Tell me about your team and the work you do
Here in our large marketing team at Canon our main task is to bring all the products that we sell to market across the EMEA region. We work with different countries producing content for them and supporting them with local campaigns.
The wider marketing team is split into the following sub teams: the CRM and data analytics team, which I am part of, the content and campaign team, the performance marketing team and the customer and channel (CX) team, product marketing and business development. There are nine of us in the CRM team including campaign and data specialists. I work on the campaign side, managing CRM campaigns but I meet different parts of the marketing team regularly to collaborate on projects.
One of the most interesting things about my job is thinking about campaigns from the perspective of different markets. We sometimes produce content in English for other countries to localise, but often we will also localise it for them.
How would you describe the team culture?
I love working in Stockley Park, I go for runs on my lunch break and it’s nice not having to commute to central London everyday. Having said that, I do enjoy going to London once a fortnight to meet with our marketing agency, so I get the best of both worlds really.
We have the opportunity to strike a great work / life balance at Canon - we’re good at flexible working and socials. At the moment we have ‘Summer hours’ where we can work extra hours during Monday to Thursday and leave early on a Friday. Usually I’m a morning person so I like to come in early and leave early, whereas others like to come in later and leave later, so it’s quite flexible like that.
It’s generally really friendly here and everyone knows everyone. Lunchtime is very sociable, we often all gather in the staff canteen but today we sat outside in the sun on beanbags!
In the marketing team we all hotdesk, which I really like. If you’re working on a certain project with people outside your team you can sit next to whoever you need to that day. In my first few weeks at Canon I got to know lots of people really quickly this way as I was able to move freely around the office and make friends with different people. Equally, when you need quiet time you can move to a quieter zone.
What interesting projects are you working on?
The biggest project I’ve been working on is Canon’s sponsorship of the Rugby World Cup. All projects I work on are collaborative in nature but this one has been even more so. We recently ran a competition giveaway where the first prize was an all expenses paid trip to the Rugby World Cup in Japan. We promoted it on our website and on our social channels. It’s been so interesting learning to understand the customer journey and how customers interact with all our channels through the competition, as well as looking at what other activities we can leverage from the sponsorship. It’s great fun to work on an exciting campaign that is so well-known throughout the world.
What kind of person would make a great fit in your team?
Someone who is adaptable and ready for a challenge as no two days are the same. We might do one product launch after another but there are always new ways of doing things and you’ve got to be ready to work in a fast paced environment. You need a can-do attitude and be able to get on with things. You also need to be proactive and enjoy bringing new ideas to the table whilst working with other people. You need to work on your own a little bit too but, when you’re bringing a project to life, collaboration is key.
How did you land your role at Canon?
I joined Canon in April 2018. Before that I was working in a CRM marketing role at Royal Holloway University for a couple of years when an old colleague came to work at Canon and referred me. I knew I wanted to work somewhere that had an international aspect and this is what mainly drew me to Canon.
Camilla Potter, CRM specialist, Canon: "One of the most interesting things about my job is thinking about campaigns from the perspective of different markets."
What do you love most about your job?
What I most love about my job is my colleagues! There’s a really friendly vibe here at Canon and something I noticed as soon as I joined is that people are always ready to help you. I also really like the location, Stockley Park in Uxbridge, which is a pleasant 20-minute drive from my home in Windsor. I enjoy working with our marketing agency in London too, as we get to share best practice ideas - they work on a diverse range of accounts, so they’re always coming up with cool ideas all the time.
What challenges does your team face?
We operate in a fast moving market and have lots of different customers across many different markets, so understanding their needs and how we can best market to them is a challenge. We have to stay ahead of the needs of the business and support it with the best marketing that we can deliver. What works for one country might not work for another but often you can find things that work across a few. Technology moves so fast and we have a lot of competitors, which keeps things exciting.
What career tips would you offer aspiring marketing professionals today?
Be ambitious in what you’re doing. Keep up to date with different markets and trends. Marketing is so broad so find out what part of marketing drives you the most and pursue that in more detail. I realised early on in my career that I particularly enjoy linking data to performance, which is why I decided to specialise in CRM.
How can marketing professionals progress their careers in your team?
There’s a strong focus on career development at Canon. There are always opportunities to keep learning with an extensive calendar of courses and workshops you can sign up to throughout the year. We encourage you to have a career plan and support you with your interests.
I recently completed a two-day course with 15 others in our office to train as mental health first aiders. This was a great opportunity to do something that will help others, whilst getting involved in something other than my usual job.
I also did a workshop on understanding our customers better, which taught me different techniques about how to find out different types of information from them. This helped change my mindset so that now, when I work on a project, I think more clearly from the customer's perspective.
We also have a mentoring scheme which encourages us to learn from each other. In my role there are three of us as CRM campaign specialists each with different remits, so we often get together to mentor each other, share ideas, advice and opinions - it’s great to have that kind of support.
Sum up what makes a wonderful workplace for you
A wonderful workplace for me is one where I enjoy the work I’m doing and have a passion for it. I couldn’t do marketing for something I’m not interested in! I also think it’s important to feel comfortable and confident enough to be bold and brave with what I do, and to be learning something new everyday. Location also plays a big part.
Are you recruiting at the moment?
We’re recruiting for a number of exciting marketing roles at the moment including:
- Projector product marketing specialist: This role involves project managing Canon’s professional imaging marketing deliverables in order to successfully introduce projector products to the EMEA market
- E-commerce product content specialist: This role will own the entire product lifecycle management of Canon products on the EMEA ecommerce sites
- Digital designer: This role is responsible for the delivery of all visual assets for Canon’s e-commerce sites
- Events marketing lead: This role requires successfully delivering all major pan-European trade shows and events including key product launches for consumer, professional and B2B imaging
- European in-store marketing specialist: This role includes responsibility for developing and enhancing the retail consumer experience and driving connection to the brand
- Marketing planning professional (maternity cover): This role is responsible for owning the marketing plan for a product group or category and leading the teams from initial planning through to delivery
- Customer experience specialist: This role involves advocating the target consumer experience and producing compelling customer journeys and experiences
- Performance marketing analyst: This role is to support the senior analyst in driving reporting, analysis and insight through the reorganised cross marketing team
- Marketing strategy specialist: This role involves leading the planning process between the marketing, sales, product marketing and business management teams
- EMEA affiliate marketing specialist: This role involves driving traffic and sales for the Canon EMEA stores
The roles advertised in this article have now expired.
