As MEC's President of Digital, Shenan Reed leads the media agency's digital business and is responsible for driving the advancement of digital growth and innovation across North America. Her capabilities span the entire spectrum of digital marketing: digital strategy, online media placement, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, social media strategies, creative consulting, and ecommerce/eCRM consulting.
In fact, her early understanding of the digital consumer journey led her to open her own agency, Morpheus Media, in 2001, which she built into a highly profitable and well respected business known for its work with luxury and fashion clients such as Neiman Marcus, LVMH, Mont Blanc, and Chanel, as well as The New York Times and A&E Television Networks. In 2011, Shenan sold it, but continued with the agency for two years to see the transition through.
Today at MEC, Shenan is helping marketers navigate the sheer amount of data available to build future-forward digital solutions that resonate with consumers. She says, "It's not the volume of data that matters, but rather the insights you can glean from it. To get great insights, you need to know what questions to ask and to be open to finding answers you didn't expect."
She always keeps in mind that Steve Jobs often remarked that consumers didn't always know exactly what they wanted. She adds, "Self-reported survey data can only tell us so much. Actions will always speak louder than words, and our ability to now harness consumer action has provided tremendous insight into what our customers really want-- not just in terms of creative, but also in regard to media and all messaging communication."
Shenan has been working on CP30 for several years, and is proud that the concept of it is starting to gain traction. CP30-- a play on CPM and 30 seconds—refers to the amount of time an ad accrues attention and adds a price dimension, so that marketers can better gauge effectiveness and engagement. In other words, an ad is worth more when the more time spent viewing it.
Shenan encourages the MEC team to connect all of the consumer and media dots in new ways. “It is exciting to follow the latest tech innovations and daydream about new ways to use them to better serve our clients and their customers. Please don't ask me about your digital strategy. I believe in a strategy for a digitally enabled world. Innovation is seeing ideas today and how they will change the future, and then pushing for that change.
She confesses, “I've had quite the journey from being a self-proclaimed math geek, crowned beauty queen, musical actor to now being a mentor, digital entrepreneur and female leader within a leading media agency, and best of all mom to two beautiful children. I am honored and proud.”