St Andrew’s Day fellowships for people who’ve made their mark in marketing

Graeme Atha looks forward to a celebratory dinner that will see awards and fellowships handed out – plus comedy and a ceilidh

The Marketing Society Scotland will be recognising leading marketing professionals and organisations at our St Andrew’s Day Dinner at the Sheraton Hotel in Edinburgh on November 30.

Fellowships and Honorary Fellowships are awarded to members who have made a significant contribution to The Marketing Society and our industry.

Honorary Fellowships will be presented to Hamish Swan and Sarah Warby.

Hamish was appointed as the first main board Marketing Director at Tennent Caledonian Breweries in 1972 before being promoted to Managing Director in 1976. Having marketing represented on the board and being recognised as central to business success was an important development for our profession.

He started his career as an Assistant Brand Manager at the Beecham Group before joining Dorland Advertising in London as an Associate Director. He joined Bass Charrington as Marketing Manager in 1969.

Hamish was appointed a Director of Bass PLC in 1985 and was Vice Chair of Holiday Inn Worldwide based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1989 before retiring in 1994.

The Marketing Society Scotland will be celebrating 50 years of Tennent’s marketing at a special event at Wellpark Brewery in Glasgow in December.

Sarah Warby is the Chief Customer Officer at Nando’s UK & IRE and a NED at the Moneysupermarket Group.

She started her career as a Brand Manager at Unilever before joining Leo Burnett Advertising Sydney as a Senior Planner. She went on to be appointed Marketing Director at Heineken UK, based in Edinburgh before joining Sainbury’s as Marketing Director in London. She also helped launch a Fintech start-up Hyperjar and was CEO of Lovehoney – the sexual happiness people.

Sarah delivered an inspiring Ogilvy Lecture at the Amplify Marketing Festival in August this year where she urged marketers to make the complicated, uncomplicated.

We will also award Fellowships to members who have made a significant contribution to some of our initiatives over the last year.

Chris Marsh, Managing Director, Carat; Natalya Ratner, Marketing Director, Robotical; Neil Skinner, Marketing Director, Edrington UK; Jane Strachan, Director, Punk/bright Signals

We will also be presenting our Employer Brand of the Year Awards on the evening.

These awards have been developed in partnership with Denholm Associates recognising leading organisations with a reputation for being great places to work and therefore attracting and retaining talent in Scotland.

Nominated companies will share details on:

Vision and Purpose; Values and Culture; Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; Staff wellbeing

The judging panel will also review the quality of the work they do as well as the different ways they promote their employer brand from their website to social media activity.

The Client Employer Brand of the Year Shortlist

Bruichladdich; Edrington & Edrington UK; Glenmorangie; Scottish Building Society; STV Group; Volvo/rokbak

The Agency Employer Brand of the Year Shortlist

ALT; Bright Signals; Clark Communications; SPEY; Studiolr; The Lane

During the evening we will also celebrate the Scottish Food & Drink Industry with our partners The Famous Grouse and Scottish Government and will conclude with a St Andrew’s Day toast before entertainment by award-winning comedy act Jess Robinson and local ceilidh band Bahookie.