HMV brings together insight and ecommerce in marketing overhaul
HMV has brought together insight and ecommerce under a newly created senior role as part of its efforts to refocus on multichannel operations and boost flagging sales.
Paul Stevens, former Asda marketer, will take on the new head of insight and ecommerce role reporting to marketing and ecommerce director Mark Hodgkinson, who joined in October.
Hodgkinson has also restructured its marketing teams to give equal importance to its online and offline branding and set out a clear strategy designed to reverse the chain’s poor trading performance.
HMV reported an 8% fall in like for like sales over the Christmas period and in January announced that it is putting its live music division up for sale in an attempt to reduce its debt.
The entertainment retailer says that now it has received a renewed vote of confidence through investment from suppliers such as music label Universal, it can start to roll out marketing and digital initiatives that will drive the business forward.
The brand marketing team will now work on traditional advertising and in-store activity as well as digital and social marketing, where previously HMV had teams working separately on its physical and digital branding.
Hodgkinson has also put more emphasis on the ‘live’ marketing team responsible for “bringing the brand and products to life” through events in stores and added value experiences, which is how he believes HMV can differentiate from online retailers such as Amazon and supermarkets.
HMV hopes that by refocusing its marketing teams it can create a more customer-centric approach to bringing digital and physical sides of the business together.
Hodgkinson says: “The business has been focussed on survival, but as we move forward now we’re able to start putting some plans in place. We’ve got a clear roadmap, it’s now about making sure we execute it.
“We shouldn’t just think about our stores and physical products … and the concept of the physical in decline and digital growing and treating them as separate businesses – its about running online and offline together and customers being able to interchange easily.”
