Capital Appoints Grant To Head National Ad Sales
Capital Radio has appointed Linda Grant to the position of commercial managing director, with responsibility for running the group’s national ad sales business.
Grant, who joined the company last year as commercial marketing director, will oversee all areas of the national sales business across the Capital FM Network, Capital Gold Network, Century FM Network and Xfm.
Her promotion follows appointment of former national sales director, Chris Bennett, to the position of commercial development director earlier this month (see Capital Appoints Bennett Commercial Development Director).
Grant’s expanded remit will also include agency sales, sponsorship and promotions, commercial marketing and interactive sales, as well a representation of the commercial radio industry’s Newslink and Hit 40 UK network brands.
She will be based in London and will report directly to Capital Radio Group’s commercial director, Linda Smith, who commented: “The London commercial team has had some terrific success over the last few years in a market that has proved challenging and increasingly competitive. I am positive that the team can focus even more on offering our customers solution-based sales arguments under Linda’s creative direction.”
Prior to joining Capital, Grant spent three years at Associated Newspapers where she was head of planning for Metro and subsequently marketing director. She has also worked for Trinity Mirror as advertising manager of the Daily Record and at the Newspaper Society, where she was ad planning manager.
Capital Radio has faced increasing competition in the all-important London market and the latest RAJAR data for the three months to December 2002 show that its flagship Capital 95.8 FM saw its weekly reach fall by 16.6% year on year to 2,460,000.
However, the radio group was boosted recently with news that lynchpin presenter, Chris Tarrant, does not intend to leave Capital 95.8 FM before his contract expires in 2004 (see Good News For Capital As Tarrant Plans To Stay).
All eyes will no doubt be on Capital Radio next week to see if RAJAR data for the first quarter of 2003 will reveal a more positive set of listening figures for its flagship London station.
Capital: 020 7766 6000 www.capitalradiogroup.co.uk
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