What's your job about?
RB is a global UK FMCG company with a large portfolio of market-leading Health, Hygiene and Home brands. RB is a FTSE 25 Company with annual sales (net revenue) of £10 billion.
I am in my final rotation of the Commercial Graduate program working as an Assistant Brand Manager for the Cold & Flu category managing marketing responsibilities for Lemsip, Strepsils, and Strepfen.
As Assistant Brand Manager for Strepsils, Strepfen and Lemsip this role supports marketing plans and budgets for Strepsils, Strepfen and Lemsip to deliver net revenue, gross margin, market share and targets within timescales. I regularly track our brands to monitor market performance and identify trade needs, liaising frequently with Trade Marketing, Senior Brand Managers, Supply, Quality and the Category Manager. This role also uses partnerships with media and market insight platforms for the development, execution and amplification of channel 4P strategy and NPD. I love days when I have several different tasks to do, like going to a recording studio to record a voiceover for a Strepsils TV ad. On the same day, mocking up some packshots to reinvigorate our branding on shelf. Artworks and promotional activities aside, I’d no doubt be looking at several spreadsheets that day, analysing our financial standpoint. This is no less creative, and I might brainstorm some instore activities that could stimulate sales out of season.
What's your background?
I was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Singapore and finished high school and university in Sydney, splitting my holidays between family in Scotland and family in Hong Kong.
I’m one of those nerds that loves studying so school and university were amazing experiences. Leaving school, I started at Sydney University with a Combined B.Science/B.Arts, not sure which path to follow given that I am equally creative as I am analytical. I ended up graduating with an arts degree but haven’t lost my passion for science. The highlight of my undergraduate degree was achieving scholarships to attend King’s College on exchange for my History major. In London, not only was the course impeccably well taught and in a historically rich city but I managed to organise an internship at the British Museum working as a research assistant. I also enjoyed several other internships, interning in Assurance at EY, and running my own tutoring organisation for 5 years, IB Tutoring Sydney. My internship with Ogilvy, in advertising, paved the way to my Master’s in Marketing and was a pivotal change in the career choice that led me to RB. I first heard about RB at a career’s fair at Sydney University, applied for their graduate program and here I am, in my final rotation of the Commercial Graduate Scheme.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
If you’ve just read my profile, I’m definitely not someone you could categorise easily. I’ve had a taste in Science, Arts and Commerce from a degree perspective, Non-profit, Accounting, Education, Advertising, Hospitality, Administration, Sales and Marketing from a career perspective. In my opinion, the more experience and diversity you have the more value you will bring to any profession.
Having a positive attitude will get you far in any job. A lot of any role is people management and working effectively in a team environment. It also maintains your morale, work ethic and resilience which are integral to a sustainable long-term career. Good organisational skills and confidence are also invaluable skills that facilitate making it faster for you to grasp new concepts and take on more challenging tasks.
Having said that, make sure you’re attuned to where your passion lies and ensure the job you’re looking at will satisfy that.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
I love the fact I have 3 brands under my belt that I can look into as deeply as possible to analyse, strategise, challenge and amplify. I’m given a great deal of creative agency and responsibility and can lead projects within a few weeks of starting the role. I love how cross-functional my role is. I work with the legal, regulatory, supply, medical and sales teams on an hourly basis. I enjoy listening to these different perspectives and approaching tasks differently as a result.
What are the limitations of your job?
Although I enjoy cross-functional teams, the biggest limitation of my job is sometimes when you’re waiting for something that’s out of your control, be it a regulation process or deadline changes. As a result projects can slow down suddenly or speed up really quickly. That’s the nature of project management, however, and you get better at managing priorities and time, so that there’re less surprises.
3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...