Glendinning scoops Marketing Leadership and Innovation Award

26 Jul 2008

Mike Glendinning, sales and marketing director at Volkswagen, Audi and Seat, was honoured with the 2008 Marketing Leadership and Innovation Award on Saturday night, 26 July 2008, at the 30th annual Loeries advertising festival weekend in Margate. The award was introduced last year.

“The Loerie committee is unanimous in their agreement that Mike is a worthy recipient and an outstanding example of the leadership, dedication, loyalty and commitment to a brand that it takes to do something special,” says Andrew Human, MD of the Loeries.

“I am thoroughly overwhelmed but extremely honoured and grateful to be bestowed this award,” says Glendinning. “It would never have been possible without the brilliant creative work from Ogilvy, and fantastic relationship that our brands and people have enjoyed with them.”

Shortlist compiled

For the 2008 award, a shortlist was compiled, based on the success of brands over the last three years at The Loerie Awards. The shortlist included the following brands: Virgin, Cell C, VW SA/Audi SA and M-Net/DSTV. Each of these has been very successful in their marketing activities and each has one or more individuals who have been key to the brand's success.

The Loeries committee reviewed each brand and the individuals behind them, and it was clear that Mike Glendinning was involved personally not only in VW and Audi's success in recent years, but for many years prior to that, and has been an active contributor to the brand's market position in South Africa.

Career-long contribution

In light of this, he was selected by the Loeries committee as the 2008 recipient of the Marketing Leadership and Innovation Award for his career-long contribution to outstanding client-agency relationships, his in-depth understanding of what it takes to develop, nurture and build iconic brands and his knack for spotting great ideas when they come his way.

Glendinning joined Volkswagen South Africa as a graduate trainee after graduating from the University of Port Elizabeth (now the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) and Unisa. Over the subsequent 23 years, he held various positions within the sales and marketing division. The promotion of his brands has been a key point of his focus throughout his career, and he was even on the sets of some of the early memorable Volkswagen television advertisements in South Africa, nearly two decades ago.

In his current role Glendinning oversees the sales and marketing of the Volkswagen, Audi and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brands.

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