Tell us a little bit about what you do
I am the director of marketing for Europe and I look after our brand marketing and corporate reputation activities in this region. Put more simply, I look after the way Accenture is perceived – be that by clients, or by the general public. This encompasses account-based marketing, bid support, executive communications, media and analyst relations, employee communications, recruitment marketing, digital marketing, social media, sponsorship and hospitality.
What do you feel professional services marketers need to focus on in 2016?
I think what we need to focus on hasn’t changed in 2015 or the last 10 years. We need to be close to the business and understand our clients so we can tell our story in the best possible way.
Beyond that, we need to continually prove our value to the business through better use of metrics and by being able to tell a strong story. I don’t think that will ever change. However, the way in which we do that – the tools, channels, platforms – will, and are, changing dramatically. These are tools that not only add huge amounts of value to the work we do, but they are transforming the business landscape and we need to be intimately familiar with them.
You’re delivering the keynote at our upcoming B2B InProf conference, what will you be discussing?
I’m going to talk about how I see the marketing department evolving over the next five to 10 years based on research we have done around the ‘workforce of the future’ and the impact that will have on the marketing function. The focus of what we do won’t change – but the way we lead our people, and manage our teams is changing as fast as the technology. I’m hoping I can offer some food for thought for all those involved in marketing, from those leading the function or at the beginning of their career and wondering how to develop their skills.
How have you seen marketing change over the last five years?
When I look at the balance of investment and skills that I make as a marketing director, then it is clear that digital channels are an ever-growing part of the mix. The skills I need in my teams to make the most of those channels are different. Equally though, some of the more traditional marketing activities in B2B remain important, but with a digital twist. When I look at how we do sponsorship and events it is all about showcasing digital as much as about the raw rights we acquire.
What’s your biggest challenge as a marketer?
The challenge is a cocktail of three things: understanding our clients deeply, staying relevant to them with our story and communicating with them in innovative ways.
Underpinning all of that, of course, is having the right people, so our talent strategy for the future is also key. One particular area we have focused on in the last few years is our entry-level people. Through a mix of interns and junior hires we have broadened our pyramid of skills particularly around digital and social where that generation is more experienced than I am.
