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For a man occupying the hottest seat in newspaper marketing, Nick

Canning looks remarkably relaxed. From his smile and laid-back approach,

few would guess that it's just six months since he arrived to head

marketing for the UK's biggest selling titles The Sun and News of the

World, which account for combined sales of 7.5 million.

As he rattles off statistics about the purchasing profile of The Sun,

fewer still would believe that until last September Canning, 32, was a

media virgin, uninitiated in the cut-throat tactics of tabloid

marketing.

Canning's career to date has primarily been in packaged goods, which he

admits are a big leap away from newspapers. At Terry's, he launched the

chocolate orange bar. With Heinz, he worked on 'loads of soup launches,

which were pretty dull'. Then he joined KP and had responsibility for

brands such as Hula Hoops, Skips, McCoys and Brannigans, followed by a

couple of years in Europe as part of the power brand team at United

Biscuits. In February last year he was made marketing director for KP,

responsible for Phileas Fogg, McCoys and its own-label brands.

It was in this role that Canning made a particular contribution in the

space of just four months. His former boss, KP Foods managing director

Will Carter,says: 'He came into a department that had been without a

marketing director for six months and was in need of strong leadership

and direction. The innovation pipeline was looking a bit dry. Nick got

the wheels in motion and his initiatives are starting to bear

fruit.'

Another highlight of Canning's career, according to Starcom Motive

executive planning director Richard Beaven, was his role in working

alongside Publicis on Harry Enfield's 'Oi' campaign for Hula Hoops. 'It

was a very effective campaign that was very well regarded,' says

Beaven.

But can Canning cut it in a role that is often described as the 'kiss of

death'? Carter believes so: 'It's a big change involving a completely

different set of challenges. But not only has he got classical marketing

skills, he's also pretty unflappable and has a fairly thick skin.'

For his part Canning is enjoying the contrast with packaged goods that

newspaper marketing provides. 'You learn to think on your feet and form

a point of view very quickly and a lot of times that is really

beneficial - taking decisions quickly is anathema to the packaged goods

industry.'

It is Canning's marketing credentials that Carter believes are likely to

be of particular value at News International: 'Nick is very good at

understanding brands across a wide portfolio. He brings real insight

into what underpins the brand proposition, where brands can and can't be

stretched in terms of growth.'

The consensus within the industry is that The Sun can only benefit from

this level of expertise. Despite its size and market-leading position,

it has lost some of its edge since Kelvin Mackenzie's heyday and

headlines such as 'Up Yours Delors'.

As Beaven explains: 'The Sun is a strong brand which has an enormous

connection with the British people. But the population base that it

related to for so long has changed. We now live in a much blander world;

politics is much blander. The core things The Sun picked up on to

position itself as the voice of the people aren't there.'

Canning is aware of the issues, while being strongly defensive of the

brand. 'It's always been humorous, provocative, leading the issues in

the country and I think it still does that, but with slightly less

saliency than it used to, purely because the media marketplace has

changed. The ability of the consumer to get hold of information and be

fed with entertainment, gossip and news, is far bigger than it was when

the tabloids were at their peak.

He adds: 'We have to respond to that change. I think the key is we're

coming at this from the perspective of two very big brands - the

challenge and the vision is about making a difference. It's about

turning round and saying 'That's what we've done, no other paper could

have done that, because, look at us, our sheer scale and sheer

size'.'

While refusing to discuss strategy, Canning admits a brand campaign and

brand extensions are options under discussion.

Those who work with him say Canning is already making a difference to

the way things are done at News Group. TBWA/ London joint managing

director Garry Lace works with Canning on the accounts. 'He's brought a

strategic approach to the process which it hasn't had before,' says

Lace. 'While realising that newspapers will always be promotionally

driven he's also saying that these brands have to be built up and that

requires a year to refocus.'

Canning comes across as friendly and down-to-earth. 'He's a normal bloke

doing a big job,' says Lace. Recently married, his outside interests

include football - he's a Watford supporter - rugby, cricket and

golf.

It is clear how much Canning is enjoying his new role: 'It just fills me

with great enthusiasm every day to say we can make a difference

here.'

BIOGRAPHY

1992-1994: Brand manager, Terry's Suchard

1994-1995: Category manager, Soups, Heinz

1995-1998: New product development manager to marketing controller, KP

Foods

1998-2000: Power brand controller, United Biscuits

2000-present: Marketing director, News Group Media.