Europcar gets into gear for brand relaunch

Europcar UK Group, the UK’s leading vehicle rental company has strengthened its marketing structure in preparation for its multi-million pound re-launch in the UK in 2009.

Catriona Lougher, previously Consumer Marketing Director has been promoted to the role of Marketing Director for the Group, heading up a team of 17 marketing professionals including three new recruits.

Ben Bailey, previously Senior Marketing Manager at BT has been appointed in a newly created role as Head of Brand Marketing. Ben brings over 15 years in consumer marketing experience and will join the business in the Autumn.

Europcar’s e-marketing expertise will be bolstered with the appointments of Danny Higgins, previously Online Trading Manager for Comet as Head of Ecommerce and Susan Kalair, formerly Marketing Manager for Chevrolet as eCommerce Manager. Susan joined Europcar this month, with Danny joining in early November.

The new team brings together the previously separate corporate and consumer marketing units and reflects the business’s desire to focus on building the core Europcar brand primarily within the consumer market.

Catriona Lougher comments: “I have been appointed to position the Europcar brand in its rightful position as market leader in the UK. By bringing the two marketing teams together as one we will have a much more unified approach to our marketing activity ensuring we achieve the most value from our spend both on and offline. As Head of Brand Marketing, Ben will play a crucial role in driving forward our brand positioning activity. We are also investing around £2 million in our digital activity and Danny and Susan will be key to helping us achieve our objectives in this crucial area.

“We have already been reviewing our current suppliers and identifying where we need to bring in additional expertise from businesses that suit the scale of our brand and our ambitions. We have been in discussion with natural search agencies for our e-marketing activity and with Ogilvy in the UK for above the line activity.”

For more information see europcar.com.