The common touch - Andrew Mann Marketing director for planning Tesco

by Hugh Filman, Promotions & Incentives 07-Mar-08, 11:20

Andrew Mann never found it easy to explain to his nonagenarian grandmother exactly what he did as marketing director for Tesco Clubcard.

"She sort of understands, but it's more that I can look her in the eye and say: 'What I do is say thank you to our customers in a very simple way and give them some great offers and relevant things they can buy in Tesco.'" Now that he is marketing director for planning across Tesco in the UK, responsible for strategy and "driving step-change innovation", he may find explaining what he does to his gran even more daunting.

Mann moves into his new role three-and-a-half years after joining Tesco to head its Clubcard loyalty scheme, during which time he has helped to simplify aspects while developing new ways of rewarding the grocery chain's most loyal customers. He brings his experience with Clubcard - central to Tesco's marketing - and an overall comprehension of the company's values with him. "I've come in, understood and worked with Tesco, and led the big bit around Tesco in terms of Clubcard," he says. "Now I'm taking a role across all Tesco marketing."

Mann, 42, makes it clear that, regardless of the job title, every marketer at Tesco knows that understanding what customers want and rewarding them for coming back remain central tenets of the company's philosophy. And while he gives the impression he sticks closely to corporate line in what he has to say about Tesco, he also seems to genuinely believe in its core values.

He mentions Tesco founder Jack Cohen giving his best customers a "bit extra" when he ran his market stall in East London nearly 90 years ago, chucking a few extra oranges or apples into their bags or even giving them a bottle of wine at Christmas. "A really good small retailer knows his customers, recognises them and does something about them," he notes. "That's all we're doing with Clubcard, but on a huge scale."

Mann says promotions remain central to building customer loyalty, be it through in-store specials or offers through Clubcard. "The core purpose of Tesco is to create value for customers - to earn lifetime loyalty - and that's what everyone focuses on," he explains. "You can do that promotionally with some great in-store offers. Or you can do that in a more targeted way with Clubcard, either with coupons or other relevant activity - Clubcard bonus and things like that. Actually, if you look at Clubcard from that perspective, it is about relevance and targeting and rapier-like precision around giving great offers."

While overseeing the loyalty scheme, Mann expanded "Clubcard deals", enabling Tesco's most loyal customers to exchange vouchers for rewards worth four times the value. For example, £10 of Clubcard vouchers buys £40 of a magazine subscription, a weekend break or a day out at a tourist attraction. "We've been clear about making Clubcard more rewarding," Mann says.

Another goal is to make the shopping experience more pleasant, one Mann finds all the more laudable from a personal perspective. He does a lot of the shopping for his family of five, which includes a 12-year-old son and two daughters aged 10 and eight, who all live in a "haunted house" in Hertfordshire. "I don't know anybody who really likes shopping," he admits. "Anything that makes it easier is great, so making sure you have the right products in the right store is good." One initiative Mann hopes has simplified things for Clubcard's 13 million active members was introducing a key fob version of the card three years ago.

Mann adds that wheeling a cart around the shop floor is a great way to discover what customers think, as is working as a cashier - something every manager at Tesco has to do for a week twice a year. "It's hard work, but you get to talk to customers and understand what they like. I love talking to customers." He says the experience has led to a few innovations - for instance, a policy of automatically sending out new cards to customers who have left theirs in the store.

Innovation has always been vital for Tesco's evolution - from the launch of Clubcard 13 years ago to the introdution of its Express and Metro stores. "Tesco has a history of innovation," Mann notes, saying his biggest challenge is living up to that record. "It's something Tesco is good at doing - we just have to do more of it." In doing that, he has to make sure it remains the same Tesco his grandmother knows.

QUESTIONNAIRE
What would you do if you weren't in marketing? I'd be a traveller, travel writer or explorer
How would others describe you? An energetic people person
Favourite sports club? Leicester City
Favourite movie? Moulin Rouge
Favourite book? Anna Karenina
Favourite band? Nouvelle Vague
CURRICULUM VITAE
2008: Marketing director for planning, Tesco
2005-2008: Marketing director for Clubcard, Tesco
2001-2004: Head of brand and communications, British Gas
1999-2001: Global brand director for Dr Pepper, Coca-Cola
1997-1998: Marketing director, Cadbury Schweppes Beverages