Tony McGinn named CEO of Authentic Entertainment

Tony McGinn takes reins at Authentic Entertainment as they launch creative division

•  Authentic Entertainment launching full service creative division

Authentic Entertainment, a division of the MCM group, has announced the launch of a major new creative division which will spearhead growth in the company’s creative services for its brands and across its client portfolio. The launch comes as founder of MCM, Tony McGinn, steps in to the CEO role after the departure of John Wardley.

The new division, named the Authentic Creative Lab, is a full service unit which will strengthen the company’s abilities to deliver more innovative content marketing solutions and will be a first for the burgeoning content marketing industry.

The Authentic Creative Lab (ACL) will offer a dynamic combination of creative, video and audio production, design, experiential, activation and ideation specialists, marketing, PR, social media, digital and strategic counsel within the same unit, comprising of a team of 16 experts across each discipline, offering a combined 100+ years industry experience. The Lab will operate out of both Authentic’s Sydney and Melbourne offices.

Vanessa Richards has been appointed as the head of the Authentic Creative Lab and will drive the development, operations and commercialisation of the Lab. Richards brings more than 12 years of experience in media, marketing and communication roles to her position at Authentic Entertainment. Prior to this appointment, Richards was Authentic’s head of integration, following on from her roles as marketing director at the Beauty subscription service and ecommerce platform bellabox and national implementation director for Nova Create.

Within the ACL, Tim Bowery has been appointed as manager of ideation, providing a dedicated resource to driving unique solutions and opportunities for clients. Ex-Seven and Nova campaign specialist Sarah Howie has also been appointed as senior activations manager. Andrew Tanner has stepped into the role of group creative head after 20 years with the business and Beth van Koesveld has been appointed as the group’s audience insight manager.

The Lab has been working on solutions to evolve Authentic’s existing owned and managed brands including Vevo, Take 40 Australia, My Generation and The Drop, in addition to securing long-term client partnerships. More exciting announcements will follow in this area soon.

McGinn, MCM group founder and now also Authentic Entertainment CEO, said: “I’m delighted to bring the Authentic Creative Lab to market. The content marketing landscape is changing at a rapid pace and our intention is to ensure we are at the forefront of these changes and trends and that we can both inspire our clients and deliver on their changing demands. The Lab provides us with a powerful, cohesive platform in which to further build our business and sustain the growth we have enjoyed in recent months through our brands and clients.”Source: Authentic Entertainment

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