Surprise As Collier Departs Newspaper Society
Newspaper Society marketing director Russell Collier has left the organisation after just eight months in the job, in a move that has surprised advertisers and agencies.
It has been conformed that Collier stepped down on Monday from the position, which included selling the regional and local press to advertisers and agencies, as well as providing editorial and press facility services to Newspaper Society members.
Collier took over as marketing director last July following the departure of David Hoath, who stepped down to become group advertising sales director at regional newspaper publisher Newsquest (see Newspaper Society Appoints New Marketing Director).
The news of Collier’s sudden departure has come as a shock to many in the industry, as until last week he was touring agencies and advertisers presenting the benefits of regional and local press.
During his time at the Newspaper Society, Collier restructured the organisation’s marketing department to provide greater emphasis on generating new business for its members. He appointed Michael Brannan to the newly created role of marketing manager and more recently brought in Carla Pall as national advertising manager (see Newspaper Society Appoints Senior Advertising Manager).
Commenting on his departure, director of the Newspaper Society, David Newell, said: “I am grateful to Russell for his contribution to our marketing initiative and wish him well in his future career. Russell has stated that he has enjoyed being part of the Newspaper Society’s team and now looks forward to new challenges.”
Prior to joining the Newspaper Society, Collier worked in London as a consultant and held various publishing and research positions. However, he spent most of his career working in multinational advertising and at media agencies, including Ogilvy & Mather in Sydney where his clients included Unilever, Xerox and American Express.
Newspaper Society: 020 7636 7014 www.newspapersoc.org.uk
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