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Freeman, 40, has been elevated to the new role of director of consumer media, taking responsibility for marketing alongside display advertising and newspaper sales, for The Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk. It's a big remit and one where he might find his time thinly spread.

With his expertise lying firmly in media sales and digital strategy, it is easy to question whether GNM has relegated the marketing discipline in importance. Freeman is quick to respond to this line of questioning, and slightly defensive. ‘I'm not Marc Sands. He's a brilliant marketer, but I've got a different job,' he says. ‘I know my strengths and weaknesses. I've not done the classic marketing route, but I understand the consumer.'

Freeman knows the Guardian brand well. He has worked for the group for 14 years, with a two-year break when he was sales and marketing director for an online magazine shop, which has since closed.

He is also popular with the media buying community. Alan Brydon, head of press at MPG, says: ‘Adam always starts from the assumption that there can be a beneficial result for everyone - he does things by stealth rather than confrontation. He's not about self-promotion within the industry.'

Nonetheless, combining the marketing of a major media brand while overseeing ad sales, newspaper sales and financial performance is a risky move, especially at a time when the newspaper industry is fighting for every reader and ad it can get. Something might have to give, but, as yet, it's unclear what Freeman will focus on.

‘I'm a generalist, but I do have specialists around me that will continue to do a great job,' he says. ‘There is a huge amount of talent working on not only the brand, but also research, creative and in other areas. My job is to provide an environment that brings the best out of the team.'

As for GNM's marketing strategy, which has in recent years focused on partnerships and promotions, it is still unclear what the future holds, although Freeman promises that it will not be discontinued. ‘We are not going to withdraw from marketing,' he insists, ‘but we might be spending the money in different ways.'

Brand work has been notably absent in recent times. This month, The Guardian has partnered with Save the Children to produce a series of online films, gave away a DVD to promote last week's cinema release of Fantastic Mr Fox and produced a ‘great fairy tales' series of books.

Freeman admits it has been a long time since The Guardian has done branding work, for which it has received plaudits in the past, but insists this still forms a vital part of its long-term strategy. When asked what his future agenda will be, he says: ‘It's about consumer loyalty - that's the key priority and what the strategy will be built around. Understanding consumers is essentially the core role for marketing.'

This is becoming a well-versed line for news publishers. This year, rival news group News International (NI) has introduced a ‘customer direct' department to focus on building long-term relationships with readers and gathering information to ensure products are tailored to their habits and needs.

The Guardian has taken a very different approach to achieving its goal of a direct relationship with readers. ‘In some ways we share the same philosophy [as NI], but we are doing a bolder thing,' says Freeman. ‘We are putting the consumer at the heart of all consumer activity, not in a separate area.'

He points out that GNM is a smaller operation than NI before demonstrating his aptitude for digital platforms, explaining how guardian.co.uk, which was the most-visited national newspaper website in September with an ABCe of 32.9m unique users, is giving readers a continuous dialogue with the brand.

A major challenge for Freeman as he settles into his role will be the hotly debated issue of charging for online news. He holds a clear position on this: ‘In the UK [it] is nigh on impossible because of the BBC.'

The Guardian has attempted to grow its brand internationally. The publisher's proposition is to be ‘the world's leading liberal voice'. Freeman talks of there being a ‘huge amount of scope' in the US, but the group recently axed its US homepage after disappointing traffic.

The tough economy will, naturally, play a fundamental role in any marketing strategy Freeman introduces, but he is optimistic about The Guardian's performance. ‘In a recession, newspaper sales are more important than ever. But, if you look at those newspapers that are investing in editorial, the decline is marginal,' he says. ‘We've put the cover price up 25% in the past two years and had single-figure [percentage] changes in circulation. I don't know any other sector in the world other than newspapers that could do that.'

The Guardian has indeed held up to competition well, with a circulation decrease of 5% between April and September, a similar figure to that of The Daily Telegraph and The Times. However, The Observer suffered a drop of almost 10% and, despite a statement from GNM parent Guardian Media Group last month that it will not close the title, there remains speculation over its future as further integration with The Guardian is planned.

Dominic Williams, press director at media agency Carat, expects Freeman will succeed. ‘He will do a good job because he knows the brand so well,' he says. ‘He's climbed up the ranks, a political player, hard-nosed and straightforward. He can think about the larger landscape and joining forces with other brands as part
of a wider strategy.'

Nonetheless, newspaper publishing is a cutthroat business, and with many industry experts predicting the closure of titles, it is not getting any easier. When the recession eventually lifts, the landscape will be left unrecognisable by rapid advances online.

With that in mind, Freeman could be well-placed to lead The Guardian forward into a digital-focused environment. But it is important to remember that newspaper sales are still imperative to the industry's future. It takes a strong, trusted brand to sell daily papers; the only way to create that is to invest time in developing a thorough, consistent marketing strategy.