Drambuie marketing chief quits
Drambuie marketing director Caroline Sutcliffe has left the company. It is understood the Scottish liqueur company is recruiting a successor, who will be the fourth person to hold the position in just over three years.
A company insider said Sutcliffe, who previously worked as a marketer at L’Oréal, resigned to take up a position elsewhere, but no further details were available at the time of going to press. Insiders suggest she has a role at champagne company Moët Chandon, part of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH).
Sutcliffe became Drambuie’s marketing director just under a year ago, after the previous director, Patrick Venning, left without a job to go to (MW August 12, 2004). Venning was appointed in March 2002, after his predecessor, Paul Davey, left.
Venning resigned a month after he appointed Soul to handle the Drambuie Liqueur global advertising account. Soul pitched against HHCL/Red Cell and incumbent Burkitt DDB, which had held the business for five years. Soul had already taken the Drambuie Cream Liqueur account from Burkitt DDB in 2002. Sutcliffe later awarded the brand’s £1m media buying account to Walker Media after a three-way pitch against Soul Space, Soul’s media arm, and the incumbent, Burkitt DDB (MW September 9, 2004).
Edinburgh-based Drambuie, which is still family-owned after 260 years, last month announced pre-tax profits of £270,000 for the year to the end of June 2004, compared with a loss of £3m the previous year. Drambuie liqueur’s sales rose seven per cent to £28.9m, boosted by a strong performance in southern Europe and Australasia.
