The appointment sees McKinney, who was previously head of marketing at Ignite!, join the board of Ignite!, which publishes the NME, Uncut, Muzik and Loaded.
Ignite! has been without a marketing director since Vijay Solanki left the company as part of a shake-up of the group's marketing operations under group marketing director Philippa Brown in October 2001. The marketing director role was split between Brown and McKinney as head of marketing.
The move is the first senior appointment to be made by new managing director Tim Brooks, who moved across to Ignite! from the same post at IPC Southbank in November as part of a management shake-up at the publisher. Brooks replaced Mike Soutar, who becomes editorial director for IPC Media.
Brooks said: "I was already well aware, from talking to my predecessor Mike Soutar, that Niall has been playing an important part in the delivery of our titles to their readers. He has developed innovative and enticing marketing solutions for our ground-breaking brands and will be an excellent addition to my senior team."
McKinney joined IPC in 2001 from digital agency Kerb. Before that, he worked in brand management at Procter & Gamble where he was involved in developing the group's media strategy.
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