We chat with The Marketing Society awards judge and fellow Mahmood Ahmed to find out what advice he would offer for succeeding in our 2021 awards.
Mahmood is the Chief Administration Officer for Group Marketing at HSBC. He has global responsibility for leading the marketing planning process, developing the global marketing plan, and the oversight of all marketing investment and people resources.
Why is recognizing marketing excellence through the Society’s awards so important for the industry?
The awards showcase recognises some of the worlds best and most innovative thinking, campaigns and programmes across the industry. Through these awards, we not only recognise the people behind this, but we also ensure that these ideas and success stories reach more people, brands and companies and help to inspire and further innovate as we go forward.
What advice would you offer brands entering our awards to make their entry stand out?
My advice would be for entrants to tell a compelling story and to share this in a captivating way. It is important to be clear on your objectives and to focus on tangible, meaningful results which reflect back upon them. I also look for really new and unique thinking which pushes the boundaries and keeps true human/customer insight at the core.
What’s your golden rule?
Keep the customer at the heart of everything. We should remember, that all that we do and provide is for the benefit of our customers. These can be external or internal. But keeping this front of mind is crucial for me and by adopting customer design thinking brands, companies and society in general will be more sustainable and successful.
What’s the biggest risk you’ve taken in your career?
Leaving a secure and enjoyable role in our Finance function and taking on a newly created role in our Group B2B marketing team.
If you could achieve just one thing in 2021 what would it be?
An overseas holiday feels really appealing at the present time.
2021 entries are now open. Find out more about how you can enter The Marketing Society Awards here.
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