By James Wells – publisher Intermedia liquor titles
Diageo Australia marketing and innovation director, Matt Bruhn, has been promoted as the new Global Brand Director for Smirnoff, based in New York.
In his new role, Bruhn will report to David Gates – head of Premium Core Brands.
"Matt has a fantastic track-record of driving creative brilliance and working with internal teams and agencies to create award-winning work with great outcomes,” Gates told TheShout.
“I'm confident that the appointment of the new, dynamic agency, 72 and Sunny, combined with Matt's vision and strong leadership will be a winning formula for the brand.”
Bruhn joined Diageo Australia nine years ago as Brand Manager for Bundaberg Rum before moving into the Sponsorship Marketing Manager role for Diageo Australia and later Asia Pacific.
In 2009 he was appointed Marketing Manager for Bundaberg, where his unique take on the brand helped reposition it in the market, with the introduction of more premium products including Select VAT and the Master Distillers Collection.
From there he stepped into the role of Marketing and Innovation Director, which he has held for the last two and a half years.
According to a statement issued by Diageo Australia, “Growing talent and pushing creative brilliance have been core to Matt’s approach as a leader of the Australian marketing team, which has translated into an array of top awards including 2013 Adfest Advertiser of the Year and two Bronze Lions at Cannes for the Bundaberg Road to Recovery campaign”.
Diageo Australia has yet to confirm a replacement for Bruhn.