Stories by Brad Howarth

Few retailers would be as far from claiming ecommerce leadership as charity op shops. But when COVID-related lockdowns descended across Australia last year, charity stores were forced to close their doors along with everyone else considered non-essential.

When COVID-19 led to the postponement of major sporting competitions around the globe, there was one form of contest that surged – even if some pundits might not recognise it as such. The esports sector was the clear winner in 2020, with burgeoning player participation and viewer numbers coming through on platforms such as YouTube Gaming and Amazon’s Twitch.

Most data teams are constrained by the resources available to them. So when those resources aren’t enough for you do everything, you could be doing to help your organisation, you can either live with the situation, or find ways around it.

The meaning of the word convenience has changed a lot in the digital era. For 7-Eleven, which has built its brand on convenience, understanding exactly what that word means to consumers is going to go a long way to determining its long-term success.

In the era of cancel culture, one poorly thought-out message can do sudden and severe damage to a brand. But marketers today find themselves on the hook for more than just what brands say to the world. Bad executive behaviour, supply chains issues and poorly thought-out operational decisions, such as the dynamiting of sacred sites, can quickly damage brands, professional reputations, and the bottom line.

When someone books a rideshare car there’s a good chance they are thinking more about when it will arrive and how long their trip will take than about the company itself and how it treats its drivers. But Rajesh Vuppala believes that if riders knew more about how the industry worked, they might choose a service they thought treated its drivers more fairly, especially if it gave back something to the local community.

An investigation of Australia’s bathroom cabinets is likely to reveal an assort of expired and neglected skincare products, used only a few times and then consigned to posterity as expensive follies, never to be purchased again. This, however, was not a fate general practitioner, Dr Ginni Mansberg, and her husband, Daniel Rubinstein, were prepared to accept when they launched their cosmetics brand, Evidence Skincare (ESK).

Rapid uptake of ecommerce was an inevitable outcome of the events of 2020, and naturally, those companies that supplied the picks and shovels of the digital goldrush were among the biggest winners.

Andrew Birkic has no trouble recalling the day of his first interview for a role with the Ford Motor Company of Australia.

When Farzeen Quadir-Hegde joined Taipei-based technology maker, ASUS, as its head of marketing for Australia in October 2019, her goal was to localise what had previously been a headquarters-centric marketing program. Her timing was fortuitous however, with COVID-driven lockdowns soon highlighting the need for on-the-ground experience.

Australia’s gym and fitness industry took a hammering in 2020, with IBISWorld estimating social distancing and forced closures wiped out five years of strong growth. But despite the challenges, two-and-a-half-year-old Body Fit Training is on track to achieve three major milestones in the coming months.

For experienced digital marketer, Rich McPharlin, his decision to take on the CMO role at comparison service, Compare Club, was motivated by his positive impressions of the company’s culture and growth potential. But it was his recollection of his own experience with the business that led him to see the true opportunity it presented.

It seems even technology companies can run into customer management data issues. According to MYOB head of product and platform Jay Nawaz, product diversity had led to customer information residing in different places, which was causing problems for the company’s product development and marketing ambitions.

In the race to make interactions digital, one aspect of transacting has remained stubbornly troublesome – identity.

Grapevines may be incredibly fickle plants, but as 2020 has shown, grape growers cannot afford to be so demanding.