Char Eeles is SFC Lead, Ocado. In a career spanning almost two decades, previous positions have included Tesco and last year she was awarded the Creative Excellence Award at the Women in Retail Media Awards.
What is your role and what does it entail?
My very long winded job title is Supplier Funded Content Retail Media Lead, which is definititely a mouthful!
What this means in laymans terms is that anything externally branded is delivered and hosted onsite by me and the team. Everything from branded display media and microsites, right through to coupons and sampling, depending on the bespoke requirement of each of our suppliers.
How did you first become interested in retail media and move into it?
I’m a Web Designer by trade, and joined Ocado 14 years ago now as the Design and Development Manager. Supplier Funded Media was a subset of this. As it gained momentum and popularity, the volume we were delivering was too much to manage alongside all of the other creative requirements Ocado has daily, so the team was broken out to run in its own right.
Having a Masters Degree in Digital Media and Hyperfictions, I absolutely love a narrative and tailored campaigns allow me to do just that.
Bringing the right bespoke solution to the table for a supplier to help meet their requirements, whilst fully engaging the customer in the journey totally floats my boat on a daily basis! Tracking the data and proving that the campaign has converted is just the icing on top of the Retail Media cake!
What most excites you about the industry today and what might happen next in RM?
Well what a time to be alive!
Twenty years ago, I sat in a lecture at Uni listening to how we’d get personalised messages sent to our phones, based on things we’d like to buy. For someone who owned a Nokia brick at the time, that was a world I just couldn’t fully comprehend. Fast forward to today, and we’re fully embracing those opportunities. R
etail Media is just starting to scratch the surface of the capabilities of targeting and personalisation. Bringing that deeper level of engagement to customers is a really fascinating prospect and totally pushes Retail Media to the next level. Exciting times ahead!
Who is your biggest inspiration in the retail media sector and why?
I am an incredibly lucky human, and was asked to be an ambassador for Women in Retail Media. Every member of this movement is an inspiration – championing each other, raising their profiles and generally shaping the future of this industry.
Watching these incredible ladies hold up their half of the sky in what has previously been a male dominated space is a sight to behold. Hearing their voices bring a different perspective to the Retail Media universe, holding their own as the solo woman on a panel full of men, slowly and quietly owning their space, these women are changing the world for the future generations, and I am so incredibly lucky to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder alongside them.
What one retail media campaign or strategy you’ve been involved in are you proudest of?
18 months ago, I was asked to build a one pager for Buy Women Built on Ocado. After delving into the heart of this movement, I was totally moved by their drive to shine a spotlight on these female founded brands, many of whom designed and built products in their kitchens and garages to solve a basic customer need they found missing from the retail space.
As Chair of the Womens Network at Ocado Retail, it totally ignited my ambition to leave the world in a better state than I found it, and what better way to help support this movement through a retail media campaign.
Today, that one pager is a 13-page microsite with full supporting media, showcasing the stories of these incredible Female Founders. In October, this campaign was recognised, winning the Creative Award at the Women in Retail Media Awards and a truly proud and humbling moment for me.
