Evening Standard appoints sales and marketing chief…

The Evening Standard has appointed Matt Harrison, a former circulation director at Trinity Mirror, to the new role of marketing and sales director. The appointment is part of a move to boost the paper’s marketing capabilities.

Harrison will be responsible for the paper’s marketing strategy and distribution business and will work closely with head of marketing Charlie Edelman and Tim Freeman, circulation manager. Both will now report to Harrison.

It is understood that Evening Standard managing director Andrew Mullins believes that combining sales and marketing roles will be more efficient than keeping the functions separate, as the paper has done in the past.

Harrison joined The Evening Standard in April to work on special projects. Prior to that, he was newspaper sales director for the regions at Trinity Mirror.

Harrison’s promotion comes as the paper is overhauling its marketing strategy. It called a review of its £10m advertising business, previously handled by The Law Firm, earlier this summer and has appointed McCann Erickson.

The evening paper has been hit particularly hard by the arrival of afternoon freesheets, thelondonpaper and London Lite. But some media-buyers say that the paper is over the worst and its circulation is now stabilising.

Its six-month average circulation has dropped by 18% during the past year to 268,262 copies, according to Audit Bureau of Circulation’s figures.

It is understood that the first work from McCann, which is due to break later this year, will focus on differentiating the paper from its freesheet rivals.