Karen Madden is to join Nine Entertainment Co as group marketing director.
NEC chief executive Hugh Marks told staff that in this new group role, Madden will align the work of the promotions, social and marketing teams as Nine continues to drive integrated activity across all these departments for both television and digital.
“Due to the breadth of the role Karen will report to Nine’s director of television Michael Healy as well as working closely with Alex Parsons and his team on the expanding digital side of our business,” said Marks.
Madden was previously general manager trade marketing and media services at News Corp Australia and has also held senior marketing positions at Woolworths, Goodman Fielder and Coles.
Marks added: “Her strong brand marketing skills bring a new dynamic to NEC and will ensure that our approach is both holistic and cohesive across all parts of the business.
“Under the new structure, Alex Parsons’ title will now be focused to his core role of chief digital officer. Under Alex’s leadership Nine’s digital business continues to be a growth engine and I’m excited to see our digital properties such as 9Now, nine.com.au and 9Honey continuing to kick goals.
“9Now has just ranked first across all commercial broadcast players in the Australian market in June, with 9Honey also having grown its unique audience by 20% in June alone. Huge results for our business. The growth of our digital platforms, as well as our first party data offering, are critical components of our business strategy going forward.”