Apple Hires Musa Tariq: Former Nike Social Media Head Takes On Digital Marketing Role

For a company as widely obsessed-over as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the Cupertino-based company is remarkably silent in social media. But like a lot of things in the post-Steve Jobs era, that may soon change. The company has hired Musa Tariq, the former social media head at Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) and Burberry (LSE:BRBY), according to multiple reports.

Tariq confirmed his new position as “Digital Marketing Director” at Apple through a subtle Tweet on Monday according to 9to5Mac.

Prior to the hiring of Tariq, Apple has had a barely existent social media presence on the Web, with occasional tweets from the accounts of Apple executives such as Tim Cook and a few Facebook pages for iTunes and the App Store, but not much else. Notably, the tech titan doesn’t even have a Twitter or Facebook account for its main Apple brand.

Despite its lack of social media presence, Apple hasn’t had to interact with its users much to propel the sales of its devices such as the iPhone over the years. But with slowing growth and its shift away from longtime ad partner, TBWA Media Arts Lab, Apple may be considering changing its mind about social media.

Before Tariq’s new role at Apple, he had worked alongside Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts at Burberry to grow the luxury brand through campaigns such as Tweetwalk, which shared backstage images of outfits at the London Fashion Show before they hit the runway on Twitter and an acoustic music series. At Nike, Tariq took lead on an ad campaign featuring several videos with athletes describing a new shoe while censoring the actual design. While Tariq has much experience in driving successful social media campaigns, how Apple plans to shape his role is currently unknown.

Tariq is the latest in a number of hires at Apple in the lead up Fall 2014, when the company is rumored to announce several new products including an iPhone 6 and an iWatch.