The Weather Channel bolsters international expansion
The Weather Channel has appointed Mike Zarilli to lead its international expansion plans as it looks to become the principal weather provider in territories outside the US.
Zarrilli – the company’s former senior director of mobile, digital distribution and business development – moves into the newly created role of vice president of international, with responsibility for growing the brand in Western Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Zarilli will be responsible for creating global partnerships and strengthening relationships with mobile device manufacturers and carriers to build on the Weather Channel’s distribution in the region.
The Weather Channel is looking to increase its exposure in the UK by offering brands location-based ads on its website that adapt depending on the weather. The ads will soon be rolled out to its third-party weather feeds on sites such as Yahoo!.
The company is also bringing over its forecasting technology from the US to provide more accurate and up to date weather reports in order to take on the likes of the Met Office.
Ross Webster, managing director of sales at the Weather Channel, told Marketing Week earlier this year: “Our ambition is to become the principal weather provider in the UK and become our own brand rather than a third party weather feed.”
