McDevitt shakes up IPC ad team

MediaWeek, Media Week, 01 July 2005, 09:55AM

IPC Media’s new group ad director Caroline McDevitt has unveiled a major restructuring of its commercial department in a bid to create new opportunities for advertisers.

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McDevitt has handed Neil Perkin, ad director for IPC Key Accounts and the TX/Connect divisional trading news, a new role of ad director for marketing and strategy.

The position will give Perkin overall responsibility for ad marketing strategy across the group and will give him access to ad directors through the IPC Advertising board.

Perkin will also be charged with developing IPC Media’s new strategy of establishing advertising opportunities “outside of the traditional display arena”, mainly through closer contact direct with advertisers.

A new division, known as the Creative Solutions team, will also incorporate IPC’s existing Innovator inserts department.

McDevitt said: “Neil will provide the resource and support to ensure that IPC provides leading edge creative ad solutions to our diverse and highly valued ad clients.

“He has great experience across a range of key ad functions within IPC and his new role will allow a committed focus on driving our sales and marketing strategy.”

Meanwhile, McDevitt has promoted Alison Deas, currently key accounts director, to ad director with overall responsibility for trading.

Deas will handle IPC Media’s centralised advertising teams including the business development, key accounts, agency central sales and regional sales departments.

IPC Connect ad director Kate Mackenzie and IOPC TX ad director Marc Beeney have also been promoted to take full responsibility for the their divisional trading teams.

The sweeping changes come just months after McDevitt joined IPC Media from a consultancy role she took up after leaving television audience measurement service Barb.

McDevitt said: “In today’s media market we are learning to do business with much larger, continuously converging and changing media organisations. They’re dealing with data overload and looking for creativity in their dealing.

“We need to ensure that we are involved in our commercial partners’ decision making processes as early as possible – to add the most value. And the renewed focus on strategy and marketing will enable us to do just that.”

By Kevin May

This article was first published on Media Week