1. Before we dive into your role at Amazon, what has your career journey looked like so far?
After graduating with a double major in Journalism and PR in Perth, I wanted to make it as a sports journalist – I was 21. I came to Sydney after my undergrad and worked at a small PR agency.
1)Joining Uber
After a few odd jobs, I joined Uber as an operations expert – where I helped Uber drivers with their regulatory requirements. I came across a CRM Coordinator role in Uber, and went for it. I worked in CRM for almost 3 years, where I got to learn so much about the marketing industry, I decided this is what I want to pursue my career in.
I had 2 amazing mentors/managers at Uber who helped me grow professionally and understand the marketing industry.
2)Joining Amazon
I joined Amazon as an Engagement Marketing Manager in Dec, ’21.
2. Transitioning into work, what the heck does a Marketing Engagement Manager (Fire TV) @ Amazon do?
What is Fire TV?
Fire TV is a video streaming device, connected to your TV that helps you stream content from any streaming platform you’re subscribed to. It comes with a remote and can be connected to your Echo device.
You lay on the couch and just say ‘Alexa, play XXX’ and the TV will play it for you. It’s a one stop shop for all your streaming needs.
How is the marketing function structured for Amazon in Australia?
Marketing in Amazon Australia is very niche for me. I work in the Amazon devices org, where the focus is on product marketing. But there are many marketing teams in Amazon for different orgs like:
- Retail
- Prime video
- Alexa, etc.
What does your role entail?
I build marketing strategies and campaigns to help customers have the best possible experience on Fire TV. I also study and analyse data to understand what customers want.
Amazon is an extremely customer focused and data driven company, so my role entails looking at a lot of data everyday and coming up with answers as to what would make the customer happy and keep them engaged.
My role also involves liaising and developing relationships with the streaming partners who wish to promote their content on Fire TV.
3. What’s an example of a campaign that you’ve worked on and what was your role in bringing it to life?
Project/Campaign Name: Discounted price for legacy Fire TV owners to purchase the latest gen Fire TV
What was it?
We recently launched a campaign offering legacy Fire TV owners a chance to purchase the latest gen Fire TV at a discounted price to optimise their experience.
As technology advances, we come up with newer and better solutions for customers to be able to stream content.
After looking at the data, and understanding customer concerns, we realised how beneficial the new device is to customers who’ve had a legacy device.
What was my role?
I was responsible for:
- The strategy
- Communication channels and
- Campaign messaging
However, I cannot take complete credit for this as my manager helped me through it – I was only 3 months into the role.
I had to come up with a business case to argue why this campaign was necessary for the customers.
4. What do the entry level pathways for marketing engagement/CRM roles in tech look like?
I can’t stress this enough, it is extremely important you get into marketing with a passion for technology.
In today’s world, marketing is nothing without data, and to be able to understand and read data, it is important to have a passion for tech. It is a bonus if you can learn a programming language.
5. What’s one thing you recommend an aspiring marketer do right now?
The important thing is to get your foot through the door, to get a start.
Send resumes, cold calls, be open for internships – you will learn a lot from actually doing the job.
There are many sides to marketing, get in the door and you might end up creating the pathway ahead.
