Hi, I’m Chris and I lead the Acquisition Marketing department here at AO. I help to look after the team in charge of running our performance focused Marketing which involves all the exciting digital channels including PPC, SEO, Affiliates, Social Media and Display!
From Fundamentals to Finding the Right Fit
My background prior to AO was a mixture of agency-side work and ecommerce roles where I was learning the fundamentals of Digital Marketing with a very PPC (Google ads!) focused lens. I came across the AO role of PPC Manager back in 2019 and leapt at the chance to be involved in such a huge retailer with an impressive history, big ambitions and promising potential. Entering lockdown a few months after joining the company was a real roller coaster ride but we adapted really well to the market effectively going 100% online.
“Work Hard, Play Hard, the Classic Cliché”
Being in-house for me is a winner. It’s allowed me to delve deep into a business and understand a lot more than purely Digital Marketing. It’s opened up new worlds around on-site behaviour, finance, commercials, legals, UX, and ATL marketing – and how they play a part in our digital activity. AO encouraged me to become a better manager and I enrolled on a 12-month management course which helped me develop a lot of the softer skills required to be a leader. I’ve been lucky enough to broaden out and learn/master more channels that we operate within at AO, helping AO take advantage of these with a more joined-up approach across the marketing mix.
The entire culture of AO drew me in and continues to be a driving force behind my enjoyment in the role today. The people really do make the job what it is. Everyone wants to work hard, play hard, the classic cliché but it’s true in this business. The number of ideas being floated around, coffee conversations started and ideas brought to the table are continual. Like every other business, we face challenges but we always come together as a team to meet any demand head on. Equally, we all like to go for a well-deserved pay day lunch or social event once in a while! We are also very serious table foosball players, so at the canteen every day at 12pm you’ll see us marching in, wolf our food down and head straight to the table to play at 12.15pm, no excuses!
A Cause Close to the Heart
We also like to do our bit for charity. At AO we are given ‘MAD’ days whereby we’re able to take time off work to work for a charity or do something different. Back in June, we walked 28km for Kidney Research UK, a cause very close to our hearts with our Affiliate Manager having a kidney transplant back in 2021. With the help of fellow AOers, their families and the AO Smile Foundation, we raised a massive £2,600! We trekked from the AO office in Bolton to the AO Arena in Manchester. There were a lot of sore feet at the end of the day but the champagne awaiting us at the finish line distracted us somewhat!
Penny for Your Thoughts?
The day-to-day of the role can be extremely varied depending on the focus but by and large, we’re utilising our technical skills to improve the effectiveness of our activity, ensuring every penny spent on advertising is working its hardest. We work extremely closely with our media partners including Google, Meta & Microsoft who will always challenge us to do more and keep us up to speed with the latest trends. AI is a huge topic within our industry at the moment and for me, it’s going to be really interesting to see how we can harness the power of technology to help deliver even better experiences for our customers.
We have a couple of roles open within the Acquisition team, so if this is your bag then feel free to shout up, apply today or grab me on LinkedIn – always happy to chat!