GMG names first Smooth marketer

Guardian Media Group Radio has appointed Susan Brown as the first dedicated marketer for its flagship London station, Smooth Radio. She will take over the role next week.

Brown will be Smooth marketing manager, responsible for developing the brand and building new commercial partnerships. Having recent-ly been on maternity leave, she joins the GMG from EMAP-owned 105.4 Magic FM, where she was senior marketing manager for two years. Before that, Brown was marketing manager at Capital Radio for nine years.

She will report to Smooth managing director Andy Carter and GMG Radio group marketing manager Helen Dickinson, who says Brown will bring “a dedicated focus” to the station.

Smooth was revamped in March this year as part of a move to target older listeners. It also extended the network with the rebrand of three Saga stations.

The station now actively targets the 40 years and over market with a wider range of music from the last 50 years. The overhaul included a new logo, which combined the previous Smooth and Saga logos, and a new strapline “Your Life. Your Music”.

GMG now has 11 stations in its portfolio under the Smooth, Real and Century brands. The stations are spread across London, Scotland, Wales, the East and West Midlands, the North-east and West of England, which the group claims gives it the largest regional footprint in the UK.