Vanessa Schotes

Here at Enterprise we like to track the rising stars in the Welsh business scene. Indeed we have been following the meteroic rise of this marketing mover & shaker from her early beginnings at a Cardif Bay agency through to her key role at one of Wales’ top companies. Vanessa Schotes is the Head of Marketing at Arriva Trains Wales and is making waves with her ability to put cutting edge campaigns in front of the commuting masses.

Vanessa, your from Germany so how did you come to live in Wales?

They were incredibly accommodating by being willing to give me that freedom and that chance. Most parents would have said no to a request like that from their child in that situation. There was a lot of potential there for me to mess it up but my parents placed a lot of trust in me to say: “if you really think you can do it, try it!”. There was also a lot of support from them when I tried it and loved it and wanted to stay here. I never saw it as something really challenging, it was just great fun.

I think that Wales, and Cardiff in particular, has got something about it that keeps pulling me back - it’s the people as much as anything. Everyone is very friendly, especially compared to other places I’ve been. Also, Cardiff ’s got such a lovely mix of culture, it’s the capital city yet it’s a reasonable size and walkable, you have the sea on your doorstep and the Brecon Beacons are very close. Every time I’ve had the option to leave somehow I always end up picking Wales again.

I’ve been with the company for three and a half years. It’s been really interesting because when I first started I didn’t realise just how varied a job in the railway industry would be.

The variety within the job is absolutely fantastic. Railway itself, in terms of its set-up and how it operates in Britain it’s quite a different industry to most. This makes it challenging in terms of marketing promotions because the pricing is partly regulated and you have to find your way within that to develop products that are relevant to your market and that passengers really respond to. It’s also an industry that’s perceived to be quite traditional. My quest is to move with the times and get away from the traditional approach to marketing the railway and find ways which are much more approachable in terms of how we speak to people and how we get them engaged with the Arriva Trains Wales brand.

A lot of it has been about changing people’s perceptions. For me it’s very much about developing Arriva Trains Wales to be a true consumer brand and communicating with passengers on a regular basis rather than being seen as a corporate brand. It means focusing on developing products communications and promotions which are relevant to the market. We have worked really hard to develop value for money fares for our customers. Around two years ago we brought in a completely new advanced purchase fares structure which really delivers great value. It’s gives people the opportunity to mix and match best value fares and be flexible with their travel times to be able to get the best deals on their travel. The uptake on the product has been fantastic and I think it has helped chip away at the perception that rail travel is pricey. There are some fantastic deals out there if you book in advance.

There have been a few things. Introducing the new advance purchase fares and seeing the great uptake by passengers has been great. The safety campaign we ran last year, has been fantastic too because it’s been breaking the mold in terms of how we communicate with passengers. We are working on coming more in line with those companies who are being edgier in terms of how they get their message across. We are delighted with the customer feedback we’ve received on this campaign and we’ve licensed the concept to another train operator. The other highlight has been my work on the express service linking north and south Wales. It’s been quite tight in terms of time scales and we’ve come up with a super product which customers love.

Different factors have come into this equation now. In early 2008 we saw higher fuel prices making some car users who may have been convinced that using the train wasn’t for them turning to taking the train instead. It was interesting to see what growth resulted from that and how many people we’ve retained, even though fuel prices have gone back down. It’s convenient, it’s city centre to centre, it’s a chance to read a book or chill out before you get to work or arrive back home, you can have a little nap if you need to catch up on some sleep, and it’s comfortable. I must hold my hands up as well - I used to be a car addict before I came to work for Arriva but now my car rarely gets out. Anywhere I go, I get some ‘me’ time, and I love being able to either catch-up with some work or just being able to relax after a busy day. A lot of the time I travel on the train with colleagues so we can either have a pre-meeting brief, get some notes together, or pick up another piece of work. You’re not losing the time you normally would being stuck behind the steering wheel of a car.

I’ve always wanted a role which doesn’t put me into a particular bracket. What I love about the job is the different areas within the business which I get to work with and have influence on. I’m doing everything from marketing communications, which is what I originally set out to work in, to looking after PR, getting involved with train refurbishments and developments on the fleet, to staff uniform and station presentation.

Never undersell yourself. If you believe that you can do something the worse thing you can do is not to stand up for yourself and sell yourself properly.

To become Head of Marketing for Arriva Trains at twenty eight years old was cool. Compared to a lot of other people in similar roles I am fairly young, and they may have more experience than I do. However, in marketing, creativity and vision are critical as is getting your teeth into everything. There’s nothing wrong with contributing regardless of age.

Traditionally it has been, but there’s quiet a shift going on. If you look at the different train operators across Britain I believe there are now around five female managing directors, possibly more, so the industry is really changing.

I have had the best time since I’ve joined and I’ve never felt there has been a glass ceiling. I started working for Arriva as marketing communications manager, followed by a business development role and then went on to my current role, so I certainly don’t feel like I’ve been held back. If anything Arriva has given me an amazing opportunity which has really helped me to develop. Because of that working for Arriva has been an absolute joy because it’s always helped give me the confidence to think “actually, I can do that”, and I’ve never once encountered attitudes which have suggested that because of my gender or age I wasn’t capable of doing the job. I’ve just spent a couple of months covering for my boss, who was on secondment, and again it’s been fantastic to have a look at a higher level within the company and gain new insights, and that’s been in a very supportive and nurturing environment.

You cannot beat a good integrated, cross channel campaign, because you get the halo effect of the combined media and everything picks the other elements up. But if I had to pick one area I would say digital. We have some some fantastic results using digital media over the last year. We’ve focused a lot of development on that, working with existing customers trying to keep people engaged in the brand. I love the measurability of digital media, it really helps justify our marketing spend. Digital really proves that we can deliver what we set out to do with our marketing.

Yes, I think it has. It’s something we’re looking into at the moment because we want to facilitate discussion, but we’re also aware of the need to respect people’s personal space. There’s an Arriva fan group on Facebook created by students who have really enjoyed our service and so it’s great to see something that is genuine and has started of its own accord.

It’s a difficult time for everyone right now because of the economic climate. Unfortunately, I think many companies always see marketing as the obvious thing to slash when cost cutting. When you’re looking to grow a business you should be looking to talk to potential customers more not less. I find that in marketing it is essential that you measure everything and if something is not working then pull it. I find the decision not to ‘go to market’ at all an odd one. Focus spend on activities that you know work, but don’t give up!

Hyperactive, enthusiastic, happy, smiley and creative.

Probably enthusiasm. I couldn’t do the job the way I do it unless I got enthused and excited by the work. I love bouncing off the wall and throwing creative ideas around.

I would love to carry on to progress and to help take the business forward and I certainly like the commercial angle, so I just want to keep developing and bringing my enthusiasm to things. In short, somewhere I can put my five best qualities to their best use.

I don’t have just one person who I think “wow, I would love to be like that”. I come across different people that I find inspiring and I try and draw from them. I think I get inspired by people’s ideas more so than individuals. Brands like Innocent Smoothies inspire me by going out there and doing something different. I admire people who are different and have an edge.

Gluttony! I love food

Designer dresses.

Two dresses from All Saints.

I don’t like going back to the same place twice, but I went to China last year and that was really cool. I really like Italy, especially Tuscany because I’m a ‘foodie’ and you can’t beat somewhere where the wine is amazing and the food is divine.

The food in and around Brecon is good. Ichiban in Cardiff is somewhere I really enjoy.

Laguna Bar.

Do more straight talking.

Diplomatic Baggage.

Chunky Monkey Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

Hopefully pulling others along and getting them enthused.

Accepting failure in anything.

That’s so cool.

That train travel isn’t fabulous.

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