creativebrief: Why did you choose a career in marketing?

Michelle Keaney: I studied a Business & Management degree at University and Marketing was the one element that resonated with me the most. I loved the tangibility of how true consumer insights could enable you to build multi-million pound brands and organisations. For me marketing was “sexy” and at the forefront of how organisatons are made.

I also firmly believed that Marketing was a measurable discipline and one that was set to evolve. At the time of completing my degree, the notion of measurement and effectiveness in marketing spend was not widely understood and even less widely applied, in my experience. I observed a tension between the accountants and the marketers in an argument of spend versus investment and as a woman who likes a challenge, I knew that I could play a role in helping to develop the accountability of marketing. I saw how understanding the ROI of marketing investment could lead to Marketing a seat at the table in every board room – and a board with me on it by the age of 30 (my personal vision was to be on the board of a leading organisation by my 30th bday and I made it albeit one year late!)

creativebrief: What do you think makes a successful career in marketing?

Michelle Keaney: Very early in my career, the MD of my organisation insisted that I spent a year in sales to fully appreciate the full commercial process and how the different streams interlinked. As a keen graduate on a fast track scheme, I agreed albeit with more reluctance than those around me knew. I wanted to be in the marketing team building brands and executing activity, not driving up and down the country as a saleswoman.

Determined to succeed, I spent the first year of the graduate scheme in the central sales team. Little did I know that twelve months of selling soap would impart some of the most fundamental lessons of my career that I use to this day. Things like the importance of understanding the needs of the customer before selling anything, be that a physical product or a marketing concept.

I also think its key to get experience in different sectors and in different roles within the marketing team. Getting the breadth of a generalist experience and depth of a specialist application has been instrumental for my career and I’ve witnessed the success of this approach in my teams over the years too. For me personally, I believe that it’s my rather eclectic combination of pure marketing and operational capability experience across sectors that means I can join the dots between marketing and other functions and is the reason why I often see things differently. 

And finally a commitment to measurement and ROI. In the last two years when I have judged The Marketing Week engage awards, I have always been most impressed when brand marketers and agencies showed true commitment to ensuring that marketing activities drove tangible and ultimately measurable impact on brands. Even with emerging technologies in the social space where measurement is challenging, the act of measurement itself drives a rigor of thought and ensures that the right channels get the right focus in any TTL campaign.

creativebrief: And who is a great example of this?

Michelle Keaney: My first boss at Heineken, Sarah Warby is a great example of this. Her relationship with the Sales team was exemplary. She stressed the importance of her team not only spending regular time in trade but also with consumers so that every marketer had an intuitive sense of what a Fosters or a Kronenbourg consumer would think and how they would respond to a piece of comms be that an ATL campaign or a BTL execution in store or in trade. Sarah was an inspiring leader and fantastic mentor who sat on the MLT at Heineken and drove Heineken’s commitment to becoming a brands led business.

creativebrief: What do you think are the main challenges facing marketers today?

Michelle Keaney: The fast pace of emerging technologies and understanding whether they are relevant for your brands is tough. This is specifically applicable to those working in the youth sector and something that I face personally in my role leading Inventing Futures.

Managing multiple agency relationships can be challenging but must be mastered to execute consistently across consumer touch points.

Committing time to developing the capability of yourself and your teams be that through your organisation’s development programmes directly or externally, is key to ensure that marketeers are both effective and efficient in their marketing.

And I guess the biggest one in my view is the age old doing more with less (and quicker!) – a challenge for us all but one which makes for even more fun in our roles as marketers!

creativebrief: How do you keep up with constant stream of innovation in marketing comms?

Michelle Keaney: The pace of innovation we have to master can be overwhelming but this creates a tension of opposites for me. On one hand is an unprecedented pace of change that hits the headlines of the marketing press every week. Conversely, you have a marketing function that hasn’t actually fundamentally changed since I qualified in the early 2000’s. The principles of marketing remain the same i.e. the importance of compelling consumer insight, understanding the space in consumers lives that you can own and add value and how you can delight consumers.

