The following is covered:
1. Introduction to developments at GAME, my contributions and why my role was important for this and other departments.
2. My experience in the following:
3. Summary of Achievements & Experience
1. Introduction to developments at GAME, my contributions and why my role was important for this and other departments.
2. My experience in the following:
- Affiliate Marketing Experience
- Development of Trade Marketing Activity
- Campaign Management
- SEO and other Account Management
3. Summary of Achievements & Experience
1. Introduction:
When I joined GAME the company was trading under 2 brands, Electronics Boutique & GAME (acquired in 1999). The marketing for each brand was operationally the same but was adjusted to fit the demographics of their customer.
There were also 2 web sites running, and development/maintenance was outsourced. They both operated using the same back-end but front-end design was adjusted accordingly.
When I joined GAME the company was trading under 2 brands, Electronics Boutique & GAME (acquired in 1999). The marketing for each brand was operationally the same but was adjusted to fit the demographics of their customer.
There were also 2 web sites running, and development/maintenance was outsourced. They both operated using the same back-end but front-end design was adjusted accordingly.
Following the decision to merge the two brands into GAME, e-commerce development was bought in-house to redesign a new site from scratch
in-line with the re-branding.
My role at this point was key to the department as I was working closely with the marketing department on the re-branding. The objective was to make the site an extension of the stores, both in terms of branding and marketing effect. Some key contributions that were made by me on the development and ongoing updating of the new site:
i. Sales Promotions mechanics: The new site had the possibility of being much more flexible and I worked closely with the development team on the specification, testing and implementation of the following:
As a result, the site was able to offer nearly all of the same offers in-store previously not possible as well as some unique and exclusive offers such as:
ii. Product positioning and merchandising:
iii. Pricing structure and display: I was responsible for the pricing strategy for the site. Pricing had to be structured differently to the retail stores due to the extremely competitive pricing online with the likes of pureplays such as Amazon.co.uk and Play.com.
My role at this point was key to the department as I was working closely with the marketing department on the re-branding. The objective was to make the site an extension of the stores, both in terms of branding and marketing effect. Some key contributions that were made by me on the development and ongoing updating of the new site:
i. Sales Promotions mechanics: The new site had the possibility of being much more flexible and I worked closely with the development team on the specification, testing and implementation of the following:
- Sales
- Multibuys
- Special Offers
- Up-sell promotions (eg: X off when bought with offers)
As a result, the site was able to offer nearly all of the same offers in-store previously not possible as well as some unique and exclusive offers such as:
- Refer a Friend
- Online Competitions & Prize Draws
- Stock Ticker promotions (limited stock for a limited amount of time. Offer would display, in real-time, the amount of units and time left)
ii. Product positioning and merchandising:
- Chair weekly merchandising meeting with sales figures
- Marketing input to weekly newsletter
- Updating and communication of all marketing activity, both online and offline to the Web team
iii. Pricing structure and display: I was responsible for the pricing strategy for the site. Pricing had to be structured differently to the retail stores due to the extremely competitive pricing online with the likes of pureplays such as Amazon.co.uk and Play.com.
2. Experience & Achievements:
Affiliate Marketing Experience:
Responsibilities included:
Affiliate Marketing Experience:
Responsibilities included:
- Programme structure (for example: setting commission levels, creative availability and other tools available to affiliates)
- Launch campaign – PR (featured in main trade and consumer magazines, plus online coverage and exposure to key gaming forums), Key targets for launch, setting objectives
- Write-up and design of quarterly newsletter and other communications to affiliates.
-
Management of creative
on a weekly basis:
- Site application approval/decline
- Key account contact with TradeDoubler (the affiliate network technology providers)
- Reporting and Analysis
Achievements:
- Over 3,000 sites linking to GAME
- Programme operating at a strong ROI through negotiation of favourable account costs and structure of affiliate commission levels
- Generated a significant percentage of sales for the online part of the business
- Brand awareness of the "Get Into GAME" programme that was developed by myself
Development of Trade Marketing Activity:
Introduction: Suppliers (and other 3rd party companies) have the opportunity to advertise their product/service through the chain of stores by various means such as Window space, gondolas, bays, printed promotional material etc. The marketing department generates an income from this.
One of my objectives was to generate income through trade marketing on the Web site. The last 2 years working at GAME were spent developing relationships and educating the trade suppliers to the benefits of advertising online by attending regular meetings that were held with the buying department.
I looked out how the site could generate income in the same way that stores did (eg: window and gondola space, leaflet and other promotional print etc).
A pricing structure was formulated and a new presentation was distributed. Key Points:
- Suppliers were encouraged to pay for packages that would include an overall discount rather than standalone activity.
- Competitions were popular and were used by us as a newsletter signup tool.
I was also able to target specific customers through the purchase history that we had available to us through our Reward Card customer database of over 5 million customers (eg: all PlayStation 2 owners who had purchased a driving game in the last 2 years). Below are 2 visuals of targeted supplier e-mailers that were sent:
Achievements:
- Online Trade Marketing became integrated into the overall marketing plans of the suppliers
- Agreed guaranteed income from Trade Marketing every month.
- Ability to report sales and traffic information back to the suppliers to encourage repeat activity
- Suppliers having a good understanding of the online opportunities and their new willingness to invest budget towards this
Campaign Management:
3 main elements to campaign management:
1. Presentations that were presented by myself to our and other departments:
Key Points:
- Planning was essential for the Christmas period and all activity was confirmed by September of that year
- It was effective as a means of communication to other departments so that they were informed about all activity that could affect them in some way (eg: increased sales > warehouse dept, increase in customer enquiries > customer service dept
Essentially a sales generator, it also worked to increase brand awareness of GAME through the Xbox Live site and for Xbox Live to the GAME customer base.
Key Points:
- Sell-through of all products (eg: 50 units of stock selling in 18 seconds)
- Minimal department funding
- Additional benefits of campaign ie: time spent on site, increase in account sign-ups (and newsletter opt-in)
3. Campaigns with 3rd Party Companies
Developing relationships with suppliers and other partners such firebox.com and Alienware allowed us to work together to create some effective campaigns. Being more of a partnership, the key was working together so that both parties could benefit without significant cost of running it.
Key Points:
- Cross-promotional opportunities
- Ability to tap into another customer base for new customer acquisition
SEO and other account management:
I have experience working with companies such as MSN, AOL, Tiscali, NTL, Microsoft, Kelkoo, Shopping.com, Ask.com, Lycos and others on tenancy agreements.
I was also responsible for the accounts with Overture and E-Spotting on SEO for sites such as Google, Yahoo, MSN etc for Keyword buying and optimisation.
Achievements:
Achievements:
- Negotiated favourable rates to maximise ROI
- Campaigns extensively tracked and reported - I was able to report performance on a monthly basis
Summary of Experience & Achievements:
- A decision maker on the expenditure of the monthly department & marketing budget
- Affiliate Management experience and successfully managing to operate the programme at a positive ROI
- In-house and supplier/partner campaign management
- SEO and other tenancy partnerships account management
- Key marketing input into the development of a large e-commerce site
- Negotiation of current agreements in order to maximise ROI
- The ability to drive sales through innovative marketing concepts without using price as the sole USP
- Ability to work closely with other departments as my role involved keeping a good working relationship with the marketing and buying departments especially.