Master of the market tries to cut through the audience

Last month I celebrated my three-year anniversary in Clerys. People always use the old clichΘ, "time flies". Well, as we all know - it does!

Prior to joining Clerys I did a brief stint in Carr Communications, which gave me an invaluable insight into the world of communications and media training.

I studied economics and sociology in UCD for four years and capped off my student life with a master's in marketing from DIT.

I think every marketing manager will ask the question: "Average day, what's that?!"

As group marketing manager I am responsible for the advertising, public relations and brand development strategy of our two furnishing stores in Blanchardstown and Leopardstown, the small fashion store in Tallaght and, most importantly, our flagship department store, which sits in O'Connell Street in the heart of Dublin.

The marketing strategy for the company, in tandem with the massive refurbishment of the store, has changed dramatically over the last two to three years. Some of the changes have been very obvious and others have been much more subtle.

The new-look Clerys is a change in direction in terms for both market positioning and future growth strategies.

Our core customer here at Clerys is likely to be aged 25 to 45; however, we have seen significant growth in our 15-to-24 fashion business.

On a very basic level, the advertising is much more contemporary, younger and sexier. I have changed the advertising and promotional mix dramatically over the last 18 months.

For "tactical events" (e.g. sales), we now put a much heavier weighting on TV and, to ensure frequency, radio. New adverts have been produced with the objective of achieving "cut-through" - which is industry jargon that means you have to create something new and exciting to grab the viewer's attention.

Last year we produced and aired a new summer sale TV advert (which we carried through to radio) - that was highly successful. Sales increased substantially.

Customers are becoming more demanding. I'm conscious that we need to try newer, innovative ways of catching their attention. During 2001 we have used direct marketing more effectively to inform customers about new brands and promotions that relate to them specifically.

Striking the balance between targeting a somewhat more fickle, younger audience while still appealing to Clerys traditional customer is a challenge.

We do a minimum of six photographic shoots a year, both fashion and furnishings, which are very different to the style of shoots Clerys did in the past.

To support this we ran a comprehensive strategic brand campaign this autumn through national press and glossy magazines, which again had a sharp, clean format, using a clever double-edged "tag line" - things are getting cooler.

This was a subtle way of making reference to the changes taking place with the redevelopment of Clerys - and also to the obvious fact of the weather getting colder.

Needless to say, this pre-Christmas season is an extremely manic time for me both in terms of events and also in terms of general activity.

Last Thursday Santa arrived into Clerys on a horse drawn carriage and we also unveiled the Clerys Christmas windows, both of which are renowned for entertaining generation after generation.

The instant success of the Harry Potter movie has resulted in Potter madness, with Harry's Lego, games and toys flying out the door. We devote one O'Connell Street window specifically to toys.

Each year, even prior to the Late Late toy show being aired, there is a toy of the season. Generally these are licensed toys, everything from Tweenies or PokΘmon to Yahtzee.

It pays to brush up on this topic, as I can be guaranteed that between now and Christmas Eve I will be asked dozens of times, "What's the toy this season?"