Brand Manager Chocolate Gifting at Mondelez International
Tom Holmes, creativebrief Founder & Chairman, talks to Jorgelina Melano, Brand Manager Chocolate Gifting at Mondelez International and Marketing Academy 2013 alumnus.
Jo started working back in Argentina even before graduating. She was keen on getting some experience so did various internships in marketing and sales. She was also very eager to work abroad and that’s how she took part in AIESEC, an organization led by students that facilitates international working experience aimed to develop future leaders; through which she joined Kraft Foods in New York with a traineeship that would shape her career to date.
From there Jo moved to Zurich where Kraft Foods’ European headquarters are located. She worked on Tassimo, the hot drinks system, first on new brewer launches followed by brand equity on the re-launch of its brand identity. At that point she was gaining experience in fields you may not get at early stages in your career but she was missing working on the commercial side of the business so decided to come to the UK, arguably the most competitive market in Europe, to sort that out. This move brought her to Oreo where she worked on its integrated marketing campaign and social media programme, launched a new product and developed its long term strategy, enjoying continuous double digit sales growth.
These days Jo is leading a diverse portfolio of chocolate gift products from Cadbury and Terry’s brands including the iconic Milk Tray. Her main focus is on redefining the role of the gifting range and developing the long term strategy.
Jorgelina Melano: I wanted to do something related to business and I’ve always been fascinated by psychology. Marketing offered a good mix of both and it seemed that it would be a constantly evolving field which wouldn’t let me get bored!
Jorgelina Melano: I see marketing not too different from general management, simply consumer led. Hence, passion for brands and the ability to unlock consumer insights backed up by a solid background on finance and sales make a strong foundation for a career in marketing. Then, as with any other discipline, true leadership devoted to create other leaders is what will enable a team to go further than they can imagine. Finally, sometimes just doing things differently can be of great help.
Jorgelina Melano: Whether you found it genius or outrageous, Christian Woolfended at Paddy Power has done a great job at living his brand and driving results by doing things differently while being extremely relevant to their customers. Emma Harris, currently Marketing Director at Virgin Holidays, is a fantastic example of leadership and passion that would positively boost any organization. While I haven’t worked directly with any of them, i’ve had the pleasure to have them as mentors through the Marketing Academy and they remain a huge inspiration to me.
Jorgelina Melano: There’s a lot to keep up with. Whether it is digital and comms developments to the latest consumer trends and competitive activities, it is an extremely fascinating and fast paced environment. Sometimes having the ability to bring insights into action and into the market ‘quick enough’ is still a challenge for some organisations especially when they operate at large scale.
Jorgelina Melano: I try to do so via multiple marketing and advertising publications, attending events that expose me to talented people in the industry or case studies, books, etc. However it’s not an easy task!
Jorgelina Melano: It does in the sense that I rely more and more on my agencies to bring new trends to my attention and suggest what’s worth trying out. That being said I have also found myself asking them about new things I’ve read about and encouraging them to consider them for our own plans.
Jorgelina Melano: Generally the results speak for themselves and the excitement and confidence of the team also come across clearly when we get to a good place.
Jorgelina Melano: Until last year I was working on Oreo where we’ve done some fun things that helped deliver double digit growth for 2 years in a row. The last campaign I led was about making the kitchen your playground, demonstrating the versatility of Oreo not only as a biscuit but also as an ingredient and a way to bring families together with some fun activities. The most exciting part of the campaign was experiential, not only due to it been a key tool to drive trial and penetration but also because it delivered a true experience that was enjoyed by adults and kids alike. In average each family spent more than 9 minutes interacting with the brand making Oreo (cake) pops and proudly showing their creations via social media. This type of experience is invaluable to drive engagement with the brand and sustain growth.
Whereas we haven’t done any marketing activations since I recently joined the Chocolate team, there will certainly be things coming up which I’m really excited about.
Jorgelina Melano: Demonstrating the results marketing can drive. Internal PR as well as a strong liaison with finance and sales can help unlock this. At the end of the day, it’s all about delivering the numbers.
Jorgelina Melano: I consider myself a generalist and that’s what I enjoy – managing a business from a marketing mindset. Whether that’s important or not depends on each individual and their career ambitions.
creativebrief partner the Marketing Academy is a non-profit organisation which provides a unique forum for industry leaders, marketing gurus, entrepreneurs and inspirational people volunteer their time to inspire, develop and coach the next generation of future leaders. The Marketing Academy gift a maximum of 30 ‘Scholarships’ each year to the fastest rising stars in the marketing, advertising and communications industries. A team of high profile mentors and coaches develop these stars through a process of mentoring, coaching, networking and personalised learning. 86 mentors, 30 Coaches, 20 Judges, 36 companies and an owl called Merlin all provide their time, resources and knowledge to assist in shaping the minds of our future leaders. Furthermore as a vital part of their curriculum all Scholars volunteer at least one day per year through our Donate28 initiative to work with charities who need bright young marketing minds. For a full list of the individuals involved, see the Sherilyn Shackell interview.
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