Marketing Leader of the Year 2017 Poll

Presenting the shortlist for The Marketing Society Marketing Leader of the Year 2017.

These are the brave marketing leaders that have been making a difference to our industry over the last year, growing their brands and championing their customers.

The winner, voted by readers of Campaign and members of The Marketing Society will be announced at the Society's Excellence Awards on 14 June at The Artillery Gardens, HAC.

Read on and cast your vote by 5pm on 19 May.

Sara Bennison, CMO, Nationwide
Since her move last year from Barclays to the UK’s largest building society, Nationwide, Sara Bennison has cemented her reputation as a brave marketer who understands what customers most value. Bennison hit the ground running by refreshing the society’s brand strategy using the tagline, “14 million members, building society, nationwide.” And it’s working – revenues increased 11% in 2016, and profits jumped nearly 35%. As Nationwide’s first-ever CMO, don’t underestimate Bennison’s graft and skill in launching its ‘Voice of the People’ campaign using spoken word. Bennison’s powerful articulation of how its membership model makes a building society different from banks has created a compelling story. At Barclays, Bennison earned kudos for her commitment in rebuilding the bank’s reputation, now her role is subtly different – it’s about giving Nationwide a relevant voice.

Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, Executive Director Customer, Marketing and M&S.com, Marks and Spencer
It is on Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne’s watch that M&S launched the Sparks customer loyalty scheme, which has grown fivefold since launch attracting five million members in its first year. Bousquet-Chavanne has described it as, “a transformative building block… It touches everything in the business.” Similarly, M&S’s glamorous Christmas campaign, ‘Mrs Claus’, a spectacular swansong by agency Y&R, led to the retailer’s first increase in clothing sales at Christmas for six years.  In May 2016, Bousquet-Chavanne was promoted to executive director of customer, marketing and M&S.com adding the website and sustainability through Plan A to his responsibilities. He is at home in the heartland of M&S, he was formerly Group President of the Estée Lauder Companies Inc, where he oversaw some of the company’s largest brands including Estee Lauder and M·A·C

Leah Davis, Head of Marketing, Team GB, British Olympic Association
Following the resounding success of London 2012 it sounded like a dream role, but in reality Leah Davis had her work cut out to make a success of Rio 2016. Without the home advantage, Davis had to encourage support for a team at an event thousands of miles away in a different time zone. Through a ‘Take me Closer’ strategy, she took fans behind the scenes to bring them closer to the athletes. Facebook Live reached 38.5 million fans. Davis and her team used creative hashtags to support different athletes. For example, #UpAtThreeForAdamPeaty got the whole nation behind the swimmer to watch him win his race at 3am. The effective social campaign headed up by Davis saw 80% of the country engaged with team GB helping to amplify the gold rush.

Barnaby Dawe, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Just Eat
Just Eat’s Barnaby Dawe is changing the way we eat at home. With takeaways no longer resigned to a Saturday night treat from the local Chinese, Just Eat connects over 17m million hungry customers worldwide with 67,000 restaurants. Dawe has worked hard since joining the start-up in 2015 to lead a brand transition from disruptor to market leader. He is encouraging the brand’s appetite for technological innovation, using virtual reality, artificial intelligence and robotics to help Just Eat stay ahead of the curve. The company has also launched a Tech Accelerator initiative to support food tech start-ups. Dawe’s background in media, with a CV that spans Sky, The Sun and Channel 4 means he understands how to build communities. The trick at Just Eat is continuing to drive growth.

Mark Evans, Marketing Director, Direct Line Group
Mark Evans is building on his bold move to reposition Direct Line, embedding the brand promise throughout the organisation and changing preconceptions of the insurance industry in the process. His Pulp Fiction-inspired Winston Wolf campaign has made customers consider Direct Line as a problem solver. A lot of work has gone into the back end to bring the brand promise to life. For example, a three-week process to get a car repaired now takes seven days, or Direct Line pays you 10 pounds a day. And, Evans has not been resting on his laurels. New marketing initiatives include the Fleetlight’s campaign, which uses drone technology and a new emergency plumber service. Meanwhile, Evans’ brainchild - Sprintathon saw 422 people collectively run a marathon to raise funds for Stand Up To Cancer.

Michelle McEttrick, Group Brand Director, Tesco
It was a brave career move to take on the marketing challenge at the troubled supermarket Tesco, but insiders say CEO Dave Lewis viewed Michelle McEttrick as a vital ingredient in his turnaround strategy. Re-establishing the Tesco brand in the hearts of British consumers may be the toughest obstacle of her career but McEttrick is already making progress. In just two years, she has helped to rebuild trust by focusing communications on improved services, such as the same day Click and Collect service and free fruit for kids to eat while their parents are shopping. Similarly, Food Love Stories like Nana’s Magic Soup is bringing the retailer back to its values. Experience at Barclays taught McEttrick that you can’t advertise your way out of a situation you behaved your way into.

Michele Oliver, VP Marketing, Mars
There is a tipping point in advertising with inclusion and diversity at its heart – before Maltesers, and after Maltesers. And Michele Oliver is the marketer behind the highly successful chocolate ad campaign that first aired during the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games opening ceremony. The three ads featured disabled people joking with friends over a bag of Maltesers. The brand won the £1m Channel 4’s Superhuman’s Wanted competition, which was launched to encourage advertisers to feature disability in their ads. On her watch the Mars brand held onto its positioning based on fun and lightness while demonstrating a greater social relevance. Oliver is refusing to rest on her laurels and has issued a rallying cry to the marketing industry to change the face of communications and represent the British population in all its diversity.

Aline Santos, Global EVP Marketing and Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Unilever
Since stepping into the second-most-senior marketing role at Unilever, Aline Santos has been blazing a trail. Her #Unstereotype initiative aims to break gender stereotypes and close the gap between what the ad industry is saying and how consumers are living. And she’s very clear that she’s not simply fighting a moral case but a business case. A Unilever lifer Santos joined the FMCG company as a marketing trainee in 1989. She was part of the Dove global brand team in 2002 when the Dove 'Beauty Theory' was created, and more recently, the architect of Dirt is Good for Persil, OMO and Surf. When Ridley Scott’s movie Alien was released in her home country, Brazil, it was translated as Aline, her own name. Ellen Ripley, the strong female hero, was a big inspiration.

Image: Chantele Smith | www.picfair.com