It’s only really the “How” that’s different because the evolution of digital into our brands and our lives adds a new lens through which to see all activities, through the line. In marketing comms specifically, it’s all to easy to see the latest digital innovation or platform or App and think “How do I now bolt yet another tool onto my marcomms plan” not to mention “And how on earth to I measure this one”. And this for me is the issue.

Digital and the innovation in communications that digital brings is merely a lens through which to view the entire marketing spectrum and not just a series bolt on “things” that you need to frantically tread water just to stay on top of.

Any good leader needs to be able to take a helicopter view of the landscape and then to assess whether the new app or platform is relevant for their brand activities – if it fits with your brand promise or enables you to better meet one of your targeting objectives then its worth considering adding it to your strategy. But don’t become a slave to chasing the latest cool innovation.

creativebrief: How does this impact your relationship with agencies?

Michelle Keaney: It doesn’t and in my reality, nor should it. Leading the Marketing for IF, it’s MY responsibility to understand my brand and the landscape. I work with innovative youth led marketing agencies and I look to them to keep me updated on what’s important for young people and how they interact with brands. It’s then my job to interpret that and to act accordingly with their guidance.

creativebrief: How do you know if you’re getting the best from your agencies?

Michelle Keaney: For me there is always one acid test and one learnt through experience. This may not ring true for everyone but I feel it’s the right agency match when you forget that your agency contact doesn’t actually work for the same company as you – they feel like a colleague and part of the team. Building and leading global brands is as scary as it is exciting and for me, an agency relationship where I can speak openly and freely about the latest launch or piece of comms is key.

This kind of relationship promotes honesty, means that the agency can challenge you without fear of retribution and ultimately means that more effective and efficient activities are executed.

creativebrief: Of your recent work, what makes you particularly proud and why?

Michelle Keaney: Without doubt the establishing of Inventing Futures. This time last year I was a corporate marketer through and through. Today, I am board level marketer but I am also social entrepreneur for an organisation that will help to shape the futures of young people aged 9 to 24 around the world.

I’ve had to learn quickly about the world of social investment, of helping organisations utilise their Corporate Social Responsibility investment to deliver for their brands and society alike, about the importance of building strategic partnerships in the third sector and of how we can best serve young people around the world.

In just 9 months, my team and I have delivered so much. I don’t think I’ve ever made so many mistakes or been on such a steep learning curve but like the famous Facebook penned mantra “Move fast and break things”, Inventing Futures wouldn’t be as strong a proposition or as successful as it’s become for our young people without a few hiccups. 

Every day, I feel excitement and trepidation in equal measure and to be honest have never felt more vulnerable in my entire career but I have THE best network of advisors and friends who are holding my hand every step of the way.

creativebrief: How do you think marketers can raise the profile of marketing within their organisations?

Michelle Keaney: They need to speak the language of the rest of the organisation – a language of investment, of return and the impact of your activities to shareholders.

I also think marketers need to understand the needs of their organisational counterparts – if the Ops team are driven by efficiency for example, when you pitch a new piece of innovation which needs their buy in, sell the efficiency drivers that this innovation will deliver. All communications should be driven by what your audience wants/needs to know and not by what you want to tell them.

Finally but most importantly I’d say become a Storyteller. In an organisational context, being a storyteller is showing a commitment to being the most effective and compelling communicator possible.

Engaging hearts and minds with both data and anecdote is a hugely effective way not only of communicating your story but also in creating a field of other storytellers within your organisation to tell it for you and your brands. 

creativebrief: Do you see yourself as a generalist or a specialist, does it matter?

Michelle Keaney: Most definitely a generalist and I’m bound to say no, it doesn’t matter. I spent some time with Google last year discussing how best in class capability is built in organisations across all elements of the marketing function. They talked about the need “T-shaped” people i.e. those with generalist experience but specialist skills and I’d say that’s the camp that I sit in.

In my early career, I used to get so daunted about keeping up with the pace of marketing change and trying to be all things to all people. But there’s something to be said for being open and honest about what you are and what you’re not. My very first mentor on the Marketing Academy, Paul Berney, said to me “Work out what you’re good at, get even better at that and just recruit good people for the other stuff.” Simple but powerful and oh so freeing as a marketing leader!!!