Mars is looking to optimise the commercial effectiveness of its marketing department by amalgamating its marketing and sales teams under a 'chief demand officer'.
In an interview with Marketing Week, Mars Foods' global chief marketing and customer officer Clarence Mak said the that it is important that marketing is not a “standalone” consideration - but should be something that is factored into every decision.
“It is not just about marketing but also sales; how do we make sure these two are linked so when we drive our brands we are also driving category growth," Mak told the publication.
"Retailers want to grow the category using the powerful brands we have. There is a slow change, that is accelerating – the need to make sure marketing is not a standalone consideration.”
Mars has a separate customer market insight team that works with research agencies to develop tools that measure how its marketing is driving sales.
In doing so, the brand is able choose where to allocate its budget based on investment priorities and brand focus.
“We don’t want to just talk about the brand, we want to talk about how our retailers should be powered," Mak added. "Our retailers care a lot about what we do with our brands and how they connect with consumers to drive categories."
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
