TGI Friday picks marketing director for modernisation plan

Whitbread-owned restaurant chain TGI Friday’s has appointed Joe Boyle as its new marketing director.

Boyle replaces Claire Price, who quit the company to work as a freelance marketing consultant in October last year. Price had been working at the Whitbread-owned chain for two years.

Boyle was retail director at Wiltshire-based pub group The InnSpired Company, before joining TGI Friday’s in September. He was appointed acting marketing director and will report to the chain’s managing director, Neil Riding, after being awarded the role full time.

In Whitbread’s latest set of financial results, announced last November, TGI Friday’s sales had slumped six per cent in the six months up to September.

The chain is modernising the US-themed restaurants to improve sales and plans to expand from 39 to more than 50 UK outlets this year.

Boyle is considering appointing an advertising agency to handle promotions for the chain.

He says the focus is likely to move away from in-store material to external, below-the-line activity.

Boyle says: “In broad terms, we need to communicate more with potential guests outside the stores.

“We’ll be looking at advertising and PR activity and linking up with third parties.”