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Ross Barnes will oversee the increasingly important division in a newly created head of search role that, the agency claims, puts digital at the centre of its plans for the future.

Managing partner Ben Wood told Media Week that the move would set Vizeum apart from other agencies.

"If you look at the market, there are search specialists with the tools and the resources. The differentiator for us is to offer search planning alongside TV, alongside press. Search is absolutely critical; it will be central to every brief," he said.

"In our mind, digital is not a channel or a medium, but a context in which all media are changing and developing.

"All media are now digital and as such it's essential that we continue to recruit best in class across the business to realise our digital-centric vision."

The move builds on the integration of 25 digital specialists at Vizeum from Aegis sister agency Diffiniti last year. It also reflects trends across the industry, where media owners such as The Daily Telegraph and agencies such as Carat are restructuring their businesses to focus on digital.

Barnes, who was heavily involved with the UK consumer launch of Virgin Media in February at Starcom, has been given the job of developing Vizeum's search engine optimisation and pay-per-click solutions, which Vizeum will offer to all clients for the first time.

He said: "I've no interest in running a separate division that sits tacked on to the usual, old school agency offering.

"To keep up with consumers, digital has to be everyone's responsibility. My job is to bring Vizeum strength in search and a specialist understanding of what is a huge growth area for the agency and its clients.

"Right now, Vizeum is the prime destination agency for those of us who want to see the time-old traditional media approach seriously challenged."

Joining Barnes are search executive Glenn Watson, also moving across from Starcom, senior account director William Lake and planner Anna Rassie from Tribal.

The Aegis Group agency has won more than £2m in billings for search since the start of the year and has enjoyed 100% year-on-year growth, from clients including nPower, HBOS and AOL.