We chat to Sharon Head, Vice President at e-Dialog for leading brands including Boots and Expedia about her career in direct marketing, her love of clothes and life away from the Big Apple…

You joined e-Dialog in London in May 2007, what were you up to before then?
Well I was working in the US and spent 12 years in direct marketing in retail, specifically for apparel retailers, which was lots of fun. I’d been in New York when I met my husband who’s a Brit. We got married and a few months later we decided to move to England to be closer to friends and family on this side of the pond. We decided to firstly take a sabbatical and go travelling for 4-months. So we had an amazing time in South East Asia, Australia and China before arriving here.

How does London compare to New York?
I think London is actually a lot cooler, it’s an edgier and younger city in many ways. London is really different so I’m enjoying being in the capital a lot!

So tell me a bit more about your work in the US…
Well I’ve worked with big brands Ann Taylor and The Children’s Place and started my career with The Franklin Mint, a very traditional catalogue and direct marketing driven company. One of the first things I did with them in 1999 was develop their first ever e-mail marketing campaign, which I literally had to create myself from scratch!

That must have been an experience?
Ha ha, it was! I was using SQL and doing HTML coding, really starting from the ground up. It was huge fun innovating with what was then a new medium. But after four years I was looking for more of a challenge and I considered going back to school to do an MBA. I put a CV together for that and then thought hey, lets send this out and see what comes back. As a result Ann Taylor came calling as they needed a team to develop their first ever website, so I was hired to help launch AnnTaylor.com.

So why the focus on apparel, are you a shopaholic?
Definitely, but the thing I loved about Ann Taylor and The Children’s Place and with apparel in particular, is that you can identify and connect with the customers behind the numbers. For example with The Children’s Place, what’s really lovely is that you were speaking to moms and dads, understanding the things that make their lives as parents easier and then building that into our marketing.

So that need for insight must have carried over into your work for your clients at e-Dialog?
Absolutely, with some of the brands that we work with like Boots I have really been able to use my experience to identify with what they are trying to achieve.

So how has the transition from client to agency side been?
Good question! Switching to the agency side has been great and what I’ve really like about it is the variety of work and the brands I get to work with. Agency life is always really dynamic and intellectually challenging and you get to apply your past experience across a broad range of situations. You really become a problem solver and people turn to you for your expertise and really want to listen. The value you can add to clients businesses is huge.

So you’ve been at e-Dialog for just over a year, have there been many changes?
Yes, we’ve grown hugely almost doubling from 40 to nearly 80 people. We’ve also moved into amazing office space just off Oxford St. They’re bright and colorful and open plan and everyone gets to chat and have lunch together. I think it really reflects the culture of the company. When candidates and clients come and see the environment we work in, I think it really showcases what e-Dialog is all about and what makes us special – our people.

If you could change one thing about the e-mail marketing industry what would it be?
I think the general perception that e-mail marketing sits off to the side or is stand-alone from other marketing activity. I encourage clients to view e-mail in the same way as other forms of direct marketing and as part of an integrated customer marketing strategy. I also encourage clients to apply the same discipline they would with offline marketing – that is to apply testing and analytics rigour and use data in the best way possible. Just because e-mail seems instantaneous doesn’t mean it should be treated with less respect than other marketing channels or that communications to your customers should be any less relevant. It’s just as important as any interaction with a customer in a store or catalogue you send to their home.

So which brands do you most admire from a marketing perspective?
Well apart from e-Dialog’s clients, I really admire Apple of course, great branding, the iPod, the iphone, need I say no more. Plus, they are pretty good when it comes to using e-mail with really relevant content and clever channel integration. Also I love my American imports. I am sooo happy to see Whole Foods and Banana Republic in London. Both great US brands who I think for know their customers and try to apply that to their marketing

Thanks for your time!

Tags: Profiles

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