Austereo and SCM rebranded as Southern Cross Austereo

By By David Blight | 21 July 2011
 

The recently merged Austereo and Southern Cross Media entities will re-entered the market under the banner of Southern Cross Austereo - after a vote on the new name this morning.

Southern Cross Austereo chief executive Rhys Holleran said the decision to retain both company names stems from the idea that both brand names hold considerable brand equity.

Holleran told AdNews: "We went over lots of options, whether to keep one name, whether to create a new name, but logically we landed where we are. We are not just slapping two names together. Both brands have equity, they are both brands worth keeping."

The company's head of marketing and communications Nikki Clarkson confirmed to AdNews at the beginning of the month that the merged businesses would come under the same corporate banner, but would not reveal the entity's name.

She told AdNews: "The companies will be brought together. It makes sense, because our positioning will be so much stronger with all of our assets combined."

The company has been gradually undergoing an integration process, following the announcement in January that SCM made a $741 million bid for Austereo, with the deal being finalised in April. 

Since then, the company has announced a new sales structure, with SCM's sales boss Jeremy Simpson taking on the lead role. In June, AdNews revealed exclusively that Austereo's marketing boss Nikki Clarkson would be head of marketing and communications at the newly merged company.

At the beginning of May, it was revealed that Austereo chief executive Guy Dobson would be SCM director of metro radio, answering directly to SCM chief executive Rhys Holleran. Austereo executive chairman Peter Harvie is helping with the transition process while SCM chairman Max Moore-Wilton will remain in his role.

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