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Everything revolves around the product lifecycle, and preparing for the next changes coming into effect is at the heart of the role. For example, a new model coming to market for the first time requires analysis of the car market, the competitive environment, assessing the sales potential in a particular sector and keeping up to date with changes in industry regulations that may have an impact on a particular model, like changes to vehicle taxation or special supports in the case of electric vehicles.
This is all part of the groundwork that supports the definition of the product offer from standard equipment available to the grade and pricing strategy so each day involves working on some or all of those elements.
I also work closely with the Product Executive, and we will have routine meetings to constantly review and update the outlook on current and future projects to make sure all goals are on track. There are also regular calls with the manufacturer to make sure we are aligned on product plans. These can take the form of one-to-one calls or scheduled meetings involving all distributors across Europe. In the past, some of these meetings would have involved travel to the brand HQ, however, recent years have seen online calls replace in-person events more and more.
Actually, within the companies I have worked in over the years, I have been supported and encouraged by male colleagues throughout my career. These colleagues have often been the catalyst for me challenging myself and taking on more responsibilities and experiences.
On a lighter side, I’ve often been either the only or one of a handful of women in the room, which is strange and could be daunting, but confidence comes with experience. Thankfully in recent years, this is no longer a typical occurrence.
A typical day for me is rising at 6.30am, having breakfast, taking care of a few household chores, and getting to work by about 8.30am. I spend a busy day in the office, leave the office sometime just before 5pm, taxi my son to and from activities, attend a Parents Council school meeting, make dinner, go for a quick walk, catch up on work emails/social media channels until about 9pm and then put the phone or laptop away.
But, whilst the structure of my day might be very similar at times, there really is no typical day in marketing. I have never had two days the same in all of my 25 years working for the Gowan Group. Even though we have a very seasonally-led market with concentrated advertising efforts needed ahead of the twice-annual registration plate changes in Ireland and certain tasks or events pepper our calendar annually, such as our big annual Dealer Conference and the National Ploughing Championships, in between work, life is so very varied.
One day I might be working with the agencies on a car launch advertising campaign, looking at new point-of-sale material for our dealers, presenting our plans to our manufacturer, promoting our sponsorship with Irish Rugby on social media and catching up with our National Women Rugby Player brand ambassadors. On another day I might be handing over a press car to a motoring journalist, abroad at an international press launch event, flying through budgets and invoices, writing a press release, or checking out our website analytics. I can honestly say I’ll never be bored.
When I first arrived in the Irish Motor Industry, leading females were few and far between. Given that car buying is a decision many females make for the household, there was a very important ingredient missing! Fast-forward to today and it’s a very different picture – much work has been done by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry to encourage female participation. From dealer principals, to service managers, financial controllers, marketing directors, brand managers and saleswomen, today women are much more proportionately represented across all facets of our business, both at the distributor level and at the retail level. It’s something to really celebrate.
Indeed, my team recently applauded International Women’s Day by collating a short video presenting all the female staff at Gowan Auto, of which we have so many. What a team of independent, smart, sassy, talented, professional women! As a huge advocate for equality, I am honoured to be part of that team, led of course by our five female shareholders, Mrs Gemma Maughan and her four daughters.