Marsden brings back the 'old guns' for agency start-up

Former Britvic marketing director Andrew Marsden – one of the UK’s most experienced client marketing professionals – is trying his hand at the agency world by bringing together the “old guns” of the industry to launch a brand activation agency.
Based in London, Pilgrim Marketing will be combining business strategy and brand positioning with creativity and research and offer clients what it claims will be “a unique solution to today’s difficult brand challenges”.
The agency has already secured a hatful of clients including Champagne Lanson, Hofmeister, The National Gallery, and Pipers Crisps.
The line-up includes many of the marketing industry’s old guard, including Jim Sewell, former group sales and marketing director of Alternative Networks, who has over 20 years’ client experience in telecoms and tech; managing director Toby Moore, the former founding partner of shopper marketing agency Mesh Marketing, who has previously led accounts including Mars Confectionery, executive creative director Laura Auchterlonie, who has been creative lead on campaigns for Skittles, Wall’s Ice Cream, Courvoisier and Coke; and head of research Rob Waddington, the 20 year veteran market researcher, who will lead Pilgrim’s campaign effectiveness testing and research and insight.
Marsden was a dyed-in-the-wool marketer for his entire professional career, starting at Unilever in 1978 before switching to Danone and then Britvic in 1997, where he stayed for 11 years; he stepped down on 2008.
Since then he has held a number of advisory roles, including at the ASA, Wunderman and Mesh Marekting; he will be charman of Pilgrim
Marsden said: “Clients certainly don’t need yet another run-of-the-mill breakaway creative agency. Pilgrim’s unique combination of senior ex-clients and agency leads means we really get the consumer and trading challenges today’s brand owners face, and can then bring their brands to life from strategy to store in more powerful, relevant and creative ways along the path to purchase.”
Toby Moore added: “Potent results arise from the rigour of senior business thinking alongside daring creative. Testing enables us to take the right the path early and solve brand marketing challenges in unexpected ways.”