Sainsbury’s and Argos merge marketing teams with new CMO role

Sainsbury’s and Argos are merging their marketing teams as the group looks to integrate the two brands more fully and improve the customer experience in-store and online.

Mark Given, Sainsbury’s director of marketing, will take on the newly-created role of chief marketing officer. Argos’s marketing boss Gary Kibble will leave the business.

No other changes or redundancies have been made and Sainsbury’s will continue to work with its ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, while the&Partnership will maintain responsibility for Argos.

The restructured marketing team will also look after Sainsbury’s Nectar loyalty scheme.

“Sainsbury’s acquired Argos almost three years ago and had always planned to integrate the businesses more fully over time so that we can provide a seamless customer offer across Sainsbury’s and Argos, in stores and online,” a spokesperson says.

“Bringing together the two marketing functions is the natural next step as we bring the businesses and brands closer together.”

Given, who will report to Sainsbury’s director of commercial food Paul Mills-Hicks, joined Sainsbury’s as head of brand communications in January 2013.

He has held a number of senior roles during his tenure and was integral to the acquisition and integration of Nectar in 2018 and helping to build Sainsbury’s data and digital capability.

Sainsbury’s and Argos have slowly been bringing their marketing closer together and ran their first co-branded marketing campaign last year. They also have their media planning and buying under one account run by PHD.