Morwenna Angove set to leave Alton Towers Resort?

[Joel]

Taken from TowersTimes News...

TowersTimes has been anonymously tipped that Sales & Marketing Director, Morwenna Angove is set to leave Alton Towers Resort this year.

Rumours are once again rife that Alton Towers' famed Sales & Marketing Director, Morwenna Angove, is set to leave the Alton Towers Resort for "pastures new" in a news release document leaked to TowersTimes in an anonymous email sent to the site.

In the document Morwenna, who has been with the Resort for 3 years now and famed by many enthusiasts for her interesting choice of marketing activity with the press, is thanked by Ian Crabbe (Divisional Director) for "her fantastic contribution to the long term growth and strategic direction of the Resort. She has been instrumental in the development and launch of Sharkbait Reef by SeaLife, TH13TEEN and has led the re-branding of the Resort and putting Fantastical Escapism at the heart of everything we do.".

The news release goes on to add that she will be sadly missed and thanking her again for all she has done for the Merlin Entertainments Group, adding that she will be set to leave the Resort at the end of October this year.

The news release doesn't make clear where Morwenna is off to however - be it within the Merlin group still, or, as it appears to suggest, another company away from the Merlin group.

The document finishes with "We have already started the recruitment process for Morwenna’s replacement. Further announcements will follow in due course on Sales & Marketing going forward. ".

So, will we see the end of the crazy marketing bans and ploys that have appeared to have done something good for the resort, certainly gaining extra coverage in the press and got the word out for the resort? And who will be tipped to replace such a coveted position within the resort, steering it into a new 2011 season?

We'll bring you more as and when we find out!

[Sam]

If Merlin have any sense they've offered her a job as President of Marketing for the whole company.

[Crofty]

I wonder if the Public opinion of Th13teen might have anything to do with her decision to leave.

[Sam]

Did she jump before she was pushed perhaps...?

[Dormiens-Dave]

I really doubt thirteen had anything to do with her leaving, all the market research has been very positive for 13 and i doubt there has been any pressure for her to go

I imagine her high profile last year at towers has lead to her been head-hunted by another company offering her a better role.

I for one think she has on the whole done a lot for the resort and dont for a second think the mad-cap PR stunts will end... they where generally set up by others in the team.


Just hope the new top bod helps focus the park even more towards magic and theming

[Joel]

I wonder if she's had a better offer elsewhere!

Although the "crazy marketing" has not gone down to well with the fans, it certainly seems to have gained a lot of attention for the Resort with the general public at least, and a lot of people have commented about how well the resort seems to be doing recently too.

So I think she has done well with her time at Alton Towers, even if she hasn't had the best reaction from us enthusiasts at times :P

So it wouldn't surprise me if she has perhaps been head hunted by another company or group after her success, and chose to take it.

Congratulations to her hopefully, I hope it all goes well... providing its all true, that is

[[Archive]]

This is sad news. I like Alton Towers' new marketing style, I just wish it could be more subtle and not constantly ridiculous. It is sad to see Morwenna go, and I hope the fresh marketing will not go with her. I loved the build up to Thirteen, it was on par with Oblivion perhaps. The advert and blipvert format was clever and the full length ad itself was very well made. The PR stunts are quite annoying though, so hopefully they will gradually disappear.

Oh well, good luck with what you do next Morwenna!

[PeteB]

OK BYE!

There is an opportunity for the new marketing director to cosey up with John Wardley on SW7 just as its in the early development stages. I'm hoping that will avoid a miss match of random ideas from 2 different people.

[Gloomy Dude]

Annonymous tip offs? Didn't she ban those? :P

Sad news I guess, but you've got to get some fresh bloody in from time to time to stop things stagnating. The Morwenna years will be remembered for a long time to come... assuming things would change even slightly without her at the helm. There will be a whole host of young Morwenna apprentices waiting to take over I'm sure.

[Joelio]

I'm umbivilant at best.

[Voke]

It's quite a shame she's leaving to be honest. Loved her nice little marketing ploys, but TH13TEEN was way over-rated by Morwenna.

Hope someone a little more honest, but with the same amount of fun Morwenna had inside her replaces her.

[Jordan]

Well, after what seems to have been a successful year for Towers, I really wasn't expecting this! While it's all too possible that she's been headhunted by another company, some of the more recent publicity stunts (*cough* Coaster porn *cough*) have been a bit on the edgy side that there's a good chance she, like Sam said, jumped before she was pushed.

Well good luck Morwenna, and good luck for the future. We'll always remember you whenever we play the 2010 edition of Where's Waldey... :P

[Blaze]

I'm mixed over this, as when she did good, she did amazing, but when she did bad, well, she was shockingly sh...

She'll be missed, sad to see her go, apart from the stupid bans, pointless PR announcements and aspects of Thirteen's marketing, she did an excelent job, really got Alton into the public eye, and the marketing (apart from what I've already mentioned) was excelent, and quite 'magical' at times. Whoever steps in has big boots to fill.

Good luck to Morwenna, all the best.

[fredward]

I will miss her...

I know all the silly PR announcements where pointless, but they were fun! they were very interesting and pretty much got her a cult following of what will come up next!

we may think they are stupid, pointless just ways of getting free publicity... and well in most cases that is a very good thing!



Maybe the random Morwenna like publicity at Chessington may mean she is working there!

[DiogoJ42]

Let's hope Alton remember to change the locks when she's gone.

Best news I've heard in ages!

[Jem8472]

Anyone else smell PR stunt? :-k

But if she does go good luck to her with her new job.

[Deleted]

Question is... Who will fill her boots??

*cough Wayne Burton cough*

[onair]

Perhaps this is actually a publicity stunt for herself

To be honest I think its a good move and really hope it will be an end to these stupid PR Stunts.

[Joel]

Thing is you have to remember she wasn't behind all of the stunts... or potentially even any of them.

She had spoke to people if I remember correctly at the Th13teen evening, and even said then she wasn't behind them all, including admitting if I remember correctly the whole "ultimate" rollercoaster being over the top.

It'll be the team behind her that's pumping out this stuff - yes, she has to put her name to it, because she's a department head, and the public face of the PR at Alton Towers. It's her job to.

She probably even had to sign them off and approve them - but she's going to do whats good for the business, and whats working, rather than intervene with her or anyone elses opinion about it being complete crap.

Ultimately, however, she might have even despised some of what was coming out, but it worked for the business - it got the precious coloumn inches in newspapers that it was targetted for - and ultimately got the resort into the spotlight of your every day public reading the paper.

So, I don't think the sillyness will stop - if its a winning formula for marketing and PR activity, if anything it's likely to continue, because the same team (presumably anyway!) will still be behind the PR machine...

[.Will]

She wasn't all that bad to be honest at least she admits when she was over the top, alls she was doing was her job and well you can't really have a go at her for that, but when it all comes together she has made the park more popular by just doing little things and grabbing little bits, if it be magazine or newspaper space.

I say thank you (sort of) Morwenna, and good luck for the future!