Julia Collis, managing director of field marketing agency the Bailey Group UK, gives a personal account of her latest project with a major multiple…
Why am I stacking shelves at 3am on a Monday morning? I was actually contemplating retirement, that or sacking the person whose mad idea this was, but then I remembered it was mine!
As leader in chief of the UK’s fastest-growing field marketing agency (and Australia’s biggest), I always try to lead from the front and like to think that I wouldn’t ask the teams to do something I wouldn’t be prepared to do myself.
After 15 years in the industry, I think I’ve earned my stripes from years of ‘carrying the bag’ and can advise clients from personal experience on how to achieve effective, cost-efficient and impactful campaigns, which is how I find myself covered in dust and grime at 3am on Monday morning.
After supporting an in-store product re-lay in deepest, darkest Milton Keynes, 75 miles from home, starving and barely able to focus – never mind follow a planogram and use my initiative to cover gaps still awaiting stock – I am beginning to question my madness.
It seemed such a good idea at the time. However, because we are supporting a leading retailer on a trial to supply branded goods (and I know that if it works well, it could roll nationally and we would be in a great position to help) my determination to get out there and support the teams doesn’t falter for long.
The funniest thing was when the store manager berated my air gaps (caused, might I add, by the wrong shelving being in situ and no spares of the right format to re-lay). He looked at me like I was born yesterday and told me to ignore the planogram, ‘regardless of what my manager’s instructions were’.
Little did he know I was ‘the management’ because I’d signed into store as a merchandiser. How I laughed (on the inside) and must admit to taking a teeny weeny bit of pleasure when I handed him my card at 3am explaining that I had to go and would leave my colleague to complete the task because I had a meeting to attend at 9am.
On a serious note, this is why any field execution, (never mind an intricate planogram re-lay) needs to have a robust field management and an immediate escalation process in place. Field teams are usually instructed for every eventuality but when faced with conflicting instructions when on site, they need an efficient and speedy resolution process.
We have always over-invested in field management but consider our attention to detail and field support to be the best in the business. In this case, I was able to make that decision without upward transmission, although who knows, my CEO may have been inclined to answer the phone at 3am and advise me on what to do with my air gaps.
When I initially suggested the back-to-the-floor idea to the office team for all of us, they all willingly agreed, thinking it would be a few hours supporting the field teams on a Sunday evening and then home to bed to catch last orders at the pub.
How wrong they were. No matter how well we plan these things, the 4ft bays mysteriously manifest themselves as 5ft bays, the stock which was promised via supply chain is either short-delivered, or not delivered at all, and the planograms lose all resemblance to plan because gaps have to be filled to ensure that the stores are fit for purpose at 8.30 on a Monday morning.
I’m also sure that some of the team’s willingness sprang from a mischievous streak at seeing the boss roll her sleeves up and participate in a back-to-the-floor experience, broken finger nails etc.
But when all said and done, there is absolutely no substitute for experience, which is why I’m extremely proud of my team for seizing the day and agreeing to go and get stuck in. The end result was fantastic, the client is delighted and the brands are selling well.
My only problem now is funding the manicure bills and Red Bull expense claims.
