Little Chef marketing boss quits in wake of ad review

Little Chef marketing manager Jenny Heath has quit only two months after completing a re view of its 5m brand advertising account and awarding it to Grey Advertising.

Granada Group is in the process of restructuring marketing for Little Chef but Marc Bell, marketing manager at the Granada-owned Travelodge budget hotel chain, will oversee both brands in the interim.

It is not known if Heath, Little Chef’s most senior marketer, who is on planned leave at present, has another job to go to. Day-to-day running of the marketing department at Little Chef will be handled by assistant brand manager Clare Syrett until the reorganisation is completed.

Heath handed the 5m TV branding blitz, on air until September, to Grey after a three-way pitch against M&C Saatchi and TBA Marketing. TBA was retained to work on print and radio ads (MW March 5).

Heath, who took full responsibility for marketing after deputy managing director David Bradley left in January, backed the use of the Little Chef cartoon in the TV ads.

Prior to joining Little Chef, she worked in the marketing department at Ranks Hovis McDougall and became marketing manager of Bright Reasons restaurants – which owns the Pizza-land chain- in 1994.

Granada is pursuing a policy of expansion in the motorway café market – speculation is mounting that the company is planning to bid for Roadchef, the UK motorway services group.

Bell refused to comment and Syrett was unavailable for comment as Marketing Week went to press.