Mattress brand Eve appoints former AA and Birds Eye marketer as CMO
Mattress company Eve has appointed Cheryl Calverley as chief marketing officer as it looks to “become Europe's leading sleep and well-being brand.”
Cheryl Calverley, Eve Sleep CMO
Calverley has joined Eve from The Automobile Association (AA) where she has spent the past three years, most recently as marketing director. Prior to that she held a number of senior marketing positions for six years at Birds Eye Iglo, overseeing its £21m marketing spend, and spent seven years at Unilever working on brands including Marmite, Pot Noodle and Axe (Lynx).
She will take on responsibility for its burgeoning ad spend. The company splurged £17.2m on advertising in 2017 (a 119% increase on 2016) despite suffering a pre-tax loss of £19m, a 68% increase on the £11.3m loss from the previous year.
The hefty marketing investment came as it doubled down on efforts to stand out in the increasingly competitive mattress sector, where players such as Simba and Casper have taken hold.
According to reports, the new sellers have taken 5% slice of the annual bed market, up from zero four years ago, with predictions that could reach 20% in the next three years.
As a result of Eve’s marketing spend, it saw unprompted brand awareness rise from 1.4% in December 2016 to 6.6% in November 2017 (per GlobalData), a trajectory it hopes to continue with the appointment of Calverley.
“With a wealth of consumer brand experience, Cheryl is a natural fit for the business and the delivery of eve’s refocused growth strategy,” said Eve chief executive James Sturrock.
“Her proven track-record in developing and managing high profile brands will be crucial to further differentiating our brand positioning, enhancing customer experience and helping to achieve our ambition of becoming Europe's leading sleep and well-being brand.”
Calverley went on to add that the brand has “remarkable growth potential.”
“I’m thrilled to be joining the company at this stage in its development. Eve’s culture of challenging the traditional market offers a unique position from which to further build a powerful brand with a genuine connection to its customers and foster strong loyalty,” she said.
“The business has a clear sense of purpose, to improve people’s health and wellness, and the expansion of its product offering is a key part of this.”