Chief Executive Officer of Zenith and Moxie
Sean connects the dots across disciplines in a way that brings flexibility to clients, while redefining today's agency model. A believer that big ideas are only as good as the ability to execute them, he encourages a focus on translating ideas into actionable outcomes that impact the bottom line.
He admits that launching a new brand positioning for Zenith earlier this year was one of the most rewarding experiences of his career. Called ROI+, it blends the fundamentals of communications planning with next-gen data solutions to fundamentally change the speed, prowess and precision with which Zenith now tackles a client’s media needs. He says, “Zenith has been The ROI Agency since 2002; this ensures we set the standard as the ROI agency for the next fifteen years as well.” Additionally, ROI+ provides a mechanism that ensures connectivity and consistency in how we approach a client challenge across the globe.
Sean Reardon believes that innovation is more than technology, and says it’s looking at and addressing challenges in new ways. “A lot of people correlate innovation with new technology and while I don’t believe that is wrong, per se, I find that lens a bit limiting. Innovation to me is finding and using new methods to answer the old, or similar, challenges. For some clients, this might mean employing advanced AI or VR tactics in a plan, for others it might simply be a new approach to buying in the media marketplace. In both cases, clients are changing. It takes courage to change, so there isn’t one form of innovation that warrants greater appreciation than another.”
That said, he’s worked to ensure that the agencies he oversees are an able partner in any form of innovation that a client will have the rationale and courage to pursue.
• At Zenith, he made a bold move a year ago by hiring Tom Goodwin, LinkedIn’s #1 Voice on Marketing, to lead our innovation practice and challenge conventional standards of thinking about media.
• At Moxie, there is a dedicated unit in the FutureX team and an innovation lab where the team explores everything from advanced robotics to engineered consciousness. According to Sean, “It’s one thing to say ‘AI and robotics are important;’ it’s real innovation to show and put it into action.’”
Prior to taking over the helms at Zenith, ROAR and Moxie, Sean spent time at Publicis & Hal Riney, Goodby Silverstein & Partners and AKQA.