Interview with Peter Markey, RSA

What's the most valuable lesson you've picked up in your career? 

 

Be bold and don’t be afraid to challenge. Choose your battles wisely and know what to challenge and do it in the right way. Be aware of the power of having a strong team, if you’ve got the right people empowered in the right roles, great things can happen. 

 

What's the best decision you've ever made?

 

In 2006, when I joined More Th>n, I invested in our direct marketing capability at a time when the business was top heavy on brand. I addressed that balance and also launched outbound telemarketing to great success. Investing in our data was the best decision I made and it’s led to fantastic results. 

 

And the worst decision?

 

About 10 years ago, I worked on a project at the AA to launch a golf business. It was the year I learned the most in my entire career. I’d inherited a banker’s target and I should have asked more questions, I should have challenged it more. It made me realise how important strong leadership is, and why you shouldn’t always go with the flow.

 

What brand do you most admire and why? 

 

This would have to be Orange. A truly innovative, leading edge brand that redefined the mobile telecoms industry at the time and continues to do so today. The Orange brand stands for being modern, innovative and forward thinking and I thought last year's "I Am" campaign really helped to get back to the heart of the brand and the impact it has on people's lives. I also really like the way the brand can flex itself in different channels such as the more comedic pre cinema film trailers from the Orange Film Academy which have established themselves as a highlight for many film lovers. I can also testify from personal experience, that the brand lives and breathes its values through its key customer touchpoints - again, very powerful. Overall, a really inspirational brand.

 

What achievement are you most proud of in your career? 

 

During my time at Onetel, an Australian, entrepreneurial company, we knew were were doing OK but we didn’t know why. There was no tracking. It was like a magical mystery machine. I helped to put the rigour of marketing effectiveness into the heart of the business, introducing tracking and marketing capability and we sold to Carphone Warehouse for a significant profit.

 

Who is your marketing hero and why? 

 

I’ve learnt so much from Claire Sheikh at the RSA and continue to do so. We have a dotted line relationship and she challenges, provokes and supports me. She’s highly credible and passionate about customers and brands. Andrea Wiedler from Bauer who’s moving to EMI is someone who embraces new technology without being afraid of it and I’ve learnt from her creativity and excellence.

 

What advice would you offer to brand guardians on surviving and thriving in the recession?

 

Know your brand, know what you stand for and understand your customers. Align your brand with your customers, whatever they’re going through and continue to add value for them. Don’t patronise customers by pretending you know what they’re going through. Don’t ‘bargain basement’ your brand, but keep investing in it, you need to protect it for the long term. 

 

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

 

One industry report said that the UK motoring insurance industry was the most competitive market in the world. We need to stay the course, stick with it and continue to deliver real value to our customers. It’s a challenging market, but I love a challenge. 

 

What advice would you offer on injecting interest and differentiation into a cluttered industry?

 

Superficially, you could say that all insurance is the same and it’s about price, but once you understand customer segments you can understand needs and behaviour. Know your customer, what makes them tick, leave you, buy, what annoys them? Understand your competition really well. Then you can spot the gaps, the missed opportunities and the clear space. Where are you not playing where you could stand for something? Compelling communication is also important. There are so many gimmicks and mascots in the insurance industry – dogs, elephants, phones and mice. We wanted to create interesting communications by being clever and adult, injecting some real brand personality in the right way, and that’s made us stand out in a cluttered market. 

 

How did you inspire your call centres to engage with your brand?

 

Call centres are critical to brand engagement, a ‘moment of truth.’ Half of our sales also come through the web. We have to be clear about what our brand stands for and what our values are. We’ve got brand beliefs, not value, in everyday language, things like ‘positive people who get the job done.’ As part of the RSA, the call centres have gone through a brand re-emergence programme to help them understand the brand and values. People feel like ambassadors of the business and will email us suggestions. There’s also a seamless link between the marketing and operations team, which is important.

 

What inspires you about insurance?

 

At the heart, insurance is about trust and care. RSA is 300 years old next year. It’s about people looking out for each other, when things get tough, we’re there to put it right. When your house floods or your car breaks down it can really disrupt your life and good insurance is about the greater good.

 

Tell us a secret.

 

I’m a closet radio DJ. If I wasn’t in marketing, I’d love to be on radio. I ran a radio station at University, did hospital radio too.

 

We’re looking to profile all our members here, so please do email Will to get involved if we haven’t yet been in touch.