Sarah Fuller headed up marketing at Nando’s UK & Ireland until last September.
Former Nando’s UK & Ireland marketing director Sarah Fuller has been appointed as The AA’s new chief marketing officer.
Fuller’s appointment brings with it a number of organisational changes, with the responsibility of group marketing now in the hands of chief operating officer, Neil Blagden.
The group CMO role previously came under the remit of chief commercial officer, Mark Felix’s.
The AA says it is the “right time” to decouple the two areas, which will allow Felix to focus on his expanded roadside commercial remit, pointing to its importance in the overall success of the group.
Fuller will report to Blagden, while all brand, CRM and digital marketing teams will report into Fuller. She will be responsible for group-wide membership and cross-sell, along with group customer marketing, customer insight and AA Media.
Will Harrison’s role as marketing director for brand strategy and operations will remain unchanged.
Fuller spent more than four and a half years at Nando’s UK as commercial and multichannel marketing director, leaving last September. Prior to that she was interim director of marketing for iPlayer and TV at the BBC and interim group brand director at Aviva. She has also held senior marketing roles at Waitrose, Dixons Carphone and Graze.com, having started her career at P&G.
She expresses excitement at joining the roadside assistance company in “this pivotal stage in its transformation journey”.
“I’m looking forward to building on all the excellent work done so far to delight customers and explore new growth opportunities,” she says.
Fuller’s appointment comes as the company continues its brand reframing, which started in 2020.
Speaking to Marketing Week in 2023, Harrison said the AA was on a mission to redefine itself as a brand relevant “across the driving world”.
Consumers can learn to drive, buy or lease a car, complete an MOT, or take out insurance with AA, but in 2020, Harrison said this was not reflected in the public’s perception of the brand.
A reposition went into effect to reach a wider addressable audience, and Harrison notes brand-building was a key lever towards achieving that goal.
The AA now has a brand positioning expression of ‘It’s OK, I’m with The AA’. Harrison said this platform conveys the “unshakeable confidence” being a customer of the AA brings.
