Ovo Energy appoints new CMO in bid to become world’s most trusted energy brand
In a bid to grow brand awareness, Ovo Energy has appointed Dyson’s Adam Rostom as its new chief marketing officer.
Energy brand Ovo, which specialises in smart meters, has made major changes to its marketing team. Today (3 October) it announced the appointment of Dyson’s Adam Rostom as chief marketing officer and The Guardian’s Katie Thompson as comms director.
Rising through the ranks at Dyson, Rostom went from group marketing director, leading a team of 150 to promote its cordless hoovers, to the brand’s global category director for cordless and robot vacuum cleaners. He previously led marketing at Innocent and was responsible for the smoothie maker’s Big Knit project.
In his new role at Ovo, Rostom is being tasked with improving brand awareness and bringing energy, which is often seen as a dull industry, into the 21st century. Agency The Brooklyn Brothers currently oversees Ovo’s creative account.
“I like disruptors. Companies unafraid to break with conventional thinking and tired rules to bring better products and services to market – the kind people deserve,” said Rostom in a statement.
“Ovo doesn’t just sell energy. The innovation agenda at Ovo is huge. This is an incredible opportunity for me to add to a strong proposition and amplify it. I can’t wait to propel Ovo to even bigger things.”
Thompson, meanwhile, joins as comms director following marketing roles at the likes of Coca Cola, where she oversaw its sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics, and, most recently, a role as VP of comms for The Guardian’s US operation.
Rostom started as CMO last month, while Thompson will start in January 2017. Stephen Fitzpatrick, CEO at Ovo, added: “We’ve built an incredible brand at Ovo but I feel like we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible.
“Adam and Katie have years of experience working with some of the world’s biggest and most loved brands and they will play a huge role in achieving our mission of creating the world’s most trusted energy company.”
With its big six providers accused of ‘ripping off’ customers, the UK energy market is perhaps not the most loved by British consumers.
In an interview with Marketing Week back in 2014, Charlie Smith, the former marketing director at Ovo, said: “We want people to feel loved again and feel like they can have an energy supplier they actually like.”
