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Star Entertainment Group revamps marketing team with four senior hires

Star Entertainment Group, the operator of The Star Sydney, The Star Gold Coast and Brisbane’s Treasury Casino, has announced four senior marketing appointments as the company restructures its marketing team.

The restructure will see the group centralise its marketing approach for the company’s properties under chief marketing officer George Hughes, who joined Star from David Jones last November.

Hughes: ‘I see it as an opportunity for us’

“We’re an entertainment business, when we boil it down we have a phenomenal array of propositions and offerings – clubs, theatres, hotels, bar – and its firmly a focus area of ours to tell that story to allow our customers to see the broad array of the offerings we have,” Hughes told Mumbrella.

“So we’re going to tell the story about the integrated resorts. I see it as an opportunity for us. My focus is ensuring we’re positioned in that lifestyle and entertainment space and recognising we have a range of accessible and compelling reasons of coming to visit.”

Hughes wasn’t prepared to answer on what Star’s marketing mix will be under the new strategy, saying: “We need to fully consider our marketing mix, which goes across the range of digital and traditional channels so we’re not necessarily thinking about this in a channel manner, it’s very much around how we reflect the experience of the brand and engage with the audience.

“If they are looking at going for dinner, for a glass of wine, we want to be right at the top of their consideration.”

The new marketing strategy will focus on the premium entertainment offerings in the Sydney, Brisbane and refurbished Gold Coast properties.

Joining Hughes is former marketing director at Michelle Bridges’ 12WBT program, Melanie Luque, who take the role as Star’s general manager for digital marketing.

Prior to12WBT, Luque worked with eBay and Fairfax Digital brands including The Age, SMH, Drive, Domain and RSVP.

Anthony Cohen has been appointed as general manager, brand, sponsorships and PR. Cohen spent 16 years in marketing roles with Qantas, most recently being head of brand and marketing programs.

Marnie Darren joins the group in the newly created role of managing partner, Creative Agency.

Darren has 20 years’ experience in the advertising and marketing industry, including establishing the Luxury Arts agency for TBWA New York to service some of the world’s biggest brands, including H&M Global, Hearts On Fire, Michelin and Pernod Ricard.

Former News Corp general manager, consumer marketing and sales, Nick Turner, will take a role as the general manager, commercial marketing for NSW.

Before joining News, Turner held a number of senior roles in the FMCG sector, including with Nestle and Reckitt Benckiser.

In Queensland, 15 year Star veteran Shalon Lawler has been appointed as general manager, commercial marketing for the state.

“I’m genuinely thrilled to have a real quality leadership team with a diversity of background experience, thinking. A group of professional and pragmatic marketers who are joining our business because they genuinely believe that we have an existing future and they want to be part of that journey,” said Hughes.

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