Julie Woods-Moss, CMO of Tata Communications, discusses the brand’s new sponsorship activity with the Heathrow Express
Tell us a little about what you do.
As the CMO, I am responsible for working with the CEO across all aspects of corporate communications and marketing: brand, internal communications, press, media, analyst relations, sponsorships, digital, product, partner and segment marketing and marketing data sciences. These include a range of initiatives that showcase to our c-level audiences the role we play as a global connector of businesses and people.
You’re launching a major sponsorship programme with the Heathrow Express, what are you hoping to achieve?
Built around the message ‘We’re the connection’, the sponsorship is part of a wider marketing strategy to raise awareness of Tata Communications globally. Not many people might know that 24 per cent of all internet traffic is routed through our global fibre-optic cable network or that our customers can reach 99.7 per cent of the world’s GDP through us. Our aim is to show passengers on the Heathrow Express that Tata Communications is the connection between them and their customers and partners, powering the growth of their business.
What advice would you give to marketers trying to sell in the benefits of brand activity to senior stakeholders?
It is about increasing your positive brand currency, contributing to the overall value of the business. To elevate our marketing above our competitors, we’re harnessing the power of creative initiatives and partnerships that reflect our commitment to connecting the world – for example, delivering world-class connectivity to all Formula 1 race locations. The message is that we seamlessly connect consumers to commerce, business collaborator to business collaborator, human to human at the highest speed possible. These initiatives boost the value of our brand currency.
What’s been the most useful piece of marketing advice given to you?
Dream big and market well – because the success of a concept requires so much more than a good idea. There have been many examples of excellent products that have failed to win over the hearts and minds of consumers. The electric car maker Tesla is a great success story. Rather than innovating for innovation’s sake, the company understood exactly who its market would be and how to target them effectively. This enabled Tesla to win the race against some more established players in the automotive sector. It’s up to the marketer to take the unknown, unfamiliar concept and make it appealing to its target audience. Only when a product seamlessly integrates into the customer’s life, will it truly succeed.
What do you think the next big change in B2B marketing will be?
We’re set to see more and more B2B marketers leverage the power of partnerships in the future. Positioning the brand as an innovator, for example, is more effective when working in cohesion with like-minded organisations. It’s crucial that you partner with a brand that is aligned with yours, which is the rationale behind our sponsorship of the Heathrow Express and our ‘We’re the connection’ campaign too.