Interview with Mark Thomson, Royal Mail

You get what you pay for. If something's cheap, it will be.

 

What's the worst decision you’ve ever made? 

 

Early on in my marketing career I was browbeaten by the agency creatives who convinced me that the lovely arty photo on my desk that was to be my first 48-sheet outdoor poster campaign would work, even though it looked too clever and subtle to me. It was. The site tour was not pleasant. Lesson for life, always be prepared to challenge the ‘experts.’ By the way the next campaign was fantastic!

 

And the best?

 

Accepting the job offer to run my first business unit, Royal Mail's Stamps & Collectibles. It scared me to death but I pulled it off and it proved a career spring board.

 

What brand do you most admire and why? 

 

The newest emergent global brand on the block, Manchester City Football Club. OK, that's a bit corny but having supported them since I was eight years old I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long, long time! I also love the creativity and innovation that is Apple. And adore the style and absolute quality of Bang & Olufsen. 

 

One of the things I love about marketing is when we do brilliant, clever things like saving a brand in trouble. My favourite brand repositioning remains Lucozade. Something that was given to me by my Mum when I was sick as a child is now a drink I seek out after a gym workout. Remarkable. 

 

What achievement are you most proud of in your career? 

 

That people love to work with me. Honest, they do.

 

Who is your marketing hero and why? 

 

Sorry but it's still Kotler. He's what really got me into marketing in a big way, as I devoured his marketing bibles in the early 80s.

 

What’s the biggest challenge facing you over the next year?

 

Getting media planners, ad agencies, creatives, marketers to see the brilliance that is direct mail both as a standalone activity and even more so, as part of an integrated marcomms campaign. If you need convincing have a peak at mmc.co.uk, Royal Mail's newly launched equivalent of Thinkbox. 

 

What’s the most exciting piece of post you’ve ever received? 

 

My daughter’s A-level results, we were all over the moon as she jumped around knowing she'd got her University place.

 

How many letters do you write a week?

 

Depends, but last week I sent each of my children a personalised postcard (with an uploaded photo of them) to tell them how great I think each of them is. Easy to do using our new on line service, www.mailshotsonline.com (is that too many plugs for one article.....!)

 

In one sentence tell us why a letter is better than an email.

 

You can feel it, see it, taste what's inside, catch the scent, listen to what it delivers, nothing else appeals to all five senses in quite the same way as a letter.

 

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