DETROIT, June 20 (Reuters) - The Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler AG said on Thursday it was revamping its marketing divisions, giving more prominence to the Jeep brand it hopes to expand in coming years.
Chrysler said each of its three brands -- Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge -- would now have a single vice president of marketing with control of product planning and advertising. In the past, many of those responsibilities were split between several executives who would work for multiple brands.
Jim Schroer, Chrysler's executive vice president of global sales and marketing, said the move would give one person at each brand the final word on most marketing decisions.
The Jeep division shared marketing executives with Chrysler under the old system, since most Jeep dealerships were paired with a Chrysler dealership. Chrysler President Dieter Zetsche has said the Jeep brand has the most untapped potential to lure new buyers to Chrysler.
Chrysler's sales are down 3 percent this year; the company's sales were up 4 percent in May, thanks in part to an all-out marketing push on its minivans. Zetsche has said Chrysler will fare better than its target of breaking even this year.