Merloni recruits ex-Sony man as UK chief

White goods company Merloni, which owns the Ariston and Indesit brands, has appointed former Sony marketing manager Charlie Jones as its UK marketing director.

He replaces Nigel Grasham, who left the company more than a year ago. Jones will join a newly structured management team headed by managing director John McDarren, who was hired by Merloni last July.

Merloni, which is to spend 5.5m in the UK this year advertising its Indesit and Ariston brands, and retains DMB&B. Indesit is the number two brand in the UK after Hotpoint and has 14 per cent of the washing machine market.

Merloni is hoping to adopt a more brand-led approach to its advertising in the white goods market, which is growing by about six per cent year on year.

Jones was most recently group marketing manager for home and audio visual products for Sony UK.

Recommended

Which? to launch TV show with view to home shopping

Marketing Week

Consumers’ Association (CA) magazine Which? is planning to launch a masthead TV programme that could extend to TV-based home shopping. The development comes as Which? launches a pilot repositioning campaign through Claydon Heeley International to attract a broader and younger market and bolster falling circulations. Marketing director David Sneesby says: “The Which? brand lends itself […]

Brief

Marketing Week

The latest execution in the John Cleese-fronted Sainsbury’s TV campaign airs this week with Cleese extolling the virtues of Sainsbury’s recently-expanded Reward Card scheme. The new 30-second ad sees the ex-Python actor shouting at passers-by in the street through car-mounted loudspeakers. It is designed to promote Sainsbury’s move to make its Reward vouchers redeemable in […]

Hot Chocolate star new voice of Cadbury

Marketing Week

Cadbury has found the perfect partner to advertise its chocolate drinks – Errol Brown, lead singer of resurgent Seventies band Hot Chocolate. Brown, whose hit song “You Sexy Thing” featured in the box office smash The Full Monty, stars in the latest advertising campaign for Cadbury’s High Lights through Delaney Fletcher Bozell. The ad, which […]