Laithwaites Wine names ex-Lloyds man as marketing chief

Roberts replaces Georgina Hewitt, who left the post in February 2011 to take up a role with Laithwaite's data agency, More2. Roberts reports directly to Laithwaites Wine managing director Glenn Caton.

Roberts joins Laithwaites Wine from Lloyds Banking Group, where he spent five years, most recently as head of customer marketing for general insurance. Prior to joining Lloyds, he held a number of sales and marketing roles at Procter & Gamble.

His appointment marks the latest in a series of changes to the senior management team at the wine merchant, and he is tasked with increasing brand awareness and affinity, purchase consideration and advocacy.

The brand, which has a £15m marketing budget, has traditionally used direct marketing and in-store events to communicate with consumers, but the new appointment is understood to signal a move to above-the-line advertising in the future.

Caton said: "2012 is an important year for the company, with new marketing drives and various digital innovation projects in the pipeline.

"Mark's successful track record and well-established innovation specialism makes him perfectly placed to lead the charge when it comes to reinventing our approach to customer engagement."

Two years ago, Laithwaites Wine hired eCRM specialist agency Underwired Amaze to help improve its relationship with customers through digital channels.

Laithwaites Wine has a number of UK outlets and is a part of Direct Wines, which has operations across America, Hong Kong, India, Australia and mainland Europe, with annual sales of £340m.

Follow Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith on Twitter @LoullaMae_ES

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk