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TEN appoints Chief Brand Officer

Matt McGrath becomes responsible for brand communications, marketing and promotions.

Matt McGrath 1In February TEN’s former sales chief Mike Morrison fired a shot at his former employer saying “the Australian public no longer trusted TEN,” but TEN hit back calling it “absolute nonsense.”

Today the network has announced a newly-created role of Chief Brand Officer for Matt McGrath, formerly Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of Y&R Brands Australia/ NZ and before that, Chief Creative Officer of George Patterson Y&R Australia / NZ. Y&R Brands was also where Russel Howcroft was previously Chief Executive.

From today McGrath is responsible for brand communications, marketing and promotions.

TEN CEO Hamish 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.”

I’ve been writing for some time that TEN has a branding issue and it needs to send out new messages to its audience. It’s a long haul ahead but this appointment sounds like a step in the right direction by management.

12 Responses

  1. I am a bit confuesd as to what ‘brand’ Tens newly appointed CBO will/should be targeting, as the many hard earned loyal viewers that Ten simply took for granted, and then proceeded to abuse and squander that loyalty, at their own seemingly arogant leisure. ( we’ll never forget the insult of the ‘The Renovators’ “Amid” the ‘Masterchef Gand Final’ debarcle) but we are still out there just waiting for even a glimmer loyalty to be returned by Ten, and any ammount of B/S hype about Ten’s Brand will mean next to nothing. as we have “Heard It All Before”, just take the number of reversals of Hyped Up and many Unfullfilled press releases/announcements that have occurred just this year alone.

    Or should they be trying to restore and gain the respect of their advertisers ‘ Brands’ where they obviously condoned the repeated ‘Brand Abuse’ by Paul Henry, especially during his outspoken defence of Alan Jones’s vile comments regarding the sad passing of Ms Gillards father( that is when he was not abusing the intellegence of us viewers), where Ten seemed to confuse the viewer numbers as ‘Likes’ with ‘Detesting’ where we only watched to see how much disrespect Ten had for us viewers, as is still/again being repeated with the ” The Bolt Report”.

    Unfortunately for Ten, and even if as many plead ( including myself, but also of all networks) they stick religiously to start/finish times, they will simply become a reliable channel to ‘Record’ because till they stop intermingling current series with repeats( never indicated on their erratic unreliable EPG service) , along with unreliable programme time/dates etc., Ten will never become a Leading Alternative Network, regardless of how many ‘Chiefs’ they appoint, because it is us ‘Indians’ they need.

  2. This is needed so bad. Step in the right direction yes. Hopefully this guy can turn things around. Ten defi has an image problem.

    What happened to the CMO Ten hired about a year ago (Chief Marketing Officer)

  3. “Matt will create a consistent view of our brand,…”

    There is already a consistent view. McGrath needs to focus on changing it to a positive one. He could start by engaging directly with Ten’s audience (or whomever they want to be their audience) and finding out what it will take to bring them to Ten.

    Consistent, timely, and appropriate scheduling will help, but ultimately Ten must have desirable content.

  4. @Pertinax
    How can you say Nine and FOX will outbid them and they are losing money from NRL deal and they probably won’t find the money while if I refer to the article about “TEN in Cricket Australia talks” they have had meetings and will continue to do so and people are thinking on here that TEN will win

  5. Yes Ten knows the shows that have a chance of success: The Voice, MKR, The X Factor, The Block, Masterchef, Downtown Abbey, Packed To The Rafters, Winners and Losers, House Husbands, Revenge, The NRL and the AFL.

    Ten’s problem is that Seven/Foxtel out bid them for the AFL, Nine/Foxtel out bid them for the NRL (and will probably do so with the cricket), and Nine outbid them for The Voice.

    That leaves them with one popular programme which is not enough.

    Ten moves shows less than 7&9, starts shows on time more than 7&9, sticks with programmes longer before dumping them because people have stopped watching them than 7&9.

    No amount of timetabling, spin or branding is going to generate viewers if they don’t want to watch the content you have on live rather than MKR or The Voice.

  6. @Jason
    If Southern Cross are worried about programmes being moved then the last people they should be come an affiliate is in Nine.

    Southern Cross want to leave Ten because Nine has twice the ratings.

  7. This does sound possitive but and i stress But, they need to fix their sheduling of certain shows which do not belong in prime time or day time. Often shows such as charmed are shafted to day time when they would be better prime time and shows such as cops on ONE are in prime time when they would be better in day time. My sinical side tells me that Ten just want to be better at doing Spindoctoring and not actually getting better at running a national Tv Network. This has backfire written all over it if they dont fix things which i have mentioned above and if it doesnt work assumin its given enough time, then he will be sacked.

  8. With the current environment of variable start and finish times, Ten can’t risk a 7.30 sharp or dead on 8.30 start/finish etc. Seven and Nine are just too dominant. Ten need to get viewers watching their shows again.

  9. And tell your affiliate what you are doing. No wonder Sthn Cross wants to jump ship to Nine. How many more times do they get caught out running promos for programs that have been cancelled/shifted?

  10. Was gonna say the same thing unclepete. Ten has lost the viewers trust, when it used to be the network that viewers trusted most, and while not #1 network in ratings, was the #1 favourite.
    I commented in the lounge about NCIS starting and finishing on time. Ten need to start marketing themselves as a network that will start and finish shows on time. This will set it apart from 7 and 9, and win viewers back.

    I stopped watching MKR (partly because of Ashlee & Sophia), but mainly because of the overun. Sometimes i would watch right up until 8.30 and then switch so i never knew who won/went.

    I still think Ten have a great list of shows, but they’ve already messed most of them around.They need to start marketing themselves better to give viewers a reason to come back.

  11. They can start making a promise they will keep. That shows will start and end on time and that when a series starts they will play it until it ends.

    Neither of these things is unthinkable or unobtainable and would go a long way to building trust in their viewers again. And (in my view) place them streets ahead of 7 or 9.

    They should be smart enough by now to know which shows have a chance of success.

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