Travelodge loses top marketer
Travelodge’s top UK marketer Charlie Herbert has left after three years in his current position, prompting a review of the budget chain’s marketing structure.
Herbert joined as e-commerce director with responsibility for marketing and IT in 2009 with a brief to put online at the heart of the company’s strategy.
A spokeswoman says he left “by mutual agreement”. She adds that no decision has yet been taken on replacing him or on the future structure of the marketing team.
The marketing setup at Travelodge has changed several times over the last four years. The marketing director role was scrapped in 2008 with Herbert assuming oversight before the role was resurrected and handed to Emma Williams last year.
Williams left after less than one year in the role, leaving Herbert as Travelodge’s most senior marketer.
The company, owned by Dubai International Capital, is led by Guy Parsons, a former Cadbury Schweppes marketer who was appointed as chief executive in 2010 to grow the chain.
A marketing campaign launched in April of that year to position the 400-strong chain as the “retailer of sleep” featuring cuddly toy Mr Sleep, the first time it had been on television in 20 years. The spokeswoman says Mr Sleep will continue to front campaigns.
