USwitch reshuffles marketing team for second branding push

Online price comparison service uSwitch has rejigged its marketing team and appointed former SWEB marketing chief Alan Tattersall as marketing director. Incumbent Barry Holloway moves from his position as marketing director to work on “strategic projects” and will be leaving uSwitch in April 2008.

Tattersall moves from his position as home services director at uSwitch. He moved from SWEB to Total Energy in 2003 after LE Group – then owner of the Virgin Energy, London Electricity and SWEB brands – restructured the marketing team. He joined uSwitch in 2005.

Tattersall, whose appointment is with immediate effect, is not expected to review agency arrangements or marketing structure.

Last year, uSwitch appointed Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy (MCBD) to handle its £3m advertising account after a pitch against Mortimer Whittaker O’Sullivan (MW April 27, 2006) and it is about to roll out a second phase of its work.

MCBD created the gospel choir characters for the price comparison site’s major branding push, which was first rolled out late last year (MW December 21, 2006) and used the strapline, “You gotta switch”. Holloway credits the campaign with achieving a huge boost in brand awareness and driving new users to the site.

The agency is about to roll out a second phase of the campaign that will see the gospel choir in a power station and urging consumers to reconsider their energy supplier. The ads will be rolled out from September and are expected to continue into next year.

While the ads will highlight the cost benefits of using uSwitch to choose a new energy supplier, Holloway says it will not merely be about price, but about offering users greater choice.