Amir SohailNEW YORK, (ZEEST MEDIA) — Codeword, a communications agency for innovation brands, today announced two senior hires that put market intelligence and commercial strategy at the center of how the agency advises clients. Melody Brue joins as Strategy Lead, Market Intelligence, and Jess Graham joins as Strategy Lead, Go-To-Market (GTM), both reporting to agency leadership and heading newly created practice areas. Their work sits upstream of the communications brief, shaping the strategic direction before a campaign is ever built.
The expansion strengthens Codeword’s ability to connect market context, buyer dynamics, analyst influence, and commercial priorities into communications strategies that move beyond visibility and toward market momentum.
Melody Brue, one of the Top 20 ranked analysts globally by ARInsights, joins the team as an “analyst-in-residence.” In this newly created, non-traditional agency role, Melody will bring an outside-in view of the market directly to Codeword’s client work, with a focus on the forces shaping categories, competitive dynamics, and where client narratives are likely to face the hardest scrutiny. Melody will advance Codeword’s analyst relations capabilities, and work directly with clients to stress-test their positioning against real market conditions. She will also develop proprietary market perspectives and original research, and support Codeword’s own marketing and growth efforts.
“Bringing an analyst of Mel’s caliber in-house completely uplevels how we advise clients,” said Gabie Kur, Partner, Codeword. “Having Mel in the room means analyst-grade market intelligence is part of how strategy gets built, instead of something separately commissioned after positioning is already locked.”
Melody joins from Moor Insights & Strategy, where she was VP and Principal Analyst covering modern work, enterprise applications, financial services, and AI. Prior to becoming an analyst, Melody spent 25 years in tech marketing, business development, and communications, including as Chief Marketing Officer at Lottery.com. Earlier in her career, she worked in fintech during its formative years, on NFC and mobile payment initiatives with Visa and Qualcomm, and was part of the Transaction Wireless team, later acquired by First Data.
“I’ve spent my career on both sides of the briefing table, shaping narratives as an operator and pressure-testing them as an analyst. That dual perspective has never mattered more. In a market where AI is compressing differentiation and accelerating buyer scrutiny, brands win on clarity, credibility, and community,” said Melody Brue. “What excites me about Codeword is the opportunity to bring that fully informed view of market dynamics into the work from the very beginning, connecting insight to story to commercial impact.”
Jess Graham takes on the newly created role of Strategy Lead, Go-to-Market. Jess brings 25 years of marketing experience, including senior roles at Visa, Meta, and Instagram before founding her own consultancy. At Instagram, she led the launch of Reels, driving adoption across a two-billion-user base. Her work at Visa included the launch of Apple Pay and major co-branded travel partnerships with JetBlue, Korean Air, and US Airways. Since leaving Meta, Jess has run Banquet, a consultancy focused on the strategic implications of agentic commerce. She’s a leading expert in AI-driven product discovery, and what companies need to do to maintain equity and relevance in that environment.
“For CMOs navigating an environment where AI is reshaping how buyers find and evaluate products, Jess’s background means Codeword can have a materially different kind of conversation,” said Michael McKloskey, Managing Partner, Codeword. “We’re mixing big-picture strategy with the fast execution Codeword already nails. When you bring those two pieces closer together, the whole marketing engine runs better.”
At Codeword, Jess connects the agency’s communications and creative work to commercial outcomes. She will develop and productize premium GTM offerings that bridge the gap between what a brand-side marketer is being held accountable for at the board level and what the agency is being asked to build. Working across client accounts, new business, and service development, she will bring a sharper GTM lens to launches, repositioning work, executive narratives, and integrated campaigns.
“Between collapsing organic reach, spiking ad costs, and AI agents transforming how people find information, the entire brand-building playbook is being rewritten in real time,” said Jess Graham. “We are entering an era where the traditional consideration funnel is compressing into an API call, and brand awareness will increasingly happen after the point of sale. Most marketing organizations and traditional agencies simply aren’t built for this tectonic shift. I’m thrilled to join Codeword to help our clients find their new leverage points, flip the funnel, and aggressively adapt to this new information landscape.”
With the combined expertise of Melody, Jess, and recently hired Executive Creative Director Kim Baffi, Codeword is redefining what a tech-forward communications agency can deliver. This strategic expansion ensures that client campaigns aren’t just creative and visible, but deeply rooted in commercial reality and marketing intelligence from day one. Melody and Jess will integrate across Codeword’s PR, editorial, and design departments, setting a new benchmark for how leadership teams scale their brands in an AI-driven market.
About Codeword
Codeword is a communications agency for innovation brands. We act as translators for the tech world, helping people understand the technology that powers their lives through a fusion of comms, content, and community experiences. Part of the We. Communications family, Codeword fosters an independent spirit with global scale and capabilities. It’s why global leaders like Google, ASUS, and Android, alongside high-growth disruptors like Rev, Relay, Wing, and Root Insurance, trust Codeword to shape how they show up in the world. Find us online at codeword.agency
Media Contact
Katy Kelley
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kkelley@codewordagency.com
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