Field Notes with Oriana Brás, Head of Cross Marketing & Refunds for Fujitsu

Oriana, what does your company do?

Oh, that is really a tough one. I mean, we do so many things. I could be here for hours and hours talking, but keeping it short and straight to the point, Fujitsu is a leading global company that provides a wide range of technology products, services, and solutions. We focus on making the world more sustainable through innovation. As an example, we provide IT services and consulting, cloud computing, hardware, AI, cybersecurity, and much, much more.

Great. As Head of Cross Marketing in your company, what is your current main focus?

So, the role of Cross Marketing is a really diverse and complex one. You have to be a master of multitasking. The role involves a deep understanding of marketing campaigns, company processes, goals, business alignment, and a comprehensive understanding of the competitive landscape across Europe. The main focus, I would say, is to ensure collaboration across teams, maintain synergies, optimise marketing efforts to reduce workload and complexity among the team, and understand how to leverage emerging technologies, like AI, for example, to really maximise our results as marketers.

Can you tell me about a particularly innovative or successful field marketing campaign that your team has recently executed?

Well, I’m really proud of our onboarding project. It’s a project that welcomes our partners into the Fujitsu world through a comprehensive automation campaign, and it really brings us closer to our very important partner ecosystem. I think the relevance of field marketing campaigns is growing overall, and we have a lot of successful campaigns because it’s really important to engage directly with customers, create memorable experiences, and drive results in real-world environments. I mean, branding and awareness are a must, of course, but we really need to dig deep into individuality in order to get results. The markets are getting saturated with a lot of information and content, so we need customers and partners to feel unique and to feel loved. We are here to really give them what they need and support them so we can succeed together.

What would you say are your biggest marketing challenges at the moment?

I think the biggest challenge is keeping up with emerging technologies and really leveraging them in our daily work. We live in such a fast-evolving environment that marketers sometimes feel overwhelmed and struggle to keep pace. It’s like a high-speed train, and marketers really need to jump on it and get it right.

In addition to this, we face other challenges, like data protection compliance, which sometimes makes it hard to provide a more personal experience. I mean, everyone is concerned about private data—we don’t really want to share it, which is fully understandable. It’s a dangerous world out there, but this makes it hard for marketers to provide the unique, personalised experience that customers want. However, I believe that new technologies and tools will help us overcome this in the near future.

How does your company stay ahead of its competitors, Oriana, in terms of marketing?

Our focus is to ensure the perfect experience, fostering trust and confidence while innovating and building a better society. We want to be future-proof and ready to take our customers and partners on the same journey with us. So, I would say that mutual trust is really what makes us different.

Fantastic. What do you believe is the biggest opportunity for field marketers today that may not have been available in the past?

I think that new technologies are a game-changer. The integration of new technologies into our daily work and physical experiences really allows us to promote multi-channel approaches in field marketing, which is a huge opportunity that we can’t miss. We can, for example, blend in-person experiences with virtual elements and create hybrid campaigns to reach wider audiences. A good example of this is the blended events that everyone is doing, which allow for both virtual and physical attendance, reaching a lot more people and a wider audience.

We can also leverage new tools and stay ahead by thinking outside the box and coming up with new ways of communicating empowered by automation. The modern tools we have right now can enable us to have real-time data analytics, which allows marketers to provide instant feedback. We have Power BI, Salesforce, Tableau—I mean, there are a million different modern tools that can really make our lives easier. I think we also need to mention AR and VR because they will allow immersive experiences that can engage customers in ways we’ve never seen or even thought about before.

This next question kind of goes back to the last one. In your opinion, what does the future of marketing look like?

This is the million-dollar question, right? I wish I knew, but I believe that the future of marketing will be shaped by a dynamic blend of advanced technology, hyper-personalization, ethical practices, and customer-centric strategies. I think it will be a future with increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, better market segmentation, and targeted personalisation.

There are already several trends shaping the future for at least the next decade, like AI-driven marketing. AI, which is the big trend right now, will continue to enhance our ability to deliver more personalised content and precise, real-time data analytics. This will allow us to offer unique experiences to customers. I also think that the future will be marked by ethics and sustainability through purpose-driven marketing. Customers will increasingly prioritise brands that align with their values, and purpose-driven companies will thrive.

What do you think is the role of the field marketer in one word, and why?

One word? Another tough question. It’s hard to define in one word, but maybe I would say facilitator. A field marketer needs to make things happen. Field marketing is about connecting all the gaps between the brand and the target audience, facilitating the connection between products and services with the customer, and delivering engaging experiences that build stronger relationships. This connection fosters loyalty and engagement, making the field marketer a critical piece of any marketing organisation.

What’s a piece of traditional leadership advice that you believe doesn’t apply to modern field marketers?

I would say, “stick to the plan.”

“Stick to the plan” could work well in traditional leadership, but in the current landscape, we really need to be creative. We need to be adaptable, agile, and able to provide quick responses to customer needs while responding to this dynamic, trust-based market. So, sticking to the plan doesn’t cut it anymore. I would propose a shift to a more modern approach and maybe say, “Embrace flexibility” instead.

Definitely. And finally, Oriana, what career advice would you like to share with other marketing leaders?

I would say three major things, not only for marketing leaders but for all leaders overall. First of all, be humble and supportive. We need to treat our teams as humans, not machines. We all have ups and downs.

Prioritise continuous learning and adaptability. We live in a rapidly evolving marketing landscape, and staying static is not an option anymore. Leaders need to embrace new technologies, make them a part of their daily routine, and ensure that their teams are effective. This can only be done with a culture of continuous learning.

Finally, empower your team. We really need to shift from micromanagement to promoting teams that take ownership, feel valuable, and feel loved.