Former Sony Ericsson marketing boss joins retailer and looks to build on store network
The new director of marketing at Phones 4u says he plans to marry the online and in-store experiences, and is working on how to integrate wearables and other smart devices into the retailers range.
Ben Padley, formerly head of digital marketing and CRM at Sony Ericsson, joined the retailer at the end of 2013 following a stint at Barclaycard and a brand consultancy. One of the first tasks he has set himself is putting its retail stores at the heart of everything that Phones 4u does.
“If I’m out and about on my mobile, I should get a really immersive experience about where my local store is, who the people in that store are, (and) I can see what their specialities are,” he told Mobile News. “This is truth about our business. We have great expertise in store – what we haven’t done to date is showcased that digitally for the consumer to be aware of.”
Padley will also look to make consumers more aware of other incentives for using Phones 4u including concert tickets it offers as part of its sponsorship of the Phones 4u arena in Manchester.
He also claims that the mobile industry is at an exciting junction and the retailer is looking at ways it can integrate products such wearables and smart devices into its range.
“What we’ve picked up is that wearables is a term that doesn’t do the category justice, but what we’ve seen is that the awareness is really high, and the propensity to purchase is really high. It’s being driven by propositions like Google Glass and consumers are very aware of it – what the industry hasn’t done is evolve into a meaningful consumer proposition that is easy to understand.”
