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The Independent has poached Ministry's Claudette Laws to front a

new "edvertorial" department, which will provide editorial solutions to

satisfy advertisers' needs.

Laws, described by Independent commercial director Stephen Miron as "an

awesome sales machine", was commercial manager at Ministry. Before that,

she worked as group advertorials and sponsorship manager at BBC

Worldwide.

In her new role, she will head the commercial side of an unusual new

division, tentatively labelled Independent Solutions.

Independent Solutions is the brainchild of Miron and innovation

consultancy What If, which has been working with the paper on potential

new revenue streams.

Independent Solutions will initially consist of 14 or 15 staff - some of

whom will join from the paper's editorial department - and will be

located within the ad unit.

Miron said he expected the team to come up with "good creative solutions

that go way beyond sponsorship or traditional advertorials". Ideas might

include supplements, magazines or newspaper sections - such as the

organic food supplement that The Independent produced in conjunction

with Waitrose - and won't necessarily be carried in the newspaper

itself.