Bacardi moves Doyle to top role

Bacardi-Martini’s top UK marketer Maurice Doyle has taken on the newly created role of commercial director to oversee all sales and marketing activities at the wine and spirit company.

The company has restructured its commercial operations under the one position and no replacement for Doyle’s former role of marketing director will be sought.

Doyle joined Bacardi-Martini in 1992 from Procter & Gamble as senior product manager of new product development. He worked his way up through the company’s European division to its top UK marketing position in 1999 (MW April 29, 1999).

In his marketing director role, Doyle was responsible for brands which included Bacardi, Martini, Bombay Sapphire gin and pre-mixed products such as Bacardi Breezer, Metz and V2. He worked on campaigns including Bacardi Breezer’s Tom Cat and Bacardi’s Latin Quarter, which aimed to introduce the brand to a younger generation.

McCann-Erickson handles the global advertising account for Bacardi and Bombay Sapphire, while Martini’s creative work is by WCRS. Universal McCann primarily handles media buying.

Bacardi-Martini’s UK advertising spend on all its brands totalled £11.8m from July 2002 to June 2003, with more than £10.5m of that figure spent on its leading Bacardi brand.