TRO | Meliora Acquires Backchat Media, Welcomes Mel Lee as Partner

Subscribe | 25th March, 2026

In this special edition of The Relentless Optimist, we are pleased to announce that The Meliora Company has acquired Backchat Media, the digital strategy, performance and content consultancy founded by Mel Lee in 2014.

As part of the deal, Mel joins Meliora as an equity Partner - bringing a decade of digital strategy and performance marketing expertise into the international Meliora offering.

In the last 12 years, Backchat has delivered strategic digital, content and performance work across a range of APAC companies including Seven West Media, Singtel Optus, Mediaworks NZ, the New Zealand Government, Les Mills International, NBC Universal and a number of leading independent agencies.

The acquisition brings Backchat’s boutique strategy and digital marketing capabilities into the Meliora offering internationally, strengthening our ability to deliver integrated advisory, creative and product development for organisations navigating rapid change across media, technology and digital marketplaces in the AI-driven economy.

With the addition of Backchat, Meliora now operates across four hubs - Sydney, Los Angeles, London and Auckland.

About Mel

Mel brings deep experience across performance and growth marketing, product marketing, through-the-line strategy and customer experience for telco, media and technology businesses.

She has been a trusted advisor to the NZ Government, led multi-million dollar marketing budgets for campaigns including the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup on Optus Sport, stepped into the acting role of Head of Social Media at Seven West Media, and most recently served as Director of Digital at Future Women, running product, marketing and data teams.

Prior to Backchat, Mel held internal digital production and social media roles at Southern Cross Austereo, TVNZ and Omnicom.