Ten boss Hamish McLennan has made his first high-profile appointment with the hiring of former Y&R colleague Matt McGrath as chief brand officer.
McGrath has been tasked with brand communications, marketing and promotions.
McGrath and McLennan had previously worked together at Y&R when McGrath led the Australian operations while McLennan was global chief executive of the ad network. McGrath has also held the chief creative officer post at George Patterson Y&R. He left Y&R in 2008.
Together with McLennan and Melbourne general manager Russel Howcroft, McGrath is the third former Y&R-er in Ten's executive circle.
McLennan said: “I have known Matt for many years and he is without doubt one of the best creative and strategic minds in the Australian media and marketing sector.
“I am delighted he has agreed to join Network Ten to work on our external and internal marketing, including our messaging around our core programs. Matt will create a consistent view of our brand, on and off air, and bring innovative thinking to how we communicate with consumers and advertisers.”
Ten parted ways with its chief marketing officer Tony McMaster days after former chief executive James Warburton was sacked.
Earlier this month, in an investor briefing about its half-yearly results, McLennan said the network was optimising how it's going to market and what it's promoting.
He said at the time: “We know the power of advertising and what it can do for your programming. We would like to have more money to spend externally [on advertising] and we're adjusting our plans but it's too early to what that will look like. We changed the CMO out and we're bringing in new talent."
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