Bite continues its investment in digital and content skills with the appointments of Matt Whiting as the new head of digital, and Steve Gradidge as digital and social media consultant.

Whiting will lead the team of community managers and be responsible for further productising Bite’s digital offering, working on website development, content creation, paid media planning, and brand marketing. He joins Bite from the US, where he worked for Waggener Edstrom leading its digital and social strategy team for clients such as Microsoft, T-Mobile, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Infosys.

Whiting says, “I was looking for a fresh challenge and Bite offers a world of opportunities for some of the most amazing brands on the planet. Plus, my team is fantastic. I can’t wait to get involved.”

Gradidge’s focus will be on be creating, planning and executing new social media strategies, leading training and workshops on digital marketing, and overseeing existing community management briefs. He will also lead Bite’s digital network service, which connects brands directly to the most prolific online influencers. Gradidge brings his knowledge as a digital lecturer for the Digital Marketing Institute, as well as extensive community management experience for big brands like Sony, Skype, HTC, Marvel and Toshiba.

He says, “I’ve worked across both B2B and B2C sectors, and I’m really looking forward to getting involved with Bite’s great roster of clients. There’s already a solid foundation of excellent social media work being done at Bite, and I’m keen to see where we can expand and bring even more value back to the clients.”

These appointments are Bite’s sixth and seventh specialist hires in as many months – all with integrated roles as part of client campaigns. Other appointments include creative director Chris Lawrence, and Michael Gonzalez, head of media and influencer relations.

Kath Easthope, managing director at Bite, added, “Matt and Steve bring a diverse range of skills and experience, and their social smarts and up for it attitudes mean they’re a perfect fit for Bite today, and also for the direction we’re heading. We continue to focus on delivering campaigns where clients have access to the very best specialists as part of their day to day account teams, and I’m excited to have Matt and Steve both contributing to that.”