Gold Medal Travel Group has made the interim product remit of Marketing Director Sarah Lancashire permanent, firming up the responsibilities she took on alongside her new marketing role earlier this year. The confirmation effectively turns a temporary arrangement into a permanent dual leadership position for the trade-only group.
Lancashire joined the company as Marketing Director in May 2022.
Since her arrival, she has been tasked with overseeing the rebrand and repositioning of the group’s entire portfolio. The brands under her guidance include Gold Medal, Pure Luxury, Cruise Plus, and Incredible Journeys. These entities form the core of the group’s offerings to agents.
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The previous arrangement saw Lancashire take on the product function on an interim basis in February. She managed this alongside her existing marketing duties. The leadership team has now confirmed that she will continue to lead both teams in the newly created role of Marketing and Product Director.
Simon Applebaum, the Managing Director of Gold Medal Travel Group, offered a response to the move. He noted that Lancashire had made “extremely impressive progress” since she began handling the additional responsibility. When he initially asked her to take on the product function, the primary goal was to maintain continuity during a transition period. Applebaum stated that the actual results delivered by Lancashire went well beyond that initial objective. The alignment between the product and marketing teams, he observed, is working more effectively than had been anticipated.
Lancashire expressed her satisfaction with the appointment. She described it as a natural progression based on her experience. “Having spent the past six months working closely with the product team, I’ve seen firsthand what’s possible when marketing and product are pulling in the same direction,” she said. She added that she is “excited to keep driving both teams forward as we expand our portfolio.”
The combination of these roles emphasizes a specific operational strategy often seen in smaller to mid-sized travel groups.
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In many corporate structures, marketing and product departments are siloed to maintain distinct areas of focus. Marketing handles the message, while product handles the offer.
By placing both under a single director, the organization is merging the strategist with the producer. This structure can potentially reduce friction between teams and ensure that the group’s repositioning efforts are applied uniformly across all brands. It simplifies the reporting line, allowing for faster decisions regarding how the Pure Luxury, Cruise Plus, and Incredible Journeys brands are presented to the wider trade network.
The permanent appointment comes as the group continues to refine its market positioning. The focus remains on strengthening the connections between the product offered and the marketing narrative used to sell it. Lancashire’s expanded remit ensures that this dual focus remains the central strategy for the company moving forward.