Arron worked at Microsoft for six years spending his first year in Australia in Services Marketing and social media strategy. When his sister decided to get married in England, he sold everything he owned, left his job and bought a one way ticket. When he arrived, by chance, he was offered a role in the product marketing team for Windows Phone. He worked on the award winning ‘The Random Adventures of Brandon Generator’ directed by Edgar Wright, Atari Arcade and Cut the Rope campaigns. He moved on to the Windows Phone consumer marketing team and is most proud of the Gingerline #MI1020 campaign which ran in December last year.
He has now started his own agency Conjura, which creates immersive brand experiences infused with technology.
Why did you choose a career in marketing?
It’s a bit cliché but when I was 15 I read ‘Losing My Virginity’ By Richard Branson. I was amazed at how much fun he seemed to have as a businessman. I was also amazed at how he was able to grow so many businesses in so many different sectors and then create phenomenal positive societal impact through his charitable work.
What do you think makes a successful career in marketing?
There are 3 things that separates successful marketers from the rest for me. Marketers need to have a deep understanding of their target market. You need to understand cultural and technological trends in the market and how these can be utilised to communicate with the target market more effectively. There’s no point in innovation for innovation’s sake, it has to be used to impact end results. Finally, marketers need to be bold, passionate and able to influence others. The best marketers understand the above and are able to take an opportunity to influence and allow people to try something extraordinary. It doesn’t always come off, but when it does it’s spectacular and that’s the difference between a successful career in marketing and a career in marketing.
And who is a great example of this?
There are really too many to name. I’ve been really lucky to have been mentored by some of the greats in the industry through the Marketing Academy. These people have taken risks to achieve some of the brilliant campaigns. Philippa Snare, CMO, and Paul Davies, Marketing Director, have been brilliant at challenging us to take risks with our campaigns and come up with innovative and exciting campaigns.
What do you think are the main challenges facing marketers today?
We live in an age of distraction. Due to the advances in technology, there are more distractions for the consumer than ever before. Consumers are also targeted with more marketing stimulus than ever before as we find new ways to target the consumer. All in all, marketers have the challenge of breaking through the clutter to resonate with the consumer. The same marketing principles still apply, understand the consumer, deliver a contextually relevant message that gives the individual a reason to believe and an action to take. However, marketers need to be smarter about how they reach the consumer and embrace cultural and technological trends.
How do you keep up with constant stream of innovation in marketing comms?
I’m really interested in innovation and how technology can impact how we can communicate with our target market. I follow creative and technological thought leaders every day to make sure that I am across the latest trends in this space. I keep a network of people close to me that I catch up with regularly who all have a variety of interests and come from different backgrounds and thus see the world differently. This is really important to me as you never know where the source of inspiration will come from. Finally, I think it comes down to tapping into what you are passionate about. I’m really into immersive experiences, travelling and all matter of things that are counter culture. I use these as sources of inspiration to find new approaches to marketing.
How does this impact your relationship with agencies?
I’m always looking for campaigns that embrace technological and cultural trends so I push my agencies to deliver on this or I will take ideas to the agencies we work with. With projects like Gingerline #MI1020 it wasn’t the normal process. I came up with the idea and then worked with an agency to help flesh it out, which blurs the role of the client. With other projects, I’m not as hands on in the creative process. The best projects result from having a clearly defined goal, sharing a vision and understanding one another’s strengths and playing to that. I think that’s the critical part, knowing where to add value and be involved and where others are stronger and letting them lead.
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