking broader opportunities with clients by giving them a clearer route to expertise."

Jackie Stevenson, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer, M+C Saatchi Group: "With M+C Saatchi Social House, we've fused performance intelligence, fan ecosystem thinking and social-first production into one practice built around how culture actually moves. We are not just making work for social channels; we are designing participatory systems around brands. Systems that can identify fan energy, create at cultural speed and convert participation into measurable growth."

Fancom methodology underpins offer

A central component of Social House is the Fancom Accumulator methodology developed by M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment. The framework is designed to help brands identify and build consumer participation around specific passions, communities and behaviours.

According to the agency, the model prioritises participation metrics over traditional reach and engagement measures, assessing how audiences contribute, create, share, purchase, advocate and return.

Senior appointments support launch

Alongside the launch, M+C Saatchi has appointed Katy Ball as Head of Social Communications. Katy Ball joins from Hope&Glory, where she served as Board Director and worked with brands including Sky, Sony and Le Creuset.

Shanice Dover has been promoted to Associate Director, Creator and Community. Previously Head of Social & Communications at gal-dem and most recently Senior Social Account Director at M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, Shanice Dover will work alongside Katy Ball to develop a more integrated social offering across the group. Both executives will report to Laura Coller, UK CEO of M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment.

Focus on participation and measurement

Laura Coller, UK CEO, M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment: "For more than 20 years we've connected brands to consumers through the things people love, driving Cultural Power through passions. There's no environment more powerful for developing and fostering passions than on social, where depth of access has the ability to turn any brand, product, trend or interest into a passion point.

"Social has become a complete cultural ecosystem. The beating heart of the marketing mix and the primary environment where brand love is fostered, and commercial outcomes are secured. We view social as a consumer passion in its own right, not just a channel, giving it a completely different entry point to every other marketing discipline, and much more opportunity."

Katy Ball, Head of Social Communications, M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment: "Clients need to start thinking about how they build participatory ecosystems around their brands. Our Fancom Accumulator model is built in three stages. First, we help brands act as conductors of culture, connecting fans, creators and communities through participation across platforms. Then we compound those behaviours through repeatable formats and experiences that deepen engagement over time. Finally, we convert that energy into measurable commercial impact, based on our newly developed participation metrics."

Shanice Dover, Associate Director, Creator & Community, M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment: "Our bespoke measurement framework is defined by a Participation Rate. The value of social interactions is determined by how much the audience actually contributes, moving from looking solely at traditional values like engagement and reach and into a more meaningful methodology that prizes creating a regenerative system with participation at its core."

To support the launch, M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment has also published the fourth edition of its Fancom report, The Social Issue. Edited by Ant Firth-Clark, Cultural Strategy Lead, the report examines how brands can use social platforms to encourage participation and deepen consumer engagement.

The introduction of Social House forms part of M+C Saatchi UK's broader Cultural Power strategy, which centres on helping brands establish meaningful connections with the communities, interests and behaviours that influence growth.

www.mcsaatchi.com

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn