ITV brings in new commercial team to realise vision

ITV is restructuring its commercial and online division as part of its strategy to develop premium content and deliver it across multiple platforms.

/y/c/p/dancingonice.jpg

The changes see Kelly Williams, previously Channel 5 sales director, become director of TV sales and Simon Daglish, UK commercial vice president at Fox Interactive Media, become ITV’s director of multiplatform and partnerships.

Both will report to ITV managing director of commercial and online Fru Hazlitt.

Hazlitt has been overseeing a review of the commercial division and says “We have to evolve to become the UK’s most powerful marketing platform in what is a rapidly changing, challenging and competitive market.”

Former BSkyB commercial director Martin Goswami has also joined ITV as a consultant and will be working to help drive ITV’s pay strategy. High definition versions of its digital channels are part of Sky’s HD subscription package.

The changes see a raft of long-serving members of the commercial team made redundant. These include group commercial sales director Gary Digby, trading director Simon Lent, commercial director Jeremy Lawrence, and creative solutions director Simon Orpin.

Chief executive Adam Crozier, who took over the reins in April, signalled last August that he was planning big changes when he called ITV “dysfunctional” and said: “A key part of the transformation is to ensure that we have the right teams in place, across every aspect of ITV’s business, to deliver on this strategy.”

Hazlitt says that ITV has to become “more client obsessed” and needs to add value by giving clients many more opportunities to promote their brands across multiple platforms.

ITV’s creative and commercial divisions are to work more closely as a result of a “transformation plan” and Hazlitt says it is also crucial that the two sides of ITV Commercial – TV sales and multi-platform and partnerships – become a seamless operation.

“The team will not only help to deliver the creative and commercial convergence that ITV is striving to achieve overall but also the broadband and broadcast convergence that is inevitable in the market as well as the division’s own convergence between TV sales and multiplatform and partnerships. The ultimate aim is to deliver as well in broadband as we currently do in broadcast.”

Hazlitt explains that ITV is no longer content to simply sell advertising spots but aims to create value for advertisers through the “Total Value Creation initiative”, which will maximise commercial value from ITV programmes, such as Coronation Street and Dancing on Ice (pictured).

The company recently appointed Robin Pembrooke as managing director of online and on-demand and his team will focus on delivering high quality viewing experiences across mobile; PC and gaming platforms with recommendations, social integration and targeted adverts.

Christy Swords moved from his role as ITV commercial projects director into the commercial and online team as director of operations and strategy last month.