Christopher Catchpoole appointed Compare the Market CMO

Meerkat-loving outfit, Compare the Market, has appointed acting CMO, Christopher Catchpoole, to the role permanently, after the position was left vacant when Jenny Williams left the comparison business in 2019.

Williams had been in the marketing leadership role almost 18 months when family reasons necessitated a move back to Sydney from Brisbane. Williams joined Compare the Market after leaving HCF, during which she featured on the 2016 CMO50 list.

While Catchpoole is not long in the CMO chair, he has been with Compare the Market since 2017 and was previously its general manager of digital. On his reasons for joining the business initially, Catchpoole told CMO he liked the fact Compare the Market is a well-established brand and was attracted to being “part of a growing sector within the financial services industry”. 

“On top of this, working with a brand that provides real creative license to be fun and charming in an industry that can be restrictive when it comes to marketing was certainly a huge draw card,” he said.

Despite the business’ young age, operating for almost seven years in the Australian market, it has achieved rapid growth and Catchpoole explained to CMO its eyeing off bigger things.

“The world is very much still our oyster in terms of where we go next and how we maintain the rapid growth we've experienced,” he said. “Also, while a lot of companies will talk about data, we truly have a huge amount of potential in this space having helped millions of Aussies over the past years find great insurance, banking, energy and travel products. There’s plenty of exciting prospects on the horizon.”

Catchpoole conceded the young business has many eyes on it, waiting to see what it does next and how it continued to grow. 

“The question of ‘how do we continue to grow given we've already been so successful’ can be seen as a double-edged sword. We want to always be future-focused, while still providing a great, free service for the millions of customers we’ve helped thus far,” he said.

Known for cute meerkats in its advertising, Compare the Market’s latest campaign references another cute, furry animal, but in a quite different way. It’s just launched the third and final chapter of its campaign with a ‘Hello Possums’ TV ad featuring its two meerkats, Aleksandr and Sergei, lost in the Australian outbook and in need of a ride home. Finding a ride, they are met by Dame Edna, who greets them with her famous expression “Hello Possums!” as they enter her vehicle.

Catchpoole said the mix up between possums and meerkats reinforces its overarching brand theme about the importance of comparison. 

“Dame Edna comically appears to confuse the meerkats for possums via her trademark greeting. The storyline serves to subtly remind consumers about the importance of comparison and doing their research before making any significant purchases.”

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