Sainsbury's expands Burr's remit as marketing director role scrapped

The move follows the resignation of marketing chief Stephen Nelson earlier this month. He is joining BAA as retail director.

Burr, who has been working part time as customer services director, will now be responsible for overseeing director of brand communications Helen Buck and director of store brand events Louise English. He has also been appointed to the supermarket's operating board.

However, Sainsbury's director of own brand Judith Bathelar will report to retail director Mike Coupe and head of online Toby Anderson will report to trading director Ken McMeikan.

Since Nelson's appointment, Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King has strengthened the marketing department with the hiring of several senior marketers including Buck, the former head of marketing at Marks & Spencer.

Buck oversaw Sainsbury's recent pitch for its £45m advertising business, which the incumbent Abbot Mead Vickers BBDO won after a final shootout against WPP Group's JWT.

Sainsbury's is in the process of finding a replacement ad-slogan after dropping "Making Life Taste Better" earlier this month as part of an overhaul of the supermarket's brand identity, which is being developed by Lambie-Nairn.

At the time, Buck said: "It is important to ensure that Sainsbury's brand values are communicated in a relevant, effective and consistent way to all our customers and stakeholders. We firmly believe that this refresh will help us to achieve that."

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This article was first published on Marketing