Vimto md quits for research role

Vimto Soft Drinks marketing director Peter Knowles has left the business to become chairman of quantitative research company Heawood Research.

Vimto has not appointed a successor to Knowles, saying it has yet to decide if he will be replaced. Until a decision is reached, each individual brand team will be responsible for marketing and report to managing director David Earing.

Knowles was at Vimto for three years. Before joining the company he was marketing director at Colmans of Norwich and Waterford Dairies.

Vimto was rebranded last year and an advertising campaign launched in the south of England. The product also switched from glass to plastic bottles.

Vimto’s advertising agency is Cheetham Bell JWT, with media work split between CIA Manchester and Purely Media. According to Nielsen MMS, Vimto spent just under &£1m last year on advertising.

Heawood Research was set up by former Kraft and RHM (now Centura) marketers Roger Jackson and Paul Tolley to provide quantitative research services based on concepts originally devised by Knowles.

Knowles says: “I had a very enjoyable and rewarding time at Vimto, and many of the major strategic marketing issues the Vimto brand faced have been addressed. I feel it is now time to devote my energies to my own business interests.”