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Howell spells out ITV priorities 

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Rupert Howell has been talking about his role as ITV's new managing director of brand and commercial. He wants to see the brand 'actively nurtured' rather than the passive attention it has had as it moves into new areas. Speaking at a MediaTel event yesterday, Howell also said he is aiming to get ITV into "some sort of virtuous cycle" rather than the "vicious circle" that it's been in. Not sure what that means, but if it has anything to do the low quality repetitive crap that ITV produces he could be onto something.

"I'm going to be responsible for how the brand is deployed and stretched into new areas and new opportunities… and how we can monetise that," he said.

He also stressed that chairman Michael Grade chose him as someone who could look at the whole picture of ITV with a broader perspective.

"When Michael was appointed, for me that just transformed ITV's potential fortunes in an instant, and I think that's been self evident in the year since he's been there," he said, adding that it was Grade's presence at ITV that lured him and the new director of content, Dawn Airey.

"Where ITV needs to focus now is on its content and Michael is beyond passionate about content, and his view is... if you can invest in the content and produce better content then everything else falls in line behind that."

Online is going to be a key feature of Howell's new job and he will be looking at how the company is going to optimise online revenue.

He said there would also be a focus on youth, but not a the expense of older viewers.

"We suffer in the advertising and media industries with an obsession with youth. There's a lot of misconceptions about who advertises want to reach. ITV will through its content be pushing towards stronger profiles in different age groups and categories, [but] let's never forget where the bulk of the disposable income in this country lies, and that's something I will be reminding advertisers of when I talk to them."

On why ITV is still around, Howell was clear that it came down to the numbers: "The reason why ITV has continued to be successful even when it's been having less good times, is because it delivers effective results. Television delivers the numbers, it always has and always will."

Always?
Published Oct 10 2007, 10:39 AM by Gordon Macmillan
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Gordon Macmillan

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