Betfair appoints first CMO after axing brand director role
Betfair has named director of online marketing Johnny Devitt its first chief marketing officer (CMO) after scrapping the brand director role and the departure of its top marketer.
Devitt replaces Mark Ody as the custodian of the brand in a role that blends the former’s performance-driven sensibilities with the latter’s strategic leanings. He will report to the company’s chief executive Breon Corcoran.
With online marketing and branding responsibilities now led by one marketer, Betfair is keen to unearth more efficient ways of converting brand metrics like awareness and sentiment into a loyal following, according to a source close to the business.
Devitt has steered Betfair’s online endeavours’ since last May after he was promoted from its head of marketing platforms, data and acquisition role. He joined the business in 2013 from rival high street bookie Paddy Power where he headed up its social media and online display efforts.
His promotion ends Ody’s two and a half years at the business, during which he plotted strategies that contributed toward its share price tripling in the period. Prior to his appointment, Ody served as a marketing consultant and had several senior marketing roles at Diageo including marketing director for Guinness in Ireland and the marketing boss for the company in Holland.
It is not known whether the arrival of a CMO will have on structural impact on Betfair’s marketing division. The gambling firm was unable to respond to requests for comment by the time this article was published.
Betfair’s gamble to better harmonise its marketing follows chief executive Corcoran’s pledge to plough more money into marketing and develop new products, after it shrugged off tougher gambling tax rules to boost revenues 20 per cent to £114.6m in the three months to January.