Ad directors face axe in Emap shake-up

by Robin Parker, Media Week 06-Mar-07, 10:05

LONDON - As many as half of Emap's ad directors for the publisher's 50 consumer magazines could be made redundant following its management structure review.

Magazine-focused roles within Emap Advertising, headed by Marcus Rich, have come under pressure in the review, conducted by Boston Consulting Group, and staff have been asked to apply for a smaller number of broader ad roles, some of them at a lower level, according to sources close to Emap.

The cuts follow the axing of 11 commercial director roles in April last year. Several former commercial directors subsequently moved into ad director and publisher positions.

Commercial staff in Emap's broadcast and sponsorship and promotions divisions are thought to be largely unaffected.
Emap Consumer Media is in consultation with editorial, commercial and publishing staff across the group and is understood to have created several more divisional managing director roles.
These are expected to be filled by some of its more experienced publishers, whose current positions have been scrapped as part of the review.
The company is also advertising internally for seven head of publishing jobs at its Peterborough-based specialist division, Emap Active, covering 22 magazines and websites, many of which replace publisher roles on individual titles.
Since Media Week reported details of the review (page 3, 27 February), the only position confirmed by Emap is the new role of chief marketing officer, currently being recruited.
Emap declined to comment directly on the consultation, but confirmed that the review would result in job losses.