Role: Marketing Executive
Company: The Outlet, Banbridge
Track Record:
Having completed a masters in Communications, Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Ulster, Christopher started his career in retail working for Gap Outlet. He worked as senior sales assistance and visual merchandiser where he developed a strong understanding of the retail environment.
He joined The OUTLET’s marketing team as a Marketing Executive in February 2011. His role entails working with the marketing team and wider management team to deliver the marketing strategy for the centre on an all island basis. This includes assisting with the delivery of seasonal advertising and public relations campaigns, implementation of sponsorship activity and meeting with tenants on a regular basis to identify and deliver their marketing requests.
DAY IN THE LIFE
6.30am
My alarm clock rings to get my day started. The first thing I like to do is to check my iPhone. My key source of information is the news websites. Then I check my personal and work social media — Facebook and Twitter. I like to understand what’s happening in the world.
8.30am
I don’t have far to travel to reach The Outlet. As soon as I am onsite, I head straight to Costa for a green tea. Then it’s off to the management suite to get the day going. Usually I am straight into my e-mail. In retail, activity never stops and I could be coming into 10 or 50 e-mails from the night before. What I like about my job is that there is no standard day. At the moment, we are forward planning for the coming year which means a lot of plans being drawn up.
10.00am
It is straight into a briefing session with my marketing manager to review the work in progress. There is huge diversity in what we do here at The Outlet. At the moment we are working on our Spring/Summer campaign which includes, daily digital updates, photo shoots for magazine editorial, TV and radio commercials, fashion shows and setting in place events for the year — there is lots to plan and organise.
11.00am
I then follow up with our 55 plus tenants on the mall. This could be to select clothes for a fashion shoot or to discuss offers for our digital channels. We work very closely to develop bespoke activity for our tenants where we can to enhance our broader brand campaigns. Today, we rolled out local activity for Olsen and followed up instore with Gap Outlet’s latest in-store promotion.
12.30am
Lunch is a luxury that we don’t often have time to enjoy. If I do have the opportunity, I will grab a bit of lunch from the Streat.
1.00pm
I get so many e-mails from our stores, so it’s important that I constantly check them as much as possible. Retail offers are changed at very little notice and we aim to communicate them as soon as we are notified via our Facebook and Twitter channels.
1.30pm
The photographer we’ve hired for the photshoot arrives.
3.00pm
Final proofs of our next promotional event artwork have been sent through for proof reading from our design agency. This is checked and sent back to the agency with an agreed delivery date for printing.
3.30pm
Back down on the mall I am currently working on the merchandising of our window displays for Spring/Summer. These displays showcase our tenant’s products for the season ahead. Armed with products and props I could be working at this for a few hours!
5.30pm
On a normal day I would be at my computer doing a final check of emails. As we are kicking off the New Year a lot of forward planning is happening. To keep me going during this hectic time, I reach for another green tea, it’s my coffee hit equivalent!
7.00pm
It is important for me to meet up with my friends to catch up, even if it is for an hour or two. I have a very diverse group of friends, some of which work within the industry. We all try to make the most of any time we have off, as we are under immense time pressures.
I am contactable 24 hours a day, so if a store or agency partner needs me, then I can be reached out of hours.
11.00pm
I am a bit of a night owl, so I won’t go to bed until late, which is good thing as the phone keeps pinging with notifications of e-mails from my marketing manager!
The Outlet is located off the A1 Banbridge and features 55 retail brands including: M&S Outlet, next clearance, Jaeger, LK Bennett, Mamas & Papas and Timberland offering permanent reductions between 30%-70% off rrp. For further details visit www.the-outlet.co.uk.