Petersfield: Azalea recruits Michael Birch as expansion continues

Petersfield-based international marcomms specialist Azalea has continued its expansion with the recruitment of Michael Birch in the role of account director.

Birch, 38, who hails originally from Staffordshire, brings extensive experience from both tour operations and in-house brand marketing, having worked previously as group partnership manager at Golfbreaks.com and as digital and social marketing manager EMEA at OEM TaylorMade - adidas golf (TMAG). He joins from agency Performance 54, where he was head of trade and tourism.

Birch brings with him extensive experience in content creation, strategic partnerships, retail, and digital trade and social marketing, in addition to a degree in business management and a professional diploma in marketing.

Azalea's managing director, Sean Noble, explained: "Michael's recruitment is a real coup for the business as we continue to build a dynamic full-service agency for our burgeoning roster of clients in the golf, leisure and sport sectors. His experience working in-house on product with TMAG, and buyer-side with Golfbreaks.com, gives Azalea even greater depth and specialisation and will add to the digital, social and content activation of our offering."

The recruitment of Birch follows the recent elevation to group account director of Daniel Chidley, who joined Azalea in 2012, and is the latest boost for the company after a record year which also saw it engage in an exclusive sales representation alliance with former IAGTO director Giles Greenwood.

Now in its 11th year of trading, Azalea has established itself as one of Europe's leading specialist agencies, working with some of the continent's major national and regional tourist boards, flagship resorts, and leading brands.