Publish Date : 25-Mar-2015
Inspired Thinking Group has been selected to manage print procurement and marketing resource management for Intu, a FTSE 100 company that possesses and runs 15 UK shopping centres together with the Intu Trafford Centre, Intu Metro Centre and Intu Lakeside.
Intu under the terms of the contract will have access to ITG's support services, subject matter experts and round-the-clock studio at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham, at the same time as ITG will use its resource management platform, Media Centre, to manage campaigns, data and assets across Intu's retail portfolio. ITG said that it would also leverage its print-buying power and supply chain to "secure substantial cost efficiencies for the company".
Simon Ward, founder and chief executive of ITG, said: "Intu is a company that understands the importance of a single, national brand. Using Media Centre, we can provide significant cost-efficiencies and workflow benefits for Intu giving more for the same investment." Trevor Pereira, commercial and digital director of Intu, added: "Working with ITG will ensure consistently high quality that our customers and retailers expect from intu, combined with efficient work and economies that make our marketing spend go further."
In the meantime, ITG's Chris Heath and Lisa Elrod step up from director roles to focus on customer service to clients including Audi, M&S, Heineken, Renault, Puma, Sainsbury’s, KFC and Skoda. ITG is a Ł60m operation having double-digit annual growth as enterprises shift to outsourcing marketing operations. The majority of its 300 staff is based at Fort Dunlop, Birmingham. Head of marketing Ian Reid said: "Our success centres on combining technology in terms of marketing automation wrapped around good marketing services to deliver efficiencies for clients.”
Reid said that the company would refine its proprietary resource management platform, Media Centre, to coordinate campaigns to help clients streamline processes. The platform provides retailers and brands control over their marketing data and assets. It automates whole marketing workflows and provides real-time visibility of jobs, campaigns, orders and budgets. "The future will see fewer new products but a continuing of what we are doing already, helping retailers and brands become more efficient and make cost savings."
In 2013, Elrod joined the marketing services and technology group as customer service director, after 14 years as client director at print and marketing specialist Bezier. Heath has been a director at ITG since it formed in 2009, having earlier worked alongside Simon Ward as client services director at St Ives’ SP Group. He said: “It has been a busy few years at ITG. We’ve created a compelling suite of services for the marketplace and delivered them using the best client services team in the business.” The company said that it had experienced "phenomenal" growth since its formation 5 years ago and the promotions of Heath and Elrod would free up founder and chief executive Simon Ward to concentrate on further growth, purchases and the expansion of ITG’s US operation.
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