14 Oct 2024
When meeting Vicky Gillan for the first time, you would never assume she’d set out at university to be an accountant. Now Lead Consultant for AAR’s Upskill and Relationship Management consultancy, Vicky supports marketing teams to deliver success within their ecosystems, and the effusive energy Vicky has for her role is abundantly evident. Devising marketing transformation designed to deliver against business goals, Vicky’s ability to get under the skin of the business, the brand and complex team structures (at pace) make her a real powerhouse for her clients.
During her student days, Vicky’s relentless curiosity meant she was advised to make the switch from accountancy into marketing, where that curiosity could be combined with her natural commerciality and creativity in different ways. As Nottingham University’s first female elected Students’ Union Treasurer, she quickly honed her skills in managing multiple stakeholders, understanding diverse voices, and balancing varying targets, all while advocating for the students' needs and wants.
It’s that balance of advocacy, mutuality and critical thinking to drive commercial success that Vicky still brings to the table today whether as consultant, trainer or coach.
Embarking on her professional journey into FMCG marketing, Vicky worked with well known brands including Pampers before transitioning into publishing at EMAP, working her way up from campaign manager to Marketing Director, as well as a stint as Publisher with full P&L responsibility. An environment she describes as empowering and vibrant; a place where a “no-nonsense northerner” could fly and where being a maverick was encouraged. Working with an audience passionate about bikes, cars, golf, photography and angling allowed Vicky to explore a whole new demographic (and gave her some pretty interesting stories about Hells Angels). Winning Marketeer of the Year at the EMAP Editorial Awards for a successful brand relaunch of Motorcycle News, the flagship weekly brand, was a major highlight of those years!
Since then, Vicky says she has seen the dynamic nature of media and marketing become more intriguing as it grows ever-more complex. She worked across financial services during a time when the launch of chip and pin technology necessitated a change in customer behaviours and merchant adaptation; a period characterised by tackling complexities and ensuring effective communication across marketing, brand and financial teams. As Head of Best Practice at Barclays she was responsible for raising standards across all teams, agency assessments, upskill and marketing workflow changes, and says the key to success was creating a culture of asking the right questions, truly listening, communicating frequently, and always having a solutions mindset. And standing up for what she believed, even if not the “popular view”.
Throughout her career, the most challenging (and interesting) issues have revolved around rapidly evolving customer behaviours and media changes. Regular challenges are bridging the gap between creative and commercial teams to speak a common language and proving the effectiveness of marketing initiatives. When asked about the most common inefficiency, she answers with a resounding “Better briefing! It comes up in around 90% of agency assessments”; an essential element in addressing complex challenges and that constant need to focus on the problem you’re trying to solve.
The biggest challenge for brands, she says, remains broadly the same: Understanding their customers and setting up their marketing operations for success. Making the how as important as the what. Curiosity and clear communication must remain at the heart of everything, in the face of constantly evolving consumer behaviours and need for evidence-based commercial justification.
For agencies, retaining clients and constantly delivering to a high standard requires the same solution: Clear communication and aligned ambition; mutual accountability and KPI’s; addressing issues while they are still niggles and preventing them from becoming major problems. And celebrating success, of course.
For aspiring marketers, curiosity is paramount. It’s all about asking really good questions, not necessarily knowing the answers. Vicky uses Abraham Lincoln’s philosophy of: “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first six hours sharpening my axe.” For her, success is to spend “80% of my time asking questions, exploring and probing”. Then you have a better answer.
Ultimately, Vicky wants her practice at AAR, and her career, to be known for creating positive change. She says her ideal clients are those who are open to new thinking, believe in people and are passionate about their category and customers. Making hard-truth recommendations and earning the trust of clients who appreciate not only her speed in getting under the skin of their brand and business complexities, but her deep marketing understanding continues to be at the centre of her approach.
She’s well on her way to that goal, with one client describing her as the equivalent to ‘your favourite teacher from school who left you with fundamental tools and skills to take into life’, saying that Vicky’s magic formula is ‘ an alchemy which Vicky needs to patent’. That feedback is now framed and on her Inspiration Mood Board. Look out for it if you are ever on a call with Vicky 🌟
If you'd like to get in touch, message Vicky on VGillan@aargroup.co.uk.
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