Profile: Populist at the Post Office - Gary Hockey-Morley, marketing director, Post Office

Hockey-Morley, who stamped on the 'ants' advertising campaign - handing

the account to Mother from Publicis - has been quick to make a mark on
the Post Office. With an economics degree from Bristol University, and a
sharp analytical mind, Hockey-Morley is not interested in change for
change's sake. 'When I joined the Post Office, although there was a
strong recognition of the 'ants' campaign, when dug a little deeper it
wasn't actually saying anything about the brand - in fact, it was
detracting from the very values and culture we want to promote,' he
explains.

Born in Derby, Hockey-Morley grew up in Peterborough, and now lives in
North London's Belsize Park. Making his first move into marketing on the
graduate scheme at Unilever, he came to the fore at Abbey, where he
spent 13 years, rising to marketing director.

He says the biggest marketing challenge for financial services brands is
ensuring they put themselves in their customers' shoes. 'Banks are full
of signs, most of which are telling you what you are not allowed to do,'
he says, adding that it is easy to forget that, for some people,
visiting a bank can be a frightening and intimidating experience.

Down-to-earth and self-deprecating, Hockey-Morley could not be described
as an 'ivory tower' marketer. While many marketers privately tell horror
stories of their time on the tills, it is clear that spending time on
the Post Office shop floor was more than just a PR exercise for
Hockey-Morley. Staff were not only the first to see the new ad campaign,
but were consulted on which celebrities should appear and what products
should be featured.

Colleagues credit Hockey-Morley with being one of the 'good guys' of the
business. Jonathan Allan, managing director of OMD, which Hockey-Morley
appointed in May, says he has made brave decisions and is creatively
driven.

In an industry stacked with shameless self-publicists, Hockey-Morley is
happy to take a back seat to the brand, and is described as an
'extraordinarily positive, galvanising influence' by Stef Calcraft,
founder of Mother. 'He allows the creative process to flow and liberates
his teams to get the best out of Mother and the other agencies,'
Calcraft adds.

Hockey-Morley joined the Post Office because he wanted a new challenge -
and he has certainly found one. While the organisation is one of the
most trusted brands in the UK, this comes at a cost. The continued
negative media coverage of Post Office closures is a constant bugbear.
If the government meets its target of closing 2500 branches by 2009, as
it bids to cut its subsidy burden, this coverage is likely to
intensify.

'The fact is that the current post office network is too large to be
supported and we have some branches with under 16 visitors a day,'
Hockey-Morley explains. He insists that though closures are painful for
local communities, the brand should not cut back its marketing efforts.
'If we don't advertise and promote ourselves and talk with confidence,
all consumers will see of us are closures and bad news. We need to
strike a balance.'

In line with this strategy, consumers will be hearing more from the Post
Office, not only through the high-profile brand campaign, but also the
multi-million-pound launch this month of its broadband service.

Hockey-Morley is only one and a half years into his five-year marketing
plan for the Post Office, and is clearly enjoying his role. 'It is nice
to work for an organisation that really matters to people,' he says. 'As
such a trusted brand, we have a huge opportunity.'

It is an opportunity he is grabbing with both hands.

CAREER HISTORY

1984-1989: Graduate recruitment scheme, Unilever

1989-1993: New business ventures manager, London Electricity

1993-2001: Corporate planning manager rising to director of retail
banking then marketing director, Abbey National

2001-2005: Managing director, Abbey National Business

2005-2006: Director of mortgage services, Abbey

2006-present: Marketing director, Post Office.