Make Your Mark is a three-part series exploring how marketers build their careers and make a difference to their businesses, their customers and the people around them, in partnership with the Marketing Institute of Ireland.
In this opening conversation, John Kelly, Retail Marketing Manager at Musgrave, joins That’s What I Call Marketing to discuss his 20-year career working predominantly with SuperValu, and what it takes to turn customer understanding into commercial results. John’s experience shows how much you can learn by taking on different challenges within one organisation. From checking promotional prices as a marketing assistant to delivering campaigns across a network of independent retailers, he explains how attention to detail, curiosity and doing what you said you would do build the credibility to take your next step.
We also get into the work behind SuperValu’s “Yes You Scan” campaign. Getting TV, radio, social and in-store communications working together is one challenge; getting the entire business, right down to the checkout, moving towards the same outcome is another.
In this episode, we cover:
– How John deliberately built experience across value, local marketing, loyalty, sponsorship and retail marketing.
– The commercial thinking and business-wide coordination behind Real Rewards prices and “Yes You Scan”.
– What independent retailers know about their communities, and how that knowledge complements customer research and sales data.
– Keeping SuperValu distinctive while competing on value and delivering short-term sales.
– What John learned from micromanaging, and how he now uses trust, accountability and regular feedback to develop his team.
– Why the time AI saves should help marketers get closer to customers, alongside the continuing need for creativity and storytelling.
A useful listen for marketers interested in career development, retail marketing, brand building, customer insight, marketing effectiveness and leadership.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Consumer understanding and storytelling
00:23 Introducing the Make Your Mark series
03:08 John Kelly’s route into marketing
04:00 Musgrave and SuperValu’s retailer model
05:00 Different roles, new challenges and career development
06:23 Commercial outcomes and attention to detail
08:19 Why John’s team hears “never assume”
10:21 Building credibility by following through
11:00 Real Rewards prices and “Yes You Scan”
12:12 Getting the whole business behind a campaign
13:11 Competition, pace and brand differentiation
15:34 Customer insight and the say-do gap
16:47 Short-term sales and long-term brand building
18:21 Learning to lead without micromanaging
20:10 Mentoring and finding answers as a leader
22:19 The attitude and skills John looks for when hiring
25:37 Using AI to get closer to customers
27:00 Demonstrating marketing’s business impact
28:12 Recognising marketing talent through awards
30:24 Make Your Mark and continuous learning
That’s What I Call Marketing is the podcast for marketers who care about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.
Follow the show for more conversations with CMOs, marketing leaders, agency leaders, professors, authors, thinkers and practitioners.
Find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com
OUR SERIES PARTNER
Thank you to the Marketing Institute of Ireland for partnering with us on this series as part of their Make Your Mark campaign. The campaign recognises that making your mark happens throughout your career: as you develop your skills, grow in confidence, take responsibility and help others progress. Across three conversations with marketers working in different organisations and at different career stages, we explore what that means in practice. The Marketing Institute of Ireland helps marketers build their expertise and professional credibility through its competency framework, professional assessment, certification and ongoing CPD.
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