Paddy Power marketing director appointed as new MD for retail

Christian Woolfenden, global marketing director for Paddy Power since 2011, has been promoted to become the bookmaker’s UK and Ireland managing director of retail. He will have oversight of day-to-day operation management of Paddy Power’s on and offline channels and strategic direction.

The new MD has been behind Paddy Power’s often-controversial maximum impact, minimum spend marketing approach for the past three years, highlighted by an ad which made waves earlier this year by encouraging customers to bet on the outcome of the Oscar Pistorious murder trial.

However, despite the controversy and partly thanks to its World Cup marketing activity, the bookmaker reported a 35% year on year increase in new online customers to 795,000 in the six months to 30 June, with “no increase in marketing costs” per new customer.

Last year, Paddy Power joined gay rights charity Stonewall to launch an ongoing campaign urging professional footballers to tackle homophobia by wearing rainbow-coloured bootlaces.

It also launched a personalised betting app in order to boost digital revenues.

The promotion is one of three announcements made today by chief executive Andy McCue, including the appointment of Peter O’Donovan as chief product officer and current director of operations Jonny Hartnett as online managing director, moves which will all take effect 1 January 2015. The role of global marketing director for the bookmaker has not yet been filled.

Woolfenden previously held the role of global brand director for Bacardi, before which he worked for eight years at Proctor & Gamble in Switzerland and London in finance and marketing roles.

 

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