BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide poaches Skype marketer for CMO role
The BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide has poached Skype marketer Jaclyn Lee-Joe for its top marketer role as it looks to increase commercial income to supplement the licence fee.
She joins later this year (16 November) to replace chief of brands officer Amanda Hill who left the organisation in July. Lee-Joe will have global responsibility for BBC’s Worldwide’s brands and marketing strategy, including new additions BBC Brit, BBC Earth and BBC First as well as brand franchises such as Top Gear and Doctor Who.
As chief marketing officer (CMO), she will report to BBC Worldwide chief executive Tim Davie and work closely with BBC marketing director Philip Almond. It’s a minor change to the role previously held by Hill, with the main reason for the introduction of a CMO being to reflect marketing activity across the business alongside its expanding direct to consumer proposition. Consequently, a new chief brands officer will not be hired.
On Lee-Joe’s arrival, Davie said: “As well as her first-rate marketing experience, Jackie brings a strategic mind and approach, a terrific understanding of the possibilities of digital - and considerable experience of industries and organisations undergoing transformation. I’m thrilled she’s decided to join BBC Worldwide.”
At Skype, Lee-Joe was global director for audience, entertainment, marketing and broadcast media. Prior to that, she has also been at Virgin Mobile in Australia where she was general manager for brand and communications and has also worked at Carphone Warehouse across Europe as well as had global brand and consumer marketing roles at Orange in the UK.
Her arrival comes as the business looks to raise commercial income to supplement licence fees in order to invest the earnings back into content for UK audiences. Last month, it revealed plans to take on Netflix in the US with an online video streaming service that it hopes would push its brands to new audiences. In June, it launched an in-house agency in a bit to develop more integrated marketing partnerships overseas.