Starcom makes senior changes and focuses on ‘people growth’ positioning
Starcom Australia has handed additional responsibilities to head of digital Mark Duffy as part of plans to reposition the agency under the lofty strapline ‘People Powered Growth’.
Clockwise from top left: Mark Duffy, Sally Christian, Roger Lintzeris and Louise Romeo
Duffy, who joined Starcom in March, will take the title of head of investment and digital. The combined role will aim to create more digitally-led solutions for clients.
The agency has also appointed Vizeum general manager Louise Romeo as chief client officer. In addition to overseeing P&G, she will explore collaborative opportunities with other Publicis Groupe agencies.
Meanwhile, former News Corp head of strategy and insights Roger Lintzeris has joined in the new role of Head of Strategy in Melbourne.
The senior appointments came as Starcom unveiled a new positioning after claiming “growth lies in people”.
Under ‘People Powered Growth’, Starcom explained it will focus on the “human and business outcome”.
The focus was “grounded in fact”, the agency said.
Chief executive Nick Keenan said the approach builds on research conducted with Forrester.
“Through our findings, we know that growth lies in people, and by focusing on both the human outcome and business outcome when activating a campaign, it produces better work and consequently more positive personal experiences that have 10 times more impact on brand choice,” he said.
“So People Powered Growth is grounded in fact. And that fact is human experiences and people’s interpretations are now more important than ever.”
Nick Keenan
He added: We believe the growth opportunity lies in people, understanding and anticipating human desires to create experiences of value.”
Keenan said it was “more than a positioning”, describing it as a “framework” to develop talent and “deliver the best business and human outcomes for clients”.
Other senior changes as part of the repositioning see experience design and data science added to the remit of national head of strategy Sally Christian.
“I’m excited to announce these new appointments, with Mark and Sally leading multi-disciplined teams, while Louise is charged with identifying opportunities to tap into Publicis Groupe’s connected platform of capabilities,” Keenan said.
“At Starcom, we’ve created teams that are broad in knowledge and multi-skilled, but each having a specialism at their core. This is all driven by People Powered Growth – bringing human thinking, human experience and human interpretation to create multi-moment customer journeys, linked to delivering on our clients’ growth ambitions.”
