With a new appointment, Mars is boosting sales and marketing connectivity to adopt to shifting retail, e-commerce and consumer shopping behaviours.
Andrew Clarke, the company’s Chief Customer Officer since 2015, will be promoted to the newly created role of Chief Marketing & Customer Officer. He will oversee the teams that deliver expertise in media, consumer marketing, customer and sales.
The move comes as Bruce McColl, a 24-year veteran of Mars and the company’s Chief Marketing Officer since 2006, prepares to retire from the business in June.
Mars President & CEO Grant Reid said “Marketplace dynamics are blurring the lines between sales and marketing. Retail and shopper trends are moving at a remarkable pace and Digital is providing new routes to reach consumers that blend advertising and selling. We’re evolving our approach to advance the way our marketing and customer strategies work together to address these trends.”
Clarke and McColl have co-created the company’s strategy to look at ‘demand’ in a more integrated way over the last year. Building on his 15 years of experience at Mars, Clarke will lead the strategy going forward.
“Mars has tremendous brands supported by world-class marketing communications, and that will continue as the expert CMOs in our segments’ drive creativity and innovation,” said Clarke.
“Building on that, consumers are demanding a more seamless brand experience, and we have an opportunity to grow our categories with our brands and our customers. In this new role I see myself as a connector between our muscle in marketing and our strength in sales, and I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity.”
