---
title: "Young Ones to Watch: Darren Keeler, VP of Marketing and Creative at Shuckin’ Shack"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/6de99701-84ca-4551-8cbf-e3ba6f1417ca
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/young-ones-to-watch-darren-keeler-vp-of-marketing-and-creative-at-shuckin-shack-2716825
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Marketing"]
published: 2021-10-07T16:11:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:15:30.619Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/85d97c1a1811c06649453a7f955b19295365.jpg
---

# Young Ones to Watch: Darren Keeler, VP of Marketing and Creative at Shuckin’ Shack

**TL;DR:** Darren Keeler is the Vice President of Marketing and Creative at Shuckin' Shack, a seafood restaurant franchise. He joined the company in 2019 and has been implementing innovative marketing strategies.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2021-10-07. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/young-ones-to-watch-darren-keeler-vp-of-marketing-and-creative-at-shuckin-shack-2716825).*

## Story

Darren Keeler was spinning records as a nighttime Top 40 DJ before switching careers to the franchising industry in 2019. Living in Carolina Beach put him right next to the original Shuckin’ Shack, a family friendly seafood franchise and a place he was already pretty familiar with.

A friend of co-founders Matt Piccinin and Sean Cook, Keeler took a job in the Shuckin’ Shack main office, working his way up with innovative marketing strategies. He’s now the vice president of marketing and creative for Shuckin’ Shack Franchising.

“I saw myself in this team,” Keeler said. “We all have the same goals, characters and personalities. I saw myself fitting very well into this team, and I just took a dive.”

When it comes to the franchising industry’s resilience during the pandemic, Keeler said he’s impressed.

“The industry is innovating itself,” he said. “We thought during the pandemic things were going to be at a standstill, but that’s just not the case. Innovations have happened really quickly in the last two years.”

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- franchise marketing (topic)
- career change (topic)
- Shuckin' Shack (company)
- Matt Piccinin (person)
- Darren Keeler (person)
- industry innovation (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/young-ones-to-watch-darren-keeler-vp-of-marketing-and-creative-at-shuckin-shack-2716825). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/6de99701-84ca-4551-8cbf-e3ba6f1417ca).