Liz started off on the Ogilvy 360 Fellowship Scheme with 15 other bright eyed and bushy tailed graduates. She says “Everyone kept telling us that the ‘golden days’ were over and that we should be grateful for the subsidised bar, commitment to learning and personal development and the fully integrated introduction to the world of comms… Turns out they were right!”
Her digital experience and passion for film were then put to good use at Fallon where she made all sorts of things for all sorts of brands. “Everyone always thought of Fallon as a TV-first agency, but Rich, Juan, Augusto, Santi, Chris & John – in fact, all the creative teams – were constantly pushing to deliver ideas, not just TV ads, so the projects often became creatively daring, almost impossible tasks (almost).”
She left Fallon for ASOS three years ago, switching from account man to brand marketer. She constantly seeking to understand the needs and behaviours of their 20-something target audience, shaping product innovation, content and campaigns that engage them. Her latest challenge focuses on brand partnerships and proposition development. It’s more strategic and gives her an opportunity to work with new teams across the business, as well as marketing experts within other brands.
Why did you choose a career in marketing?
A bit of my heart will always be with TV advertising – I loved ads since I was a kid and grew up thinking they were a defining element of our shared culture. A lot has changed in the last eight years and it’s been an incredibly exciting time to be in the industry. It’s one of those jobs where no two days are the same and you’re constantly evolving your own knowledge base to try and keep one step ahead of your audience’s wants and behaviours. The thing that keeps me fascinated by marketing is the impact it can have – to be able to stand back and show that you shifted a behaviour or engaged someone’s precious time is hugely motivating to me.
What do you think makes a successful career in marketing?
Clarity, purpose and empathy. I think the best marketing leaders bring simplicity to complex problems and do so with a unifying sense of leadership and direction. Empathy is pretty crucial… I think you can really tell between the marketers who ask themselves, “Why will the person I’m trying to reach actually care about what we’re doing and saying?” and the people who get caught up spending far too much time thinking about everything else.
And who is a great example of this?
Well, let’s shoot for the stars and say Barack Obama. He was voted Marketer Of The Year by Advertising Age in the US for the 2008 election campaign so I hope no one takes offence. Clarity, purpose and empathy weren’t just present in the communications – they sat right at the heart of the strategy.
What do you think are the main challenges facing marketers today?
Fragmentation of media, siloed structures and anything that creates distance between our roles and real people.
How do you keep up with constant stream of innovation in marketing comms?
My Apple watch curates a feed of trending results-based case studies, platform and product launches vs penetration opportunity, then wirelessly transmits it into my brain as an infographic every morning – it’s really handy. Only Joking. I’m sure that’s not too far off, but the principle of aggregating relevant highlights is key; no one has time for everything. I make time for research and like to know the detail behind the headlines. At ASOS I also benefit from being surrounded by innovation – we have to keep track of how 20-somethings experience the world, the platforms they use, the subtleties between cool, authentic, lame and just wrong – so that keeps us on our toes! We have an amazing cross-functional Customer Experience team in-house, so I’m in daily contact with colleagues who strive to deliver best practice in a wide range of specialities. It’s a unique, fast-paced, test and learn environment that throws together lots of different disciplines.
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