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Whyte and Mackay recruits global marketer and announces £100m push

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

November 16, 2005 | 3 min read

Whyte and Mackay has named Richard Hayes as its new global marketing director ahead of a £100m investment in its key brands.

Hayes was previously European marketing director of core brands for Allied Domecq, based in Liverpool. He is currently relocating to Glasgow where he will be based in Whyte and Mackay’s Dalmore House headquarters.

As The Drum went to press Hayes was on paternity leave, however in a statement issued by Whyte and Mackay he commented: “This is a fantastic time to join Whyte and Mackay and I am delighted to be part of the team. There is a dynamic and positive spirit and we are committed to growing the brands’ value both in the domestic and global market.”

The appointment has sparked speculation on whether Whyte and Mackay will now look to appoint an advertising agency, as the company has not employed a full-time retained agency since last year, when the company’s marketing department was re-structured.

However communications director Rachel Josephson, who joined the company in August from The Big Partnership, where she had been head of consumer PR, maintained that no agency is to be appointed.

She said: “We don’t have an advertising agency at the moment because we have an in-house creative department headed up by two creative directors who produce all our creative for us.

“I think we’re the only drinks company to have an in-house creative department. There’s no plans to appoint an ad agency because there’s no requirement for it.”

However the company will continue to work with a number of marketing agencies on a project basis, including Edinburgh-based 1576, which handles the company’s sponsorship of Leeds and Hibs football clubs.

The sponsorship had been handled for several years by the team at Carnegie Worldwide, which last month was bought over by the expanding 1576.

Whyte and Mackay is currently in the process of re-launching its key brands – Whyte and Mackay, Jura, Dalmore, Vladivar and Glayva. Josephson said: “It really is a brand revolution. We’re re-designing, re-packaging and re-launching all our key brands.

“We’re conducting frequent consumer activities, as well as looking at more sponsorship deals and the development of an online brand experience.

“It’s really about being more direct to the consumers and we’ll be using a lot of direct marketing and PR.”

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