ITV Lands Salmon To Head Marketing Division
ITV has announced the appointment of Clare Salmon as its new marketing director, following the surprise departure of high-profile department head Jim Hytner from the role earlier this year.
Salmon will take responsibility for all on and off-air marketing activity across ITV’s portfolio of channels and services, and leading a 60 strong team. Her appointment sees ITV drawing a line under Hytner’s time at the broadcaster, which saw him credited with rebranding the company in the run up to the £5.6 billion merger of Carlton and Granada (see Hytner Quits ITV After Three Years To Join Barclays).
Salmon joins ITV from motoring and breakdown assistance company, the AA, where she was managing director of financial services. Despite having little media experience, hopes are high for Salmon, who made a name for herself with the highly successful rebrand of the AA, using the “Just AAsk” strapline. The campaign contributed to sales growth and a record 15.3 million customers for the organisation.
Commenting on the appointment Mick Desmond, chief executive of ITV Broadcasting said: “It’s a real coup to have attracted someone of Clare’s calibre to join ITV in this hugely important role. Clare has terrific credentials for the job and is highly regarded in the marketing community. Marketing has never been more critical and I look forward to working with Clare to take the ITV brand forward.”
Clare Salmon added: “I am delighted to be working with a brand of the stature and versatility of ITV and one with a real track record of courage and innovation. It’s a particularly exciting time to join in a period of unprecedented competitive change. I will relish the opportunity to shape the ITV brand for the digital future so that it can continue to capture and lead the popular imagination.”
Salmon will join the broadcaster in early 2005, reporting directly to Mick Desmond and working closely with ITV’s director of programmes Nigel Pickard, as well as the commissioning and scheduling teams across the ITV channel portfolio.
ITV recently completed a rebranding exercise which saw it drop celebrity faces from its idents (see ITV To Drop Celebrity Idents As Part Of Rebrand). The image overhaul was designed to create a much stronger focus on ITV’s ‘digital family’ of channels ahead of the launch of its third entertainment channel, ITV3, earlier this year (see ITV3 Launches On Sky Following GSB Acquisition).
ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com
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