What are your main priorities and goals in your role?
This leads me on to a longer-term priority, which is to continually champion the importance of ‘shopper’ in marketing and commercial plans. Shopper marketing has been finding its’ feet over the past decade and has, in the past, tacked on to consumer marketing plans, sometimes without due consideration for how these plans engage shoppers and retailers. We are now starting to see a change in mindset, with shopper marketing being seen less as an activity and more as an approach.
Today’s increasingly complex and fragmented marketplace has created a requirement for a greater understanding of shopper needs and behaviour than ever before, and for simple, actionable solutions that drive profitable growth for retailers and brand owners. We are passionate about, and have seen first-hand, the results that can be delivered from solutions which are borne out of three-way insight into consumers, shoppers and retailers.
Lastly, an ongoing priority is to ensure we continue to deliver excellent service to our clients, and that we are constantly striving to raise the bar even further to deliver fantastic work which solve our clients’ business challenges by creating positive, enduring change in shopper behaviour.
What are your biggest challenges as CEO?
Then you have the usual challenges most Managing Directors face of trying to juggle everything and knowing when to relinquish control. I am lucky in that we have an extremely strong leadership team and a fantastic support team, so it makes it easier to step away and get the time needed to focus on the important strategic areas.
How do you keep your team/staff motivated?
We are an independently owned company, and often find ourselves competing for business against international agency networks, so it’s important that we all believe we can achieve our goals by doing great work. We have ambitious plans for growth and we want to bring our team on that journey and help them develop their careers and achieve their ambitions with us. We have a strong culture of encouraging new ideas and giving people scope to develop these ideas further and take ownership of them. I think it’s crucial to show this trust in people and to empower them to achieve their potential.
What are the challenges facing the industry going forward?
Proving the ROI of any marketing or trade investment is rightfully going to become even more important, as brand owners have an increasing amount of retail outlets in which to invest in and are coming under more pressure to deliver lower prices. The past few years have seen deep discounts and promotions at unprecedented levels, which are unsustainable for long-term growth. While the pressure to deliver these discounts will remain, there will need to be more emphasis on activity which creates enduring change in shopper behaviour.
From a retailer perspective, the challenges are numerous, and in many cases coming from digital disrupters. Retailers must find ways of providing a seamless omnichannel experience and must optimise their bricks and mortar stores, creating an environment where shoppers choose to be, because they no longer have to be there.
What new trends are emerging in your industry?
Take Google Express, which allows shoppers to shop across multiple stores from one touchpoint, as an example. In Ireland, you have the likes of Buymie offering a similar service, with a growing number of partner stores on the platform. There is also a growth in ‘direct to shopper’ offerings, whereby brand owners are selling directly to shoppers online, enabling them to take back control of the shopper interface. This is somewhat linked to another trend, the growth in subscription shopping, which is further impacting basket size per shopping trip and can lock shoppers out of a category for a considerable length of time.
At the forefront of much of this disruption is the 800-pound gorilla, Amazon, who are giving every other retailer in the world sleepless nights. Another two trends, both of which are central to Amazon’s strategy, are worth noting. The first is the blurring of the lines between online and offline retail, with customers now expecting a seamless, personalised experience in both. The second is that of voice shopping, and the growth of voice-interface devices as Amazon’s Alexa devices or Google Home. These devices are completely changing the way in which we relate to computers and I think many people underestimate the impact this will have on how we shop in the near future.

Are there any major changes you would like to see in your sector?
As an employer are you finding any skills gaps in the market?
How did your strategy develop in the context of the banking crisis and economic crisis?
How do you define success and what drives you to succeed?
What’s the best advice you’ve been given, or would give, in business?
What have been your highlights in business over the past year?

What’s next for your company?
Secondly, we are getting more and more requests for our services outside of the FMCG sector, as other industries realise the importance of understanding the shopper journey, and the need to build relevant profitable solutions.