Stan today announced the appointment of Melanie Novacan to the newly created role of marketing director.

The appointment is a key development in Stan’s strategy for taking the streaming service into the next phase of growth, with the growth in brand awareness in 2015 above expectation, enabling Stan to shift its marketing and media strategy more aggressively into digital channels.

Novacan has both customer acquisition and retention experience, and has held senior marketing positions across brand, acquisition, product management, CRM and sponsorships in numerous organisations. She joins Stan from CommSec, where she held the role of senior manager for brand, acquisition, sponsorship and cross sell.

“Melanie’s depth of experience in brand and acquisition marketing will be a core factor in evolving Stan’s marketing strategy as our business and brand reaches more and more Australians. Melanie has a unique set of skills and experience gained across multiple industries that are central to our plans for growth,” Stan CEO Mike Sneesby said.

“Last month we passed an important milestone with 500,000 subscribers signed up to Stan since launch. We are delighted that Australia has recognised the unique product that Stan brings to market with our exclusive, fast-tracked US shows and Stan Original productions.”

Novacan added, “Stan represents a fantastic opportunity for growth. With the best streaming content in the market and an impressive lineup of highly anticipated exclusive premieres in 2016, Stan’s subscribers have a lot to look forward to. I am very grateful to be part of the team bringing this to market.”

Since launching in January 2015, Stan has seen acceleration in growth with over 500,000 subscribers having signed up, reaching more than 1.2 million viewers as Australians continue to take up SVOD services as part of their daily TV viewing habits.