Name: Nicole Woodall
Role: Marketing Manager
Organisation: Biarri
How did you get into digital marketing?
After working at American Express in Canada for a number of years, I had the opportunity as the Marketing Manager for Interactive Acquisition to lead the digital acquisition team. It was a really challenging role back in 2007 as it was a tipping point for many large corporations to pay attention to digital channels and proving the ROI. That role started sparked my digital curiosity and I’ve been involved in developing digital strategies ever since.
What does your current role involve day-to-day?
I am currently the Marketing Manager at Biarri, a commercial mathematics technology startup with offices in Brisbane and Melbourne. We develop custom planning and scheduling applications that are hosted in the cloud and do some fantastic work for some of Australia’s largest companies. As the first Marketing person ever hired, I’m helping the founders and CEO develop the brand positioning and expand the brand presence here and in targeted overseas markets. We just launched our new website last week so the Interactive Minds SEO session was perfect timing!
What is the best thing about your current job?
Our business is evolving rapidly and we are getting some great recognition for our leadership in advanced analytics and technology development. As a result, I never know exactly what to expect when I go into the office and I love being thrown new challenges on a daily basis.
What is your biggest challenging with digital marketing in 2014?
After focusing on B2C for a number of years, I really had to shift my focus to a B2B market when I arrived at Biarri. Being a small company with a target market behaving much differently to what I am used to, I’ve really had to alter my strategic approach. It has been a fantastic problem to solve from a career development perspective.
What do you see is the biggest opportunity in the industry at the moment?
The “monentisation” of digital channels is well and truly entrenched so I think a big opportunity for a company like Biarri is establishing credibility through dialogue. We don’t have big budgets so whether we leverage our LinkedIn relationships, or undertake another engagement activity, it requires commitment and continuous contributions from everyone in the company to make it work. From an industry perspective, I believe this will always be an ongoing opportunity as reach and authenticity can often at odds with one another when money is involved.
How do you stay up to date with the digital marketing industry (please list any information sources, events or other)?
Interactive Minds is obviously a great industry source for people in Brisbane. I also follow a number of blogs and participate in a number of LinkedIn groups. What I’ve realised is that I really trust the power of my networks to keep me informed and I consistently rely on thought leadership articles or links from my peers.
Who or what do you use for inspiration?
A lot of our competitors are extremely corporate, so my inspiration in developing the brand is bringing some of the energy and life of consumer applications into our space. We’ve established Biarri as a challenger brand and thus the beauty of consumer apps with a phenomenal UX is a big focus for us.
What is your favourite work related phone app?
I’d have to say GoTo Meeting and Expensify are my favourite apps at the moment. They are really easy to use and keep me organised when work gets busy.
What was your work highlight in the last 12 months?
The executive team is awesome and extremely agile so I honestly get to do something new and different every day. We’ve evolved the brand to improve the positioning and launched the new website. We also have a wide variety of big strategic initiatives coming soon so it’s an exciting time at Biarri.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
I don’t think I could ever completely separate myself from this industry. I’d probably be running my own small business and as a result, I’d still be learning about digital in order to maximise revenue through online channels.