The social influence publisher ATTN: appointed former BuzzFeed and Complex Networks executive Edgar Hernandez as its first chief commercial officer.
Hernandez, who started Feb. 17, will oversee the company’s sales organization and lead its go-to-market strategy across branded content, agency services, intellectual property, and social media partnerships. The hire comes as the media company and creative agency looks to accelerate growth following its recent return to independent ownership.
“A lot of publishers have tried to transition into a social and creative agency and failed,” Hernandez told ADWEEK. “It’s very hard to be in the publisher business—at ATTN:, the creative work and the audience strategy really sit together.”
The role is new for ATTN:. Earlier this year, the company was sold by Candle Media back to co-founders Matthew Segal and Jarrett Moreno, alongside a new investor group.
The next phase
Hernandez joins ATTN: after senior revenue roles at BuzzFeed and Complex Networks, where he helped scale franchises including Hot Ones, Sneaker Shopping, and ComplexCon and managed global revenue operations, generating more than $300 million annually at BuzzFeed.
Hernandez joins ATTN: from My Code, where he served as its chief strategy officer.ATTN:
Most recently, he served as the chief strategy officer of My Code, a multicultural agency and media company whose editorial outlets include Remezcla.
Hernandez identified three primary growth areas: Expanding branded IP, scaling brand campaign work, and deepening agency-of-record relationships with marketers including Google, TikTok, and Mattel.
On the IP side, the company is developing short-form branded formats such as microdramas. One recent example, Truth or Putt partnered with Dunkin’ and comedian Druski to attract younger audiences to golf. Another upcoming initiative with the U.S. Soccer Foundation aims to recruit new youth coaches.
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The hire reflects ATTN:’s broader evolution from a social publisher into a hybrid business centered on branded content and agency services.
The company’s combined branded content and agency services are now its largest business, according to CEO and cofounder Matthew Segel. While its media business is not its economic engine, the skill sets it requires give ATTN: a competitive advantage when it comes to brand storytelling, Segal said.
“Being able to take the learnings we have as a publisher and apply those to the world—both from a technique perspective and a worldview perspective—is a hugely competitively advantaged lane for us,” Segal said.
That positioning is becoming more relevant as brands navigate a complex cultural and political environment, he added.
“Brands need to stand for something—not necessarily something political—but they have to articulate the value they provide in society,” Segal said. “Helping them distill complex issues into something simple and understandable is what we’ve always done.”
Public affairs and niche media
As part of its next phase, ATTN: plans to invest more heavily in public affairs work, targeting clients such as universities, trade associations, government agencies, and healthcare systems seeking help with narrative-building on social platforms. The company already counts the state of California among its clients for mental health storytelling.
ATTN: is also incubating new niche social brands and exploring the launch of additional owned-and-operated media properties, while continuing to produce original content for brand and streaming partners.
For Hernandez, the current market environment, marked by geopolitical tensions and brand caution, creates an opportunity rather than a constraint.
“A lot of brands are running away from complexity,” he said. “ATTN: has been able to turn that into a tailwind by helping them communicate in ways that actually resonate.”