What inspired you to become a marketer and what is it about the job that continues to inspire you?

What inspired you to become a marketer and what is it about the job that continues to inspire you? In my home country (France), you need to decide quite young what you want to do in life, as your studies determine your career to a large extent. There are really two things that attracted me to study business and marketing ...

How does your brand utilise its network of consumers via social media, or how does it plan to in the future?

How does your brand utilise its network of consumers via social media, or how does it plan to in the future? Toyota’s customers, enthusiasts and prospects are having conversations online with or without us. As such, we’ve entered this emerging medium as an extension of our marketing communications. We’ve established ...

How much of a drawcard is working as a marketer overseas?

How much of a drawcard is working as a marketer overseas? A huge drawcard. Who wouldn’t want to at least dream about it, if not get on the plane! But before you head off think through why you are doing it – is it to experience new places, eat great food and have fun, or is it more about growing as a marketer in a ...

What is the hardest/easiest product you've had to market?

What is the hardest/easiest product you've had to market? Toothpaste, laundry detergent, paint, telcos, soup… and the visual arts. Over a 20-year marketing career I’ve marketed many diverse products, working from both the client and agency sides of the business. There’s no doubt that the arts has been both the easiest ...

What do you value most in an agency?

What do you value most in an agency? The ability to listen and ask questions is what I value the most out of an agency. While things like innovation, pricing and high quality creative work are important, the ability for someone to understand what my requirements are, then ask questions, tells me that they fully understand ...

When starting out as an entrepreneur, how do you market yourself with no name?

When starting out as an entrepreneur, how do you market yourself with no name? Starting your own business comes with a lot of excitement, fun and freedom. It also means that the ultimate success or failure is dependent on you and the steps you take to market yourself and get noticed.  You should always be promoting: ...

As a marketer, what portion of your business are you happy to outsource and what would you only ever do in-house?

As a marketer, what portion of your business are you happy to outsource and what would you only ever do in-house? Call me a control freak, but my ultimate would be not outsourcing much at all. The internal marketing team knows the brand inside and out – they alone are responsible for success. If an outside partner ...

What is the reality of maintaining a corporate blog and is it a valid marketing tool?

What is the reality of maintaining a corporate blog and is it a valid marketing tool? Any manifestation of a brand should be regarded as a marketing opportunity both internally and externally, whether it is the receptionist, a TVC or a blog. Blogs continue to polarise opinion in Australia, as people ‘get it’ or simply ...

What portion of your marketing budget will you be spending on digital in 2009 and why?

What portion of your marketing budget will you be spending on digital in 2009 and why? The industry we operate in (major household appliances) has been surprisingly slow to integrate digital within its overall marketing communication strategy. It depends what one includes under the term digital of course – the list ...

With many in the industry facing redundancy recently, has the power shifted into the employers' hands? While 2008 was all about staff retention, do marketers have little hope of securing a pay rise or being wooed with counter offers in 2009?

Questions: With many in the industry facing redundancy recently, has the power shifted into the employers’ hands? While 2008 was all about staff retention, do marketers have little hope of securing a pay rise or being wooed with counter offers in 2009? Bottom line, I need you to get to this number – sound familiar? ...

In the marketing and advertising industry, does being a 24/7 networking tart pay off or does sociability have little bearing on the end deal?

In the marketing and advertising industry, does being a 24/7 networking tart pay off or does sociability have little bearing on the end deal? There was a time when we had a choice. Before the great titan, Google, we could comfortably sit in our offices cocooned against the world. We could ignore the invitations hastily ...

In today's media savvy culture is product placement a sure-fire brand booster or too transparent to the point of being ineffective?

Product placement has become an art within an art. Moviegoers are just like any other consumer, and they expect a return on their investment. The most successful movies connect with viewers on a very real, personal level where some aspect of a human universal truth is brought to life. Product placements are under ...

What's the best and worst experience you've had working with a design agency or designer?

Here’s the thing: the world’s top heart surgeons aren’t the world’s top heart surgeons because they can save anyone; they are the world’s top heart surgeons because they know who they can help. They choose patients based on ensuring they remain one of the world’s top heart surgeons. Getting consumers to re-trial ...

When a company goes green, does the consumer really care?

There is no doubt that awareness surrounding environmental impacts associated with a consumer lifestyle is growing. In recent times this has been supported by extensive media coverage and political debate, and a growing number of topical events have sprung up, such as the Carbon Solutions Forum. This is resulting ...

Are marketing professionals too time-poor to contribute to online forums or is this something they can't afford to ignore?

It’s Tuesday morning when I open my eyes to the sound of inner-city garbage collection, stagger into the shower, smack my head on the shower door, stagger out, throw on shirt/suit, mismatch my socks, throw a toothbrush into my mouth, kiss my girlfriend goodbye, log into my work email on my N95 as I get into the lift, ...

During a recession are marketing budgets the first victim and where do you feel the financial axe should fall?

The last recession I had the pleasure of being a part of was the dotcom induced one. The first budgets to get cut back then were non-revenue producing ones, like content acquisition. Then of course the staff amenities budgets like the corporate billiard table and Formula One networked arcade gaming machines. ...

Is there a danger in choosing an agency staffed predominantly by 'pretty young things'?

Shit, I hate questions like this. No matter what I say I’m on a hiding to nothing. While working at a major international agency I was asked to look into buying another agency that could help augment and extend our offering. It hurts me to say this because I like the pretty young things around me as much as – if not more than – the next man, but going through the process of buying an agency makes you really look at what’s on offer.

Has anxiety become the driving force behind consumer behaviour?

As consumers, what is it that motivates us to buy? Want? Need? Or is it actually fear and anxiety? With wars in Iraq and on drugs, terrorism, poverty and hunger, and increasing fears about the stability of the world's climate, five industry experts offer their opinion on the key drivers for consumer behaviour in our world today.

Was the London 2012 logo worth the £400,000 it cost to produce?

NO!… now what to do with 299 more words? Joking aside, the problem with the 2012 ‘logo’ and the vilification it has received since its initial launch is also reflected in the wording of this question. Wolff Olins wasn’t paid four hundred grand for a logo alone, it was paid this amount to develop a complete visual ...

Is Australia suffering from a skills shortage in digital media and, if so, what can we do about it?

The skills shortage we are suffering is quite consistent with other areas of our industry, but has been further aggravated by the exploding growth of the digital world. Internet ad spend growth has been extraordinary. A year ago, most of the pundits were forecasting that internet ad spend would reach $1 billion ...

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