Page 43 - AdNews May-June 2020

“It was very public, with signif- icant damage to our brand and to our daily and weekly sales in the short term.
“I thought that was a tough time as a new leader to motivate and to get more than 224 fran- chisees and 7000 front staff to see that this was an event we would all get through – that we would come out stronger and the work we did in between would make us stronger, which it did.
“So as the newly appointed leader of Starcom, I am drawing on that for this unparalleled crisis.”
Keenan says it is critical as a leader, especially in times of chaos and uncertainty, to communicate with a high level of frequency. Further, to be a voice of reason, confidence and – as far as reason- ably possible – optimism.
“Ensure the information you provide is transparent,” he says. “Do not leave gaps where fear and imagination can start filling in.
“People also need a rational, calm voice in a difficult time and to know there is always a solution. It may not be the one they/we are going to like, but it is a solution to rally behind.”
But above all, Keenan says, a leader must “put the human ele- ment first and foremost, and com- municate the commercial aspects second – always in that order.
“People know the commer- cials are critical and dictate a lot of decisions, but never start with these.
“Focus on what support people will get during times of crisis. Then communicate the plan to them and stick to it – they need certainty and minimal change.
“There is always a pull to immediately act on new informa- tion before the impact of
a reaction is thought through.
But you must only change the plan out of pure necessity.”
Keenan has worked both client and agency side, with a diverse background in business develop- ment, corporate strategy, deal advisory, operations, digital, marketing and finance.
He has broad experience in leadership, business planning, entrepreneurship, brand build- ing, fundraising/acquisitions,
Nick Keenen was appointed CEO of Red Rooster in 2018, and almost immediately had to to guide the company through a crisis. He now heads up Starcom Australia and is using his experience to lead the company through the COVID-19 pandemic.
building strategic partnerships, project management and executing global business strategies.
Keenan’s category expertise includes real-money gaming, sports enter- tainment, POS systems, loyalty programs/CRM, social, mobile, skill-based games, business development, brand marketing, social and internet mar- keting, company leadership, operations, P&L ownership, advertising, sub- scription and transactional business models, retail sales and marketing.
Prior to his two years at Red Rooster, he was commercial director of CrownBet (2015-17), and following that, he was CEO of the gaming com- pany’s online lotto betting service CrownLotto (2017-18).
In 2013-15, Keenan was managing director in Australia of Maxus (part of GroupM), the world’s largest media investment management group.
During his tenure in the leadership team, the agency achieved a fourth place ranking in BRW’s Top 100 Best Places to Work in 2014.
“This is one of the proudest moments of my career and I was privileged to be in a position to lead such an engaged team and a genuine bunch of talented people,” says Keenan.
For more than four years (2009-13), he was head of IP&I at MediaCom, based in Melbourne, and part of the leadership team that grew the busi- ness from third and fourth position in the media buying category of the market to number one, winning AdNews Agency of the Year in 2011.
Before that, Keenan was group sales manager at then-News Limited (2005-08), working within the key account division of Newsnet and specialising in retail, banking and travel.
When announcing Keenan’s appointment to Starcom earlier this year, Publicis Media ANZ CEO Toby Barbour (who had been acting in the Starcom CEO role) lauded “Nick’s passion for talent and the customer, his experience in new business development, brand marketing, business strategy and execution to drive growth”.
“We’re very fortunate to have someone of Nick’s calibre and diverse background leading the agency,” said Barbour.
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