First Choice appoints marketing director after rejig

First Choice Holidays has appointed Steve Baily to the new role of director of marketing services as part of a restructure of its marketing function.

The changes follow the resignation of marketing director Sam Turnbull, who is leaving the company in the next few weeks.

Baily, former head of customer insight, will oversee a new department that will be responsible for marketing communications, retail marketing services and customer communications.

The PR and customer relationship management functions will be moved out. Yield and planning director Adrian Woodcraft will head the customer relationship management division, and sales director Martin Froggatt the PR team.

Turnbull, who has been working part-time since March, joined First Choice 12 years ago and helped to bring the company’s main tour and retail operations together under the First Choice brand. He was due to leave to set up his own marketing services consultancy three months ago but agreed to stay on after group marketing director Phil Barden left the company (MW March 10).

Barden was responsible for integrating the marketing of First Choice and its subsidiary brands, but was made redundant after the company decided to keep the brands separate. The company is not seeking a replacement for Barden.