Google starts search for UK B2B head of marketing

Search engine giant Google is hunting its first dedicated head of business-to-business marketing in the UK. The move marks a step change for the online brand, which had not previously invested in traditional marketing.

The new role is part of Google’s attempts to beef up its marketing team in the UK and focus on building relations with small to medium-sized advertisers and partners.

The role will include building a marketing team and identifying new revenue streams as well as developing a UK marketing strategy and communications plan across all products such as AdWords and AdSense.

The successful candidate will also spearhead new product launches and encourage adoption of further Google products among the UK small business community.

Also part of the remit is to manage onand offline marketing programmes and events to target both small and large advertisers and publishers in the UK. Google is known to be keen to improve its relations with both ad agencies and small businesses throughout the UK. It was as part of this commitment that it appointed Jonathan Gillespie, a former head of radio at Opera, as agency leader earlier this year.

While Google dominates the paid-for search advertising arena in the UK, it is also looking to shore up its position in the display advertising sector with the proposed purchase of DoubleClick.

It has to fend off competition from new offerings from Microsoft and Yahoo!, which launched their new ad platforms – AdCenter and Panama.