Former Aldi marketing director Samuel Viney has been appointed as the head of advertising for big four bank Westpac.
Viney steps into the role this month, which was left vacant following the shock exit of former marketing boss and ex-marketing manager for Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), Andrew Howie.
Viney, who has been with Aldi for more than four years, had most recently held the marketing director position for the supermarket in Germany, where he had also been customer interaction lead.
Viney, who took on the Australian marketing director role in May 2013, was previously the group account director on the Aldi account at ad agency BMF.
Since then the retailer has been lauded for making ads that break the sectors rules and stand out in a tough category.
Its Australian version of the ‘Like Brands, Only Cheaper’ campaign has won awards, and its 2015 Christmas campaign won two silver and a bronze Effie.
Viney was named ADMA’s marketer of the year in 2015, after only going client side in 2013.
He spent 10 years working his way up through agencies including five years a BMF and stints at Y&R Group and Saatchi & Saatchi.
In his new role at Westpac Viney reports to head of group brands and advertising & media Jenny Melhuish.
Viney said he'll be aiming to build on the work coming out of Westpac.
“My focus will be on understanding each of Westpac’s customer segments; not just at a data level but also a personal one,” Viney said.
“In a world dominated by data, it is this human understanding of customers that leads to impactful and effective communications. I’m excited about the challenge of working with such a broad customer base and product offering.”
Howie exited his role halfway through last year to take on the head of brand position at tech giant Amazon.
Prior to that, he had been at MLA for five years and was promoted to group marketing manager in 2015.
Westpac has been contacted for further comment.
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