Millennium re-enlists founder as director

Millennium, the agency specialising in over-50s marketing, has re-appointed co-founder Kevin Lavery as group managing director. He replaces Fiona Hought, who had held the top job for three years.

A recent restructure at the agency has also seen the departure of creative director Adrian Mullen, and the move of business development manager Liz Stevenson to head up an unspecified “product” operation.

Hought joined the company as client services director in 2004 from Poulter Partners where she had launched and run the direct services division. Mullen had been part of the launch team at direct marketing agency EHS Brann before joining Millennium.

It is not known if either Hought or Mullen have new posts to go to and the business development post is not currently being refilled.

Lavery says the agency, whose clients include the BBC, Kellogg, Tesco and Age Concern, is preparing to “re-sharpen its pencils and get out there to stress the importance of the over-50s market” to marketers in the current lean times.

He adds that retailers in particular need to realise that the over-50s have “fuller wallets” at the moment and should be taking time persuading them to spend.

Meanwhile Lavery has also taken over as president of an international consortium of western based specialist agencies, the International Mature Marketing Network, and is spearheading an effort to share information on how the over-50s can help marketers survive the recession